Local Columns
Maine Property Tax and Rent Refunds are still available
By Sen. Peter Bowman
Attention Maine residents! The deadline is nearing for the Maine Property Tax and Rent Refund Program and you may be eligible for a refund up to $2,000. In fact, over 200,000 households in this state qualify for a refund, so chances are pretty good that you may be one of them. However, applications must be filed by May 31 of this year in order to see if you are eligible.Before filling out an application it is important to note you must have been a Maine resident for all of 2005. Also, if you live alone and your 2005 household income was $77,000 or less, or if you and your spouse's or dependent's income for 2005 was under $102,000, you may qualify. Additionally, if your 2005 property tax was more than 4 percent of your 2005 household income or your rent paid was more than 20 percent of your income in 2005 you could qualify.
For seniors, exceptions are made if a single household income is below $12,700 or $15,700 of less for those living with a spouse or dependent. Complete guidelines are available with any application.
In the last application cycle that ran from Aug. 1, 2005, through May 31, 2006, the state of Maine paid out more than $43 million to homeowners and renters who applied for a refund, according to Maine Revenue Services. The average Maine homeowner or renter received $469 towards reducing their property taxes, while some received checks as high as $2,000.
The previous Legislature expanded the program to include more than 200,000 Maine homeowners and renters and 92,000 Mainers took advantage of the program that ran from August 2005 to May 2006.
Since last August, the Maine Property Tax and Rent Refund Program - commonly referred to as "Circuit Breaker" - has provided tax relief to many Maine residents. However, there are still many more Mainers out there that could qualify for a tax refund. Currently in our Seacoast community over 475 Kittery residents have applied and qualified for a refund totaling over $314,000 in tax relief. In York nearly 450 residents qualified for tax refunds of roughly $280,000. Eliot and South Berwick have 300 to 315 qualified applicants with refund amounts totaling $180,000 to $190,000. Rounding out Senate District 1 is Ogunquit with 130 refunds equaling over $100,000.
Money for the "Circuit Breaker" program is still available. It is important to take advantage of this opportunity and apply to find out if you qualify for a refund. Fortunately there is still time, but the deadline is fast approaching!
To receive an application, please contact my office at the State House and I will be happy to send the application right to your home. Call 287-1515 or toll free at (800) 423-6900 and mention you would like a "Circuit Breaker" application.
Sen. Peter Bowman represents York County in Senate District 1 which includes the communities of Eliot, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick and York. Sen. Bowman is chairman of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee and serves as a member of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee.
