Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 36
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 1811 (2026)

Sales tax

✓ current as of May 2026
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(CONTAINS TEXT WITH VARYING EFFECTIVE DATES)
1.  Tax imposed; rates.  A tax is imposed on the value of all tangible personal property, products transferred electronically and taxable services sold at retail in this State. Value is measured by the sale price.  
A. For sales occurring on or after October 1, 2013 and before January 1, 2016, the rate of tax is 5.5% on the value of all tangible personal property and taxable services, except the rate of tax is:  
(1) Eight percent on the value of prepared food;  
(2) Eight percent on the value of liquor sold in licensed establishments as defined in Title 28‑A, section 2, subsection 15, in accordance with Title 28‑A, chapter 43;  
(3) Eight percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp; and  
(4) Ten percent on the value of rental for a period of less than one year of:  
(a) An automobile;  
(b) A pickup truck or van with a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 pounds rented from a person primarily engaged in the business of renting automobiles; or  
(c) A loaner vehicle that is provided other than to a motor vehicle dealer's service customers pursuant to a manufacturer's or dealer's warranty.   [PL 2019, c. 607, Pt. B, §2 (AMD).]
B. For sales occurring on or after January 1, 2016 and before May 2, 2018, the rate of tax is 5.5% on the value of all tangible personal property and taxable services, except the rate of tax is:  
(1) Eight percent on the value of prepared food;  
(2) Eight percent on the value of liquor sold in licensed establishments as defined in Title 28‑A, section 2, subsection 15, in accordance with Title 28‑A, chapter 43;  
(3) Nine percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp; and  
(4) Ten percent on the value of rental for a period of less than one year of:  
(a) An automobile;  
(b) A pickup truck or van with a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 pounds rented from a person primarily engaged in the business of renting automobiles; or  
(c) A loaner vehicle that is provided other than to a motor vehicle dealer's service customers pursuant to a manufacturer's or dealer's warranty.   [PL 2019, c. 607, Pt. B, §3 (AMD).]
C. For sales occurring on or after May 2, 2018 and before October 1, 2019, the rate of tax is 5.5% on the value of all tangible personal property and taxable services, except the rate of tax is:  
(1) Eight percent on the value of prepared food;  
(2) Eight percent on the value of liquor sold in licensed establishments as defined in Title 28‑A, section 2, subsection 15, in accordance with Title 28‑A, chapter 43;  
(3) Nine percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp;  
(4) Ten percent on the value of rental for a period of less than one year of:  
(a) An automobile;  
(b) A pickup truck or van with a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 pounds rented from a person primarily engaged in the business of renting automobiles; or  
(c) A loaner vehicle that is provided other than to a motor vehicle dealer's service customers pursuant to a manufacturer's or dealer's warranty; and  
(5) Ten percent on the value of adult use cannabis and adult use cannabis products beginning on the first day of the calendar month in which adult use cannabis and adult use cannabis products may be sold in the State by a cannabis establishment licensed to conduct retail sales pursuant to Title 28‑B, chapter 1.   [PL 2019, c. 607, Pt. B, §4 (AMD); PL 2021, c. 669, §5 (REV).]
D. For sales occurring on or after October 1, 2019, the rate of tax is 5.5% on the value of all tangible personal property and taxable services, except the rate of tax is:  
(1) Eight percent on the value of prepared food;  
(2) Eight percent on the value of liquor sold in licensed establishments as defined in Title 28‑A, section 2, subsection 15, in accordance with Title 28‑A, chapter 43 and liquor sold for on-premises consumption by a licensed brewery, small brewery, tenant brewery, winery, small winery, tenant winery, distillery or small distillery pursuant to Title 28‑A, section 1355‑A, subsection 2, paragraph B;  
(3) Nine percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp;  
(4) Ten percent on the value of rental for a period of less than one year of:  
(a) An automobile; or  
(c) A loaner vehicle that is provided other than to a motor vehicle dealer's service customers pursuant to a manufacturer's or dealer's warranty; and  
(5) (TEXT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1/01/26) Ten percent on the value of adult use cannabis, adult use cannabis products and, if sold by a person to an individual who is not a qualifying patient, cannabis and cannabis products beginning on the first day of the calendar month in which adult use cannabis and adult use cannabis products may be sold in the State by a cannabis establishment licensed to conduct retail sales pursuant to Title 28‑B, chapter 1.  
(5) (TEXT EFFECTIVE 1/01/26) Before January 1, 2026, 10% on the value of adult use cannabis, adult use cannabis products and, if sold by a person to an individual who is not a qualifying patient, cannabis and cannabis products beginning on the first day of the calendar month in which adult use cannabis and adult use cannabis products may be sold in the State by a cannabis establishment licensed to conduct retail sales pursuant to Title 28‑B, chapter 1. For sales occurring on or after January 1, 2026, the applicable rate of tax under this subparagraph is 14%.   [PL 2025, c. 87, §7 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. F, §1 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. F, §5 (AFF).]
[PL 2025, c. 87, §7 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. F, §1 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. F, §5 (AFF).]
2.  Public utility sales; tax added to rates.  The tax imposed upon the sale and distribution of gas, water or electricity by any public utility, the rates for which sale and distribution are established by the Public Utilities Commission, must be added to the rates so established.  
