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Nevada Sales Tax Guide
🎲🎰🤑 Vegas, baby! Nevada is, of course, home to much more than the (in)famous neon city of excess. But as engines of commerce go, the Las Vegas...
🦞🌲🦞 Maine, known as the Pinetree state, is the only monosyllabic state in our union and also the only state to border only one other state. Far out! Additionally, we get 90% of our sweet, sweet lobster supply from Maine (this will only seem insignificant if you’ve never had a lobster roll). Many small businesses thrive out of this little state that packs a big punch! If you’re one of the many small business owners proud to call Maine home, you’ll need to comply with Maine's sales tax laws to keep the party going. No worries! We have assembled this all-in-one guide for sales tax so that you can meet the sales tax compliance requirements for a small business in Maine.
After reading this guide, you will have learned:
If, after reading, you still have any questions to help you determine your tax sales obligations in Maine and how to fulfill them, we are here for your small business bookkeeping needs!
✅ Do you need to get in touch with the Maine Revenue Services?
✅ Are you uncertain about whether to visit, call them, or contact them through their website?
✅ Do you wonder what information you should have ready before you contact them?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, please read onward, as we have just the information you need! :)
The Maine Revenue Services is reachable by phone at (207) 624-9693.
You can also shoot a message to them by email, or you may visit their only physical location in Augusta. If you are hoping for the fastest response, our suggestion is that you call rather than send a message or visit in person.
When you do call the Maine Revenue Services, you will want to have some information on hand. It will save time to have the following information easily accessible before you call:
If you are calling on behalf of an individual or a business, or having a third party call on your behalf, you must have a Maine Power of Attorney (form 2848-ME, PDF) signed before you call or else you will be wasting your time; they can only help if you have a completed form.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact us so we can assist you with your sales tax needs.
Are you a new business selling tangible property in Maine? If yes, you are going to want to register your business with the Maine Revenue Services so that you can pay your sales tax on time.
You need not fret as this is a relatively simple process and one for which you’re about to be fully prepared. We are going to outline the steps below so you are totally ready to register for your sales tax license.
Here we go! Remember...
Preparation is key.
Let’s get started!
You can apply or register for a Maine sales tax permit by visiting the Maine Revenue Services and following the instructions provided.
Maine also has an old school paper based form (PDF) you can print and mail in, but this is going to be a slower setup and with greater possibility for errors. We don’t recommend it, but wanted to make the option available in case it suits the needs of someone out there.
Great question!
Before you sign up for Maine sales tax permit you’ll want the following information on hand:
Don’t forget! Preparation is key. When you have all this information ready, you can go online and register for your permit at the Maine Business Tax Registration Application website.
You’re gonna love this: Maine charges exactly zero dollars and zero cents for a business to register to pay sales tax :) No price better than free, we say!
Quite right, yes! You will need one, but if you don’t already have one and need to get a new EIN, it’s a painless process. You can register for a Federal EIN right here :).
You may need to apply to some of the following agencies:
You’ll want to give this some thought and do a little research or investigating; every business is unique and, as such, there are different rules, regulations, and laws that may apply.
We suggest contacting the Maine Revenue Services to verify which additional government agencies you may be required to register with.
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Huzzah!!!
You are now prepared to register for your Maine sales tax permit in Maine.
Let’s summarize what we have covered:
Registering for your Maine sales tax permit will be stress free as long as you are prepared. We recommend organizing all the essential information in a folder, preferably using a system like Box.com or Dropbox (something we’re happy to handle for our customers).
By now, you may have already contacted the Maine Revenue Services and applied for a Maine sales tax permit.
Once you have a license to collect and remit sales taxes in Maine, you will probably be asking yourself two questions:
We are going to go over some common questions that our clients have asked. We believe these questions will help you appreciate the nuances of taxable goods so you can be confident in fulfilling your tax obligations.
Let’s start with the first question…
The following items are all taxable in the state of Maine:
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Let’s now review some of our clients’ frequently asked questions:
To best understand your tax obligations, new businesses need to consider how they are doing business and the type of relationships they have with buyers and any third parties to their transactions.
Let’s discuss some questions that will help you understand the nature of your small business and the subsequent tax implications.
Maine is a destination-based sales tax state, which simply means you charge sales tax based on the location of the purchaser rather than that of the seller. Maine keeps it fairly simple compared to other states by not permitting cities or localities to bump the rate, which means only one rate state-wide.
Protip: Charge the customer tax based on their location.
Having nexus, also known as "sufficient business presence,” with Maine means your business has established a taxing connection with a state. When this happens, you are required to collect and remit sales tax in Maine because you created a sales tax Nexus.
Even if your business maintains its main headquarters in another state, you may still have to charge and pay sales tax to the Maine Revenue Services even if you never step foot in Maine.
So, how do you create sales tax nexus in Maine?
A business establishes a nexus in Maine by:
Let’s talk a bit more specifically about where your goods are stored such as in the instance of an Amazon warehouse.
No, Maine has no distribution centers at this time.
This information is relevant for our customers who sell products on Amazon or are recognized as Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) sellers. When Amazon stores products in one of its fulfillment centers in any state including, it triggers a sales tax requirement.
Yes! Maine now has an economic nexus law. What does this mean? As of July 1st, 2018 remote sellers are liable to pay sales tax beyond a certain threshold. This means even businesses without a physical presence or traditional nexus can be required to register for, collect, and pay sales taxes.
The threshold for registering is having a cumulative gross revenue of over $100,000 in sales to Maine purchasers or 200 separate transactions.
For more information see the Maine’s remote sellers page.
Yes! Maine has click-through nexus for remote sellers. This means if your business is involved in affiliate marketing sales to Maine purchasers, you may be liable to pay sales tax even if you aren’t located in the state of Maine.
