Frequently Asked Questions

From time to time, confusion exists as to who actually should receive a property tax bill.

State of Maine law clearly states that each property must be assessed to the last known owner of record as of April 1st of each year.

Per city policy, we do not mail tax bills to banks, mortgage companies, or any other third party. Our Tax Collector does produce electronic reports for mortgage holders who ask for billing information, but they do not get your bill.

If your taxes are paid by a mortgage company or other third party, you are responsible for forwarding the tax bill to them.

If the sale of a property occurs before April 1st, there should be no confusion as to the owner of record. The City of South Portland will receive notice from the Registry of Deeds that the property has been sold and will receive the Transfer Tax form from the State usually within 60 days of closing. Once we have receipt of these notices, we will assess the new owner of the property. The owner of record will get their own tax bill for the ensuing year.

This is when things may get confusing. If you owned your home as of April 1st, we assess you for the entire tax bill. The assessment of these taxes in your name creates a liability. Therefore, it is very common (at the closing of a property sale) for the April 1st owner to request the new owner prorate and pay the tax bill based on the city's fiscal year since the new owner receives the benefit of home ownership balance of the fiscal year.

This proration of taxes has been going on for years and in most cases works fine. A word of caution to the seller: the agreement of proration of taxes is a civil contract and will not shift your liability to the new owner. The new owner's liability starts April 1st of the following year. If the current taxes are not paid, the Tax Collector must file a lien in the old owner's (seller's) name because they were the owner of record as of April 1st. Our Tax Collector will make every effort possible to notify both parties as to any past due taxes prior to the formal lien process.

It would be precautionary to make sure the new owner pays the taxes he or she agreed to in the civil contract. Remember - it is you, the seller, whose good credit is on the line!

Tax Year

The tax year is easy to understand as it is really one day, April 1st of each year. Maine law refers to this day as the tax year, but many other states call it the "tax date". This date (April 1st) is used for three primary reasons:

1. Sets the ownership of record date
2. Sets the valuation date
3. Sets the taxable status of property and if any exemptions apply

Fiscal Year

South Portland's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. These dates are important for many reasons, but what is most concerning to a property owner is: "How much is my tax bill and how is it calculated?"

The tax rate for South Portland is set in July. The tax rate is the dollar amount per thousand of valuation. You can calculate your tax bill by multiplying the total taxable value of your property by the current tax rate. This is your tax liability for the fiscal year July 1 to June 30.

Example

Note: The calculation formula below is for illustration purposes only; you will need to use the current tax rate and property value in order to calculate your correct tax bill amount:

1. Total Property Assessed Value: $200,000
2. Homestead Exemption Value: Less $10,000
3. Equals "Taxable" Assessed Value: $190,000
4. Taxable Assessed Value: $190,000
5. Example Tax Rate: ($18.30 ÷ $1000 = 0.01830)
6. 190,000 ×0.01830 = $3,477 Tax Bill Amount

South Portland's budget is set each year by the City Council. Property taxes in South Portland are billed in quarterly installments (due in August, November, February, and May).