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

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603 (2026)

Exceptions

✓ current as of May 2026
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The excepted cases referred to in section 602 are the following.   [PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
1.  Personal property employed in trade.  All personal property employed in trade, in the erection of buildings or vessels or in the mechanic arts must be taxed in the place where so employed as long as the owner or the owner's employee, subcontractor or agent occupies any store, storehouse, shop, mill, wharf, landing place or shipyard in that place for the purpose of such employment.  
A. For the purposes of this subsection, "personal property employed in trade" includes both liquefied petroleum gas installations and industrial and medical gas installations, together with tanks or other containers used in connection with those installations.   [PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
B. [PL 1973, c. 592, §7 (RP).]
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
1-A.  Cargo trailers.  A cargo trailer must be taxed in the place of its primary location on April 1st, even though the cargo trailer may not be present in that place on April 1st.  
For purposes of this subsection, "primary location" means the place where the cargo trailer is usually based and where it regularly returns for repairs, supplies and activities related to its use.  
[PL 2017, c. 170, Pt. B, §5 (AMD).]
2.  Enumeration. 
[PL 2007, c. 627, §18 (RP).]
2-A.  Enumeration.  The following personal property must be taxed in the place where it is situated:  
A. Portable mills;   [PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
B. All store fixtures, office furniture, furnishings, fixtures and equipment;   [PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
C. Professional libraries, apparatus, implements and supplies;   [PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
D. Coin-operated vending or amusement devices;   [PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
E. All camper trailers, as defined in section 1481; and   [PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
F. Television and radio transmitting equipment.   [PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
[PL 2007, c. 627, §19 (NEW).]
3.  Nonresidents.  Personal property that is within the State and owned by persons residing out of the State must be taxed either to the owner, to the person possessing the personal property or to the person owning or occupying any store, storehouse, shop, mill, wharf, landing, shipyard or other place where such personal property is located.  
A. A lien is created on such property for the payment of the tax, which may be enforced by the tax collector to whom the tax is committed, by a sale of the property as provided.   [PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
B. A lien is created on such property on behalf of the person in possession, which that person may enforce, for the repayment of all sums by that person lawfully paid in discharge of the tax. If that person pays more than that person's proportionate part of such tax, or if that person's own goods or property are applied to the payment and discharge of the whole tax, that person may recover of the owner that owner's proper share of the tax.   [PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
4.  Domestic fowl raised for meat purposes or egg production. 
[PL 1973, c. 592, §11 (RP).]
5.  Mules, horses, neat cattle and domestic fowl. 
[PL 1973, c. 592, §11 (RP).]
6.  Belonging to minors or wards under guardianship.  Personal property belonging to minors under guardianship must be taxed to the guardian in the place where the guardian resides. The personal property of all other persons under guardianship must be taxed to the guardian in the place where the ward resides.  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
7.  Partners in business.  Personal property of partners in business, when subject to taxation under subsections 1 and 2‑A, may be taxed to the partners jointly under their partnership name; and in such cases they are jointly and severally liable for the tax.  
[RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. A, §126 (COR).]
8.  Owned by persons unknown.  Personal property owned by persons unknown must be taxed to the person having possession of the personal property. A lien is created on that personal property on behalf of the person in possession, which the possessor may enforce for the repayment of all sums by the possessor lawfully paid in discharge of the tax.  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
9.  Certain corporations.  The personal property of manufacturing, mining, smelting, agricultural and stock raising corporations, and of corporations organized for the purpose of buying, selling and leasing real estate, must be taxed to the corporation or to the persons having possession of such property in the place where situated, except as provided in subsections 1 and 10.  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD).]
10.  Tax situs.  The tax situs of tangible personal property is at the mining site if that property is:  
A. Owned, leased or otherwise subject to possessory control of a mining company; and   [PL 1981, c. 711, §7 (NEW).]
