Your Maine residency status determines how Maine taxes your income and which forms may be required with your return. If you are unsure which residency status applies to you, review the descriptions below and choose the option that best matches your situation.
What Is a Domicile?
Your domicile is your permanent home. It is the place you intend to return to after being away for work, school, military service, travel, or any other reason.
Once established, your domicile generally remains the same until you take actions that demonstrate you have permanently moved to a new location. Simply living somewhere else temporarily does not change your domicile.
Determine Your Maine Residency Status
Resident
You are a Resident if:
- Maine was your domicile for the entire tax year; or
- You maintained a permanent home in Maine for the entire year and spent more than 183 days in Maine during the year.
Full-year residents generally report all taxable income, regardless of where it was earned.
Part-Year Resident
You are a Part-Year Resident if:
- You were domiciled in Maine for only part of the year; and
- You do not meet the requirements to be treated as a full-year resident.
This commonly applies if you moved into or out of Maine during the tax year. If you select Part-Year Resident in the program, enter the dates you were a Maine resident during the tax year.
Enter:
- The date your Maine residency began if you moved into Maine during the year, or
- The date your Maine residency ended if you moved out of Maine during the year.
Nonresident
You are a Nonresident if:
- You were not a Maine resident during the tax year; and
- You received income from Maine sources.
Examples of Maine-source income may include:
- Wages earned while working in Maine
- Income from a Maine business
- Rental income from Maine property
- Gain from the sale of Maine real estate
If you select Nonresident in the program, complete the Residency Information section of your Maine return.
Residency Information for Nonresidents
The Residency Information section is used to determine your domicile and residency status during the tax year. Depending on your situation, you may need to provide:
- The state or country where you were domiciled during the year.
- Military residency and duty station information, if applicable.
- The number of days spent in Maine.
- Information about Maine property ownership.
- Residency dates if you became a Maine resident or nonresident during the year.
To access this section in the program:
- Maine State Return
- Select the three dots (Edit)
- Residency Information
Safe Harbor Resident
A Safe Harbor Resident is someone whose domicile is Maine but who qualifies to be treated as a nonresident for Maine income tax purposes.
General Safe Harbor
You may qualify if:
- Maine was your domicile during the year;
- You did not maintain a permanent home in Maine;
- You maintained a permanent home outside Maine; and
- You spent no more than 30 days in Maine during the tax year.
If you qualify, Maine treats you as a nonresident for income tax purposes.
Foreign Safe Harbor
You may qualify if you:
- Spent at least 450 days in a foreign country during a 548-day period that falls partially or entirely within the tax year; and
- Meet Maine's additional eligibility requirements.
If you qualify, you are treated as a Safe Harbor Resident and taxed as a nonresident during the qualifying period.
Required Maine Forms
Depending on your residency status, Maine may require additional schedules with your return. Part-year residents, nonresidents, and safe harbor residents generally file:
- Form 1040ME
- Schedule NR or Schedule NRH
Related Articles