No, Maine is not at this time a member of the SSP. However there has been legislative progress towards that end so it may be joining soon!
You and your business can be better equipped to avoid situations like paying fines, paying back taxes that you did know you had to pay in the first place, or facing an audit by the tax authorities in Maine.
By now you know if you are a business that has established a nexus with Maine. So you have an understanding about whether, or when, you are required to collect sales tax. Knowing this is just half the battle! Now, we are going to help you with the next half of the battle: how to navigate the process of collecting taxes.
Let’s review some common questions our clients have asked regarding their Maine Sales Tax obligations.
After reading this, you will be better equipped to determine when --and when not-- to collect sales tax in Maine.
Because Maine is a destination-based sales tax state with no localities, your business charges a single flat rate throughout the state. You may incorporate or part out the tax into the final price at your discretion, but you must post notice either on the sales slip or on your premise that sales tax is incorporated.
Maine’s state-wide sales tax rate is 5.5% for tangible goods and 6% for their Service Provider Tax at the time of this article’s writing. However, since sales tax rates may change, we shall refer you to check out the Maine Revenue Services tax rate lookup page. Any change will be reflected on that page.
It always helps to be accurate and up to date with this type of information! :)
Here is a sample list of exemptions:
Maine has far too many exempt items to list here, but they go into greater detail on page 7 of this PDF.
At this point, you should know what products are exempt from sales tax in Maine. You also want to know who may be exempt.
Under Maine law, the type of buyer or the way the goods will be used can qualify can buyer for a sales tax exemption. A good example of this is a merchant purchasing goods for resale, aka a wholesaler.
Other common examples of an exempt buyer may include:
Note that a non-profit or contractor status doesn’t necessarily immediately confer tax exempt status. Maine keeps a list of tax-exempt organizations..
Purchasers who are tax exempt must have completed an exemption certificate and must present their completed exemption certificate at the time of purchase. It is then incumbent upon the seller to hold on to this exemption certificate. Failure to do so may leave you unable to justify tax exempt sales.
Maine provides a website to determine whether an exemption certificate is valid. Note that determining the validity via the website doesn’t reduce the requirement to hold on to the certificate for bookkeeping purposes.
Hmm... Obviously this issue is best to be avoided! Imagine finding out you’ll be audited and discovering you cannot produce an exemption certificate for a buyer! That nightmare scenario would mean you could be held liable to pay all taxes on behalf of the buyer. This is a bad scene and can be avoided by taking proper care with your paperwork… which happens to be one of our specialties! :)
Negative, the tax man never sleeps in Maine.
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We have now covered who you need to collect sales taxes from, how to determine whether goods for sale are deemed taxable, what goods and services fall under tax exemptions, who is eligible for tax exemption certificates, and, finally, the process of collecting sales tax in Maine state.
Now that we’re this far down the rabbit hole there’s only one thing we need to learn about next… how to pay the piper!
It is time to talk about filing and paying your sales taxes in Maine. In this section, We are going to cover the following frequently asked questions from our clients:
By the time you finish reading this, you will feel confident enough to file and pay your Maine Sales Tax.
Maine sales tax payments are due based on the filing interval. Filing intervals are based on the company’s tax liability [detailed ahead, be patient! :p]
Filing Interval |
Due day |
Annually |
No later than January 15th |
Semi-Annually |
No later than the 15th of January and July |
Quarterly |
No later than the 15th of the month following the quarter |
Monthly |
No later than the 15th day of the month following the month being reported |
The thresholds for filing intervals are based on the expected or actual tax liability owed:
Tax Amount Owed monthly* |
Filing interval |
Less than $50 |
Annually |
Less than $100 |
Semi-Annually |
Between than $100 and $599 |
Quarterly |
More than $600 a month |
Monthly |
*anticipated if new business, actual if existing company
Not sure how to determine your tax filing frequency?
You can review your eCommerce or Point-of-Sale Software to see the volume of sales you have generated.
Don't worry though! The state will let you know when your due dates change. :)
Keep an eye out for notices in your mail from the State of Maine so that you don't miss any shift in deadlines.
The deadline is moved to the next business day, typically the Monday following the weekend or the day after the holiday. Where possible, we always suggest filing well before the holiday, of course ;).
Paper: Complete form ST-7 (PDF) and mail to the address on the form.
Electronic: File form ST-7 online and submit payment via EFT.
Correct the return via the Maine SalesTax site or by filling out the same form form ST-7 (PDF) and make sure to select Amended return. In either case, simply fill out the amended return as though it was the only one you’re submitting.
If you were required to collect sales taxes and failed to do so for whatever reason, that’s a big no-no! Ultimately the business will be held liable for the due tax. Always be sure to collect sales tax at the point of sale. Attempting to collect after the fact will be time consuming and most likely unsuccessful.
Protip: You are still responsible for remitting sales taxes even if you failed to collect them.
Maine Revenue Services has two different types penalty rates that can be applied to taxes that are due. Whichever is the highest penalty is the one which will apply, of course:
Yes, Maine requires businesses file a “Zero-Tax” return even when they have no sales during a taxing period.
Yes, Maine requires businesses to file a “Final sales tax” return when closing their doors.
No! For dessert, you get more broccoli 🥦, and be grateful! ;p
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Now that we covered all our bases for filing and paying sales taxes in the state of Maine, you should feel more at ease about the process.
Some things to remember:
Now, you are ready to file and pay your sales tax in Maine. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact us.
Please note: This blog is for informational purposes only and the information is accurate as of 7/15/2019. If you want legal advice on sales tax law for your business, please contact a Sales Tax professional. Keep in mind that sales tax regulations and laws are subject to change at any time. While we strive to keep our blog current, this blog possibly may be out of date by the time you review it.
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