[PL 2019, c. 401, Pt. B, §16 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1965, c. 362, §6 (AMD). PL 1967, c. 71 (AMD). P&SL 1967, c. 191, §D1 (AMD). PL 1967, c. 544, §92 (AMD). PL 1967, c. 544, §112 (RP). PL 1969, c. 295, §2 (AMD). PL 1973, c. 766, §2 (AMD). PL 1977, c. 198, §6 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 859, §§M7,M13 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 783, §5 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 497, §40 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 533, §§10,14 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 588, §B2 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 871, §16 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 528, §§XX1,2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 528, §§XX7,8,RRR (AFF). PL 1991, c. 591, §§XX1,2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 591, §§XX7,8 (AFF). PL 1993, c. 410, §§LLL1,KKKK1 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 410, §LLL5 (AFF). PL 1993, c. 471, §3 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 701, §§6,7 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 701, §10 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 5, §F1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 5, §F2 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 281, §§18,19 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 281, §42 (AFF). PL 1999, c. 401, §§X1-3 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 401, §X5 (AFF). PL 1999, c. 414, §23 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 488, §11 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 439, §TTTT2 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 439, §TTTT3 (AFF). PL 2003, c. 510, §C12 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 510, §C13 (AFF). PL 2003, c. 673, §V23 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 673, §V29 (AFF). PL 2007, c. 410, §5 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 410, §6 (AFF). PL 2007, c. 438, §48 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 444, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 627, §51 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 627, §96 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 209, §4 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 209, §5 (AFF). PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. M, §2 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. N, §2 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 588, Pt. E, §11 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. OOOO, §5 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. OOOO, §7 (AFF). PL 2015, c. 300, Pt. A, §25 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 409, Pt. D, §2 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 231, Pt. A, §10 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 401, Pt. B, §16 (RPR). PL 2019, c. 607, Pt. B, §§2-5 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 578, §4 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 658, §286 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 669, §5 (REV). PL 2023, c. 643, Pt. H, §23 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 643, Pt. H, §29 (AFF). PL 2023, c. 673, §22 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 673, §28 (AFF). PL 2025, c. 87, §7 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. F, §1 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. F, §5 (AFF).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1967–2023 · leading case: Jackson Advert. Corp. v. State Tax Assessor, 551 A.2d 1365 (Me. 1988).
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Jackson Advert. Corp. v. State Tax Assessor, 551 A.2d 1365 (Me. 1988). · cites it 4× “36 M.R.S.A. § 1811 (1978). [4] The tax base is the sale price and includes the cost of labor and services that are a part of the sale.”
Cmty. Telecomm. Corp. v. State Tax Assessor, 684 A.2d 424 (Me. 1996). · cites it 4× “36 M.R.S.A. § 1811 imposes a tax on the "value of all .”
Flik Int'l Corp. v. State Tax Assessor, 2002 ME 176 (Me. 2002). · cites it 3× “” 36 M.R.S.A. § 1811 (Supp.2002). Value is measured by the sale price of the property.”
Apex Custom Lease Corp. v. State Tax Assessor, 677 A.2d 530 (Me. 1996). · cites it 3× “§ 1752(17-A) (1990), and thus the rental payments it receives on that equipment are not subject to a sales tax pursuant to 36 M.R.S.A. § 1811 (Supp.1995). We affirm the judgment.”
Apple Inc. v. State Tax Assessor, 2021 ME 8 (Me. 2021). · cites it 2× “” 36 M.R.S. § 1811 (2013). 2 “Value is measured by the sale price” of the property sold.”
Seacoast RV, Inc. v. Sawdran, LLC, 2013 ME 6 (Me. 2013). · cites it 2× “§ 1752(11)(B)(10) (2012) (providing that the term “[r]etail sale” does not include sales “to a retailer that has been issued a resale certificate pursuant to section 1754-B, subsection 2-B” (quotation marks omitted)); 36 M.R.S. § 1811 (2012) (imposing a sales tax “on the value…”
Enerquin Air, Inc. v. State Tax Assessor, 670 A.2d 926 (Me. 1996). “36 M.R.S.A. § 1811 (Supp.1995). A “retail sale” is “any sale of tangible personal property in the ordinary course of business for any purpose other than for resale, except resale as a casual sale, in the form of tangible personal property.”
John Swenson Granite, Inc. v. State Tax Assessor, 685 A.2d 425 (Me. 1996). “Pursuant to 36 M.R.SA § 1811 (1990 & Supp.1995), a sales tax is imposed on the “value of all tangible personal property and taxable services sold at retail in this State.”
Katz v. State Tax Assessor, 472 A.2d 428 (Me. 1984). “The Court denied the Assessor’s motion for findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether the sales of the floor coverings occurred in Maine or New Hampshire and whether, at the time of such sales, the floor coverings constituted real or personal property, and this appeal…”
Flippo v. L.L. Bean, Inc., 898 A.2d 942 (Me. 2006). “” 36 M.R.S. § 1811 (2005). “ ‘Sale price’ means the total amount of a retail sale valued in money, whether received in money or otherwise.”
Debra Morgan et al. v. Erik S. Townsend, 2023 ME 62 (Me. 2023). “36 M.R.S. § 1811(1)(D)(3) (2023) (sales tax assessed at “[n]ine percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp”).”
Bangor-Hydro Elec. Co. v. Johnson, 226 A.2d 371 (Me. 1967). “The Act (36 M.R.S.A. § 1811) imposes a tax “on the value of all tangible personal property, * * * sold at retail in this State.”
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— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 1811(1)(D)(3) — 1 case
Debra Morgan et al. v. Erik S. Townsend, 2023 ME 62 (Me. 2023). “36 M.R.S. § 1811(1)(D)(3) (2023) (sales tax assessed at “[n]ine percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp”).”
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