STATE OF MAINE - Maine Revenue Services
Individual Income Tax Form 1040ME Internet Filing
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I-file makes filing your individual income tax return easy and convenient. It performs calculations for you and eliminates the use of paper forms.

Help is available for some tax items by pressing the icon.

Generally, you may use I-file, if you:

  • Are filing an original return (or an amended return) for the 2020 tax year that begins January 1, 2020 and ends December 31, 2020.
  • Were either:
    • A full year Maine resident in calendar year 2020 or
    • A nonresident or a part-year resident in calendar year 2020 with zero Maine income tax before claiming the nonresident credit OR all your income is sourced to Maine and you do not need to complete Schedule NR.

      Residency eligibility criteria

      Am I a Resident, "Safe Harbor" Resident, Part-Year Resident, or Nonresident?

      To determine your residency status for 2020, read the following.


      *Domicile:

      Domicile is the place an individual establishes as his or her permanent home and includes the place to which he or she intends to return after any period of absence. A number of factors associated with residency are relevant in the evaluation of a claimed domicile. A domicile, once established, continues until a new, fixed and permanent home is acquired. To change domicile, a taxpayer must exhibit actions consistent with a change. No change of domicile results from moving to a new location if the intent is to remain only for a limited time, even if it is for a relatively long duration.


      Full-Year Resident:

      (1) Maine was my domicile for the entire year of 2020;
      or
      (2) I maintained a permanent place of abode in Maine for the entire year and spent a total of more than 183 days in Maine.


      “Safe Harbor” Resident:

      General Safe Harbor - Maine was my domicile* in 2020. I did not maintain a permanent place of abode in Maine. I maintained a permanent place of abode outside Maine and I spent no more than 30 days of 2020 in Maine. Individuals- qualifying under the safe harbor rule will be treated as a nonresident for Maine individual income tax purposes.

      • If you are a “safe harbor” resident, you must file Form 1040ME with Schedule NR or NRH.
      • "Safe harbor" residents cannot use I-file. However, many taxpayers can submit their return via e-file, through a tax preparer or by using tax preparation software you purchased or that is available on-line.

      Foreign Safe Harbor - I spent at least 450 days in a foreign country during any 548-day period occurring partially or fully in the tax year. The taxpayer must also meet other eligibility criteria. If you qualify for the Foreign Safe Harbor, you will be considered a "Safe Harbor" Resident and treated as a nonresident for the 548-day period even though domiciled in Maine.

      • If you are a “safe harbor” resident, you must file Form 1040ME with Schedule NR or NRH.
      • "Safe harbor" residents cannot use I-file. However, many taxpayers can submit their return via e-file, through a tax preparer or by using tax preparation software you purchased or that is available on-line.

      For more information and examples on "Safe Harbors", see the Guidance to Residency "Safe Harbors" brochure available at Maine Income Tax Guidance Documents or call the forms line at (207) 624-7894.


      Part-Year Resident:

      I was domiciled in Maine for part of the year and was not a full year resident as defined in (2) above.

      NOTE: To use I-file as a nonresident, you must have either:
      • No Maine income tax liability prior to calculating the nonresident credit; or
      • All your income is sourced to Maine and you do not need to complete Schedule NR or NRH to calculate a nonresident credit.

      Otherwise, you must file Form 1040ME with Schedule NR or NRH.


      Nonresident:

      I was not a resident or part-year resident in 2020, but I do have Maine-source income.

      NOTE: To use I-file as a nonresident, you must have either:
      • No Maine income tax liability prior to calculating the nonresident credit; or
      • All your income is sourced to Maine and you do not need to complete Schedule NR or NRH to calculate a nonresident credit.

      Note: You cannot use I-file if you filed as a nonresident alien on your federal income tax return. See Maine Form 1040ME and related instructions for more information.

      For additional information on determining Maine residency, see "Guidance to Residency Status" and "Guidance to Residency Safe Harbors" brochures available at Maine Income Tax Guidance Documents or call the forms line at (207) 624-7894.


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RESTRICTIONS:

  • You cannot use I-file if you are married filing jointly and either you or your spouse can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
  • You cannot use I-file if you are a nonresident or part-year resident and all your income is Maine source income and you are claiming either a Schedule 1A income addition modification for certain gains on installment sales of real or tangible property or the earned income tax credit, child care credit or the adult dependent care credit.
  • You cannot use I-file if you are claiming a:
    • Schedule 1S income subtraction modification for medical marijuana business expenses;
    • Schedule A credit, other than the dependent exemption tax credit, child care credit, adult dependent care credit, earned income tax credit, seed capital credit, and Maine minimum tax credit carryforward;
    • Credit for taxes paid to another jurisdiction
  • You also cannot use I-file if you are required to file any of the following with your Maine return:
    • Schedule NR or NRH or
    • Form 2210ME, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals or
    • File as an injured or innocent spouse

      Injured or innocent spouse

      You may claim injured or innocent spouse for a Maine Revenue Services income tax debt only. (See federal Form 8379 or Form 8857 and related instructions.) If you have a married joint refund which may be set off to a state agency, including DHHS, you must submit your claim form directly to that agency. For more information, call the Compliance Division at (207)624-9595 or email compliance.tax@maine.gov.


