Maine Tax Filling

Filing Your Maine State Taxes

It is tax season again! Figuring out and filing your tax forms can be intimidating – but there is help. Here you will find answers, forms and more that will make your paperwork easier, faster and less stressful. The information below will help you determine your residency status, find the correct forms you need and give you other information you want to get started.

State income tax returns for 2012 are due April 15.

Comparing Your Options in Online Tax Software

TurboTax and H&R Block are the most prominent online tax software providers for those who do their own taxes. All are appropriate for many types of personal and business tax preparation. They differ in pricing and each has its own positives and negatives. So check them out, compare and read the reviews to pick the one that’s best for you.

TurboTax offers FREE Maine State tax filing services. Click on the provider to find out if you qualify.

Maine Tax Forms

• Maine Schedule 3 and A - Maine Adjustments To Tax
• Maine Schedule CP - Maine Voluntary Contributions and Park Pass Purchases Schedule
• Maine Schedule NRH - Maine Non-resident (Married Filing Separately) Tax Calculation Schedule
• Maine Form 1040EXT-ME - Maine Payment Voucher For Those Who Elect to Have An Extension to File
• Maine Form 1040S-ME - Maine Individual Income Tax Return (Short)
• Maine Tax Booklet - Maine Individual Income Tax Booklet for 1040ME
• Maine Schedule 1 and 2 - Maine Income Modifications and Itemized/Pension Income Deduction Schedules
• Maine Form 1040ME - Maine Amended Individual Income Tax Return

Determine Your Resident Status to File the Right Forms

What state income tax return you need to fill out and file to the state of Maine is based on your legal residency, or where your permanent, official “home address” was during 2012. Maine categorizes its residents four ways: full-time residents, part-year residents, Maine residents who worked in another state, nonresidents of another state who worked in Maine, and, nonresidents who sold real estate or property located in Maine. (Note below that there’s a special “safe haven” category for nonresidents.)

Maine Residents

You are a Maine resident and need to file a state income tax return if your legal home address was in Maine for the whole year. You are also considered a legal resident of Maine if you had a home in Maine and lived there for more than 183 days during the calendar year. Residents who have a tax liability in Maine or who filed a federal income tax return are required to file a state return with Maine. To claim any refunds from Maine, you have to file a state income tax return. If you earned less than $2,000 last year, you are exempt from the Maine Minimum Tax and you claimed yourself as a dependent you are not required to file a state return. Maine residents file Form 1040-ME or Form 1040S. You can download the 2012 Maine Individual Income Tax Booklets for Forms 1040-ME and 1040SE-ME above if you need more information.

Part-Year Maine Residents

If only lived in Maine for part of the year, or you moved to or from Maine, you are considered a part-year resident. File either Form 1040-ME or Form 1040S-ME for your part-year resident return and declare any income you earned while you were a Maine resident. You must include Schedule NR or Schedule NRH to report income earned in Maine for the time you were a resident of another state. You can download the 2012 Maine Individual Income Tax Booklet for Form 1040-ME above for more information on how to fill out the Schedules or refer to the instructions on the Schedules themselves.

Maine Resident – Worked in Another State

If you are a Maine resident you need to file a Maine income tax return even if all your income was earned out of state. Maine taxes all income that its residents make no matter where it was earned. You can avoid dual taxation if the other state taxes that information by applying for a credit that Maine offers residents for taxes paid to other jurisdictions. Use Schedule 3 to figure out the amount of the credit, then enter this amount on both Schedule A and the tax credit section of Form 1040-ME (page 1). The amount of the credit may not be more than the taxes owed to Maine.

File separate Schedule 3 Forms for each jurisdiction to which you paid taxes if there is more than one, then add all of those amounts together to calculate the total credit.

You can download the 2012 Maine Individual Income Tax Booklet for Form 1040-ME above for more information.

Nonresidents: Worked or Sold Property in Maine – but Lived Elsewhere

Nonresidents who earned income in Maine that has made them liable for taxes are required to file a nonresident tax return with Maine. You are not required to file a nonresident return if you worked fewer than 10 days and the only income you made was for compensation for personal services. Download the 2012 Maine Individual Income Tax Booklet for Form 1040-ME above for more information on what Maine considers taxable income. File your nonresident tax return using Form 1040-ME or Form 1040S-ME and if needed include either Schedule NR or Schedule NRH. You can download the 2012 Maine Individual Income Tax Booklet for Form 1040-ME above for more information on how to fill out the Schedules or refer to the instructions on the Schedules themselves.

Maine also has a special filing option, called a “Safe Harbor” resident, which applies to people who lived in Maine, but were there for fewer than 30 days while still maintaining a permanent domicile in another state. They also have this option for “Foreign Safe Harbor” residents who lived in another country for 450 days in a 548 day period. Both safe harbor residents file as nonresidents.