Your Maine residency status determines how Maine taxes your income and which state forms you may need to file. In most cases, your status depends on where your permanent home (domicile) was located during the tax year and how much time you spent in Maine.
What Is a Domicile?
Your domicile is your permanent home. It's the place you intend to return to whenever you're away for work, school, military service, travel, or any other reason.
Once you establish a domicile, it generally stays the same until you take clear steps to make a new location your permanent home. Simply living somewhere else temporarily, even for an extended period, doesn't automatically change your domicile.
Determine Your Maine Residency Status
Resident
You're considered a Maine resident if either of the following applies:
- Maine was your domicile for the entire tax year; or
- You maintained a permanent place of abode 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're a part-year resident if:
- You were domiciled in Maine for only part of the year; and
- You don't qualify as a full-year resident.
This commonly applies when you move into or out of Maine during the year.
If you select Part-Year Resident in the program, enter:
- The date your Maine residency began if you moved into Maine; or
- The date your Maine residency ended if you moved out of Maine.
Nonresident
You're 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 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 helps determine your domicile and residency status. Depending on your situation, you may need to provide:
- The state or country where you were domiciled
- Military residency and duty station information
- The number of days spent in Maine
- Information about Maine property ownership
- Residency dates if your status changed during the year
To access this section in the program:
- Open Maine State Return
- Select the three dots (Edit)
- Select Residency Information
Safe Harbor Resident
A Safe Harbor Resident is someone whose domicile remains 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 place of abode in Maine;
- You maintained a permanent place of abode outside Maine; and
- You spent no more than 30 days in Maine during the tax year.
If you meet these requirements, 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'll be treated as a Safe Harbor Resident and taxed as a nonresident during the qualifying period.
Required Maine Forms
Part-year residents, nonresidents, and safe harbor residents generally must file:
- Form 1040ME
- Schedule NR or Schedule NRH
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