Some lines require you to complete a worksheet. For an entry on these lines, click the appropriate worksheet button.

Once you enter data, I-file will compute all calculations for you, including your total tax amount and your refund or remaining tax balance due. The I-file tax calculation is based on the tax rate schedules provided under Maine law. Therefore, the I-file tax calculation may vary slightly from the amount in the tax tables provided in the Form 1040ME tax booklets.

Tax calculation

I-file uses the following tax rate schedules to determine the amount of tax you owe. The tax may differ slightly from the tax tables published in the tax booklets. To use the tax tables, you must file a paper Form 1040ME return.

TAX RATE SCHEDULES

For Single Individuals and Married Persons Filing Separate Returns
If the taxable income is: The Tax is:
Less than $22,200 5.80% of the taxable income
$22,200 but less than $52,600 $1,288 plus 6.75% of excess over $22,200
$52,600 or more $3,340 plus 7.15% of excess over $52,600
For Unmarried or Legally Separated Individuals Filing as Heads-of-Households
If the taxable income is: The Tax is:
Less than $33,300 5.80% of the taxable income
$33,300 but less than $78,900 $1,931 plus 6.75% of excess over $33,300
$78,900 or more $5,009 plus 7.15% of excess over $78,900
For Married Individuals and Surviving Spouses Filing Joint Returns
If the taxable income is: The Tax is:
Less than $44,450 5.80% of the taxable income
$44,450 but less than $105,200 $2,578 plus 6.75% of excess over $44,450
$105,200 or more $6,679 plus 7.15% of excess over $105,200

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The information you enter on each page will be saved after clicking the [Continue] button at the end of each page. If you do not click the [Continue] button, the data will not be saved.

While entering information, please follow these formatting requirements:

  • Money amounts: do not use commas, dollar signs, decimal points or cents. Enter whole dollars only. Round down to the next lower dollar any amount less than 50 cents. Round up to the next higher dollar any amount 50 cents or more.
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  • Social security numbers: do not include dashes(-) or slashes(/).
  • Employer identification numbers: do not include dashes(-) or slashes(/).
  • Enter all dates formatted as mm/dd/yyyy.

Problems?
If you have any problems or questions, please call us at (207)626-8475, weekdays, 9:00AM to 12:00PM, except holidays.

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Important: Except for certain people claiming the property tax fairness credit and/or the sales tax fairness credit, you must complete your federal tax return to complete your Maine tax return! For federal tax information and returns, including electronic filing options, go to www.irs.gov  

Property tax fairness credit (PTFC) and sales tax fairness credit (STFC)

The property tax fairness credit is a partial refund of property tax and/or rent paid on your principal residence during 2020. Qualified Maine residents can get a refund of as much as $750 ( $1,200 if 65 years of age or older).

Eligible homeowners or renters must meet all of the following requirements:

  • Were Maine residents during any part of tax year 2020;
  • Owned or rented a home in Maine during any part of tax year 2020 and lived in that home as a principal residence during the year;
  • Paid property tax on their principal residence during 2020 that was more than 5% of their 2020 total income or paid rent to live in their principal residence during the tax year that was more than 33.33% of their 2020 income; and
  • Federal total income plus nontaxable social security and railroad retirement benefits, tax exempt interest and certain business and capital losses was not more than the following amounts for your filing status and the number of qualifying children and dependents you claim:
If your filing status is AND Form 1040ME, line 13a is:
0 1 more than 1
Your income must be less than:
Single $42,000 $42,000 $42,000
Head of Household $54,000 $54,000 $67,000
Married filing Jointly or
Qualifying Widow(er) 		$54,000 $67,000 $67,000

Check Maine Property Tax Fairness / Maine Sales Tax Fairness credit for Maine residents and part-year residents only box only if:

  • You are filing Form 1040ME only to claim the property tax fairness credit and/or the sales tax fairness credit; and
  • You are not filing (or will not file) a federal income tax return for 2020

The sales tax fairness credit is a refundable tax credit up to $230 , depending on the number of qualifying children and dependents you claim if:

  • You were a Maine resident during any part of the tax year; and
  • Your total income during 2020 was not more than $27,100 if filing single; $42,900 if filing head of household; or, $53,200 if married filing jointly.
Note
  • You cannot claim either the property tax fairness credit or sales tax fairness credit if your filing status is married filing separately
  • You cannot claim the sales tax fairness credit if you are claimed as a dependent on another person's return.

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Instructions for filing 2020 Maine income tax forms and worksheets are available at Maine State Income Tax.

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