B. On route to or from, being transported to or from or destined to or from a mining site.   [PL 2025, c. 469, §8 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 469, §44 (AFF).]
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the tax situs of tangible personal property leased to a mining company is in the place where the property is situated.  
For the purposes of this subsection, the definitions of section 2855 apply.  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 469, §8 (AMD); PL 2025, c. 469, §44 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1967, c. 15, §1 (AMD). PL 1967, c. 90 (AMD). PL 1967, c. 480, §1 (AMD). PL 1971, c. 235, §2 (AMD). PL 1973, c. 592, §§7-11 (AMD). PL 1981, c. 106 (AMD). PL 1981, c. 711, §§6,7 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 776, §2 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 303 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 627, §§18, 19 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 170, Pt. B, §5 (AMD). RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. A, §126 (COR). PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §14 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 469, §8 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 469, §44 (AFF).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1969–1998 · leading case: City of Lewiston v. Tri-State Rubbish, Inc., 671 A.2d 955 (Me. 1996).
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City of Lewiston v. Tri-State Rubbish, Inc., 671 A.2d 955 (Me. 1996). · cites it 5× “Enumeration. Personal property enumerated in this subsection shall be taxed in the place where situated.”
Inhabitants of Farmington v. Hardy's Trailer Sales, Inc., 410 A.2d 221 (Me. 1980). “Thus, just as 36 M.R.S.A. § 603(2)(G) did prior to April 1,1971, section 551 took house trailers out of the general residency rule of section 602 and, except for those house trailers taxed as stock in trade, taxed them in the place where situated.”
United States v. Town of Pittsfield, 302 F. Supp. 316 (D. Me. 1969). “36 M.R.S.A. § 603. Exceptions * ifc * i}S 3.”
Hunter v. United States, 352 F. Supp. 5 (D. Me. 1972). “§ 552) and also creates a lien for taxes on personal property owned by non-residents (36 M.R.S.A. § 603(3)), the Maine statutes contain no comparable provision specifically creating a tax lien on personal property generally.”
Jordan-Milton Mach., Inc. v. City of Brewer, 609 A.2d 1166 (Me. 1992). · cites it 3× “On appeal, the City contends that the Superior Court erred in concluding that Jordan-Milton is a non-resident and that 36 M.R.S.A. § 603(3) (1990) establishes the tax situs of the machinery.”
Mobile Imaging Consortium v. City of Portland, 704 A.2d 415 (Me. 1998). · cites it 2× “) vacating the decision of the Portland Board of Assessment Review that two of Mobile Imaging Consortium’s mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units were not “professional apparatuses” pursuant to 36 M.R.S.A § 603(2)(D) (1990) and were therefore taxable to Mobile Imaging by…”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603(1) — 1 case
City of Lewiston v. Tri-State Rubbish, Inc., 671 A.2d 955 (Me. 1996). “Enumeration. Personal property enumerated in this subsection shall be taxed in the place where situated.”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603(2)(A) — 1 case
City of Lewiston v. Tri-State Rubbish, Inc., 671 A.2d 955 (Me. 1996). “Enumeration. Personal property enumerated in this subsection shall be taxed in the place where situated.”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603(2)(C) — 1 case
City of Lewiston v. Tri-State Rubbish, Inc., 671 A.2d 955 (Me. 1996). “Enumeration. Personal property enumerated in this subsection shall be taxed in the place where situated.”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603(2)(D) — 1 case
Mobile Imaging Consortium v. City of Portland, 704 A.2d 415 (Me. 1998). “) vacating the decision of the Portland Board of Assessment Review that two of Mobile Imaging Consortium’s mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units were not “professional apparatuses” pursuant to 36 M.R.S.A § 603(2)(D) (1990) and were therefore taxable to Mobile Imaging by…”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603(2)(G) — 1 case
Inhabitants of Farmington v. Hardy's Trailer Sales, Inc., 410 A.2d 221 (Me. 1980). “Thus, just as 36 M.R.S.A. § 603(2)(G) did prior to April 1,1971, section 551 took house trailers out of the general residency rule of section 602 and, except for those house trailers taxed as stock in trade, taxed them in the place where situated.”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 603(3) — 2 cases
Hunter v. United States, 352 F. Supp. 5 (D. Me. 1972). “§ 552) and also creates a lien for taxes on personal property owned by non-residents (36 M.R.S.A. § 603(3)), the Maine statutes contain no comparable provision specifically creating a tax lien on personal property generally.”
Jordan-Milton Mach., Inc. v. City of Brewer, 609 A.2d 1166 (Me. 1992). “On appeal, the City contends that the Superior Court erred in concluding that Jordan-Milton is a non-resident and that 36 M.R.S.A. § 603(3) (1990) establishes the tax situs of the machinery.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.