Educational information only, not tax advice. Rules and figures change — confirm your situation with a qualified Maine tax professional before filing.
Maine · USA · Short-term rental taxes
Short-Term Rental Taxes in Maine
Short term rental taxes in Maine: a single 9% state sales tax on lodging that Airbnb collects, no local lodging tax, town registration rules such as Portland's, and Maine income tax of 5.8%–7.15%.
The 30-Second Answer
- Short term rental taxes in Maine come down to one lodging rate: the 9% sales tax on the rental of living quarters, charged on the rent plus cleaning and guest fees. Maine towns do not add a local lodging tax.
- Transient rental platforms such as Airbnb must register with Maine Revenue Services (MRS) and collect the 9% on the bookings they handle. For direct bookings you register as a retailer and file Form ST-7 by the 15th of the following month (MRS may assign less frequent filing).
- Casual rental rule: if you own one rental unit and rent it for fewer than 15 days in a calendar year, you are not a retailer — no tax and no registration. Stays of 28+ continuous days can be exempt when they meet MRS's primary-residence or work/school conditions.
- Net rent is taxed by Maine at 5.8%, 6.75% or 7.15% (2026 brackets), with a 2% surcharge above $1 million of Maine taxable income ($1.5 million joint). Nonresident owners report Maine rent on Form 1040ME with Schedule NR, due April 15, 2027.
Deductions
What Maine STR Hosts Can Deduct
Maine starts from your federal adjusted gross income, so the expenses you deduct on Schedule E or C also reduce your Maine tax.
The 9% sales tax a platform collects is not your income. For a camp or cottage you also use yourself, split costs between rental and personal days under IRC §280A — and remember the federal 14-day rule if you rent it for 14 days or fewer.
Filing Calendar
Key Dates & Filing Calendar
Direct-booking hosts file sales tax monthly unless MRS assigns another schedule; Portland hosts also renew each year; income taxes follow the April calendar.
Watch the 15-day line: a single unit rented for 14 days a year is a casual rental with no Maine sales tax, but the 15th rental day in a calendar year makes you a retailer who must register with Maine Revenue Services.
Maine Revenue Services — Instructional Bulletin No. 32; City of Portland STR registration
Income Tax Treatment
Schedule E or Schedule C for a Maine STR?
Maine has no separate rental regime — your federal classification carries onto Form 1040ME, with Maine's own depreciation adjustments.
Passive rental — Schedule E
The usual route for camps and cottages
- Report rents and expenses on Schedule E; the net flows through federal AGI to Form 1040ME.
- No self-employment tax on net rental income.
- Depreciate the building over 27.5 years; Maine requires an addback of federal bonus depreciation, recovered in later years.
- Losses are generally passive; the $25,000 allowance phases out between $100,000 and $150,000 of AGI.
No income ceiling; passive loss rules apply
Active business — Schedule C
For inn-style operations
- Applies when the average stay is 7 days or less and you provide substantial services such as daily housekeeping or breakfast.
- Net profit carries self-employment tax (15.3% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500).
- The federal QBI deduction (Section 199A) may apply.
- The lodging tax does not change: the room charge is taxed at 9% either way.
No income ceiling; SE tax on profit up to $184,500
Depreciation
Depreciation for Maine STR Properties
Depreciation is calculated federally, but Maine decouples from federal bonus depreciation — so your Maine deduction can differ year to year.
| Asset | Typical write-off period | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Residential rental building | 27.5 years (straight-line) | Exclude land; lakefront and shorefront land is often a large share of value, so support the split. |
| Furniture, beds & appliances | 5 years (MACRS) | Federal bonus depreciation is a permanent 100% for property acquired after January 19, 2025; Maine requires an addback and later subtraction. |
| Roof, furnace or septic replacement | 27.5 years | Major building systems are improvements, not repairs. |
| Docks, driveways, decks & fencing | 15 years (MACRS) | Land improvements are depreciated separately from the house. |
Maine adds back the extra depreciation from federal bonus depreciation and lets you subtract it over the property's remaining life. For property placed in service in 2020 or later, a small Maine capital investment credit (1.2% of the bonus depreciation) may apply — ask your preparer.
On sale, depreciation is recaptured federally at up to 25% (unrecaptured Section 1250 gain); the gain is also taxed by Maine at your Maine rate, adjusted for any remaining bonus-depreciation modifications.
Lodging Tax
Maine's 9% Lodging Tax
Maine taxes a vacation rental through one statewide sales tax rate on living quarters — there is no county or town occupancy tax layered on top.
The rental of living quarters is taxed at 9%, above Maine's general sales tax rate. The charge covers rent plus cleaning fees and similar charges. Only the state rate applies; towns regulate STRs through registration and zoning but have no local lodging tax.
9% statewide
Maine Revenue Services — Instructional Bulletin No. 32, Rental of Living Quarters; Airbnb Help Center article 2308
| Booking type | Who collects & remits | What it means for your books |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb booking | Airbnb collects the 9% on the listing price, cleaning and guest fees and remits it to MRS | Keep Airbnb's tax reports; if you are registered, report these stays as exempt sales |
| Vrbo or Booking.com booking | The transient rental platform must register and collect the 9% | Confirm the lodging tax line on your listing; do not charge it a second time |
| Direct booking | You register with MRS, charge 9% and file Form ST-7 | Show the tax separately on the invoice and hold it apart from rent until you remit |
A single unit rented for fewer than 15 days in a calendar year is a casual rental and is not taxed. Charges a platform does not bill — extra nights, resort or pet fees you collect yourself — are taxable in your hands.
Platforms
Airbnb Tax in Maine: What Platforms Collect
Maine requires transient rental platforms to register and collect the 9% lodging tax — income reporting and anything you bill directly stay with you.
| Platform | Reports your income | Collects the local lodging tax | Annual earnings summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | Form 1099-K when 2026 payouts exceed $20,000 and 200 transactions | Yes — 9% Maine sales tax on the listing price, cleaning and guest fees | Earnings summary in the host dashboard; tax forms by January 31 |
| Vrbo / Booking.com | Form 1099-K above the same federal thresholds | Required to register and collect as a transient rental platform — confirm the tax line on your listing | Annual payout summary in the owner or partner dashboard |
| Direct bookings | No platform reporting | No — register with MRS and charge 9% yourself (unless the casual-rental rule applies) | Your own booking ledger |
Listing on Several Platforms?
Each platform collects only on its own bookings, and MRS prohibits dual remittance — do not charge 9% on a stay the platform already taxed. Extras billed outside the platform (extra nights, pet or late-checkout fees) are taxable in your hands. The 1099-K threshold is tested per platform, so total your payouts yourself.
US Reporting: Form 1099-K, Not DAC7
DAC7 is an EU rule and does not apply in Maine. US platforms report on Form 1099-K once payouts exceed $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year; Form 1099-MISC/NEC uses a $2,000 threshold for payments after December 31, 2025. All rental income is taxable whether or not a form is issued.
Airbnb Help Center — Maine (airbnb.com/help/article/2308); Maine Revenue Services Instructional Bulletin No. 32
Illustrative P&L — Midcoast Cottage
Example for a Maine coastal cottage grossing $48,000 a year (9% lodging tax excluded). For illustration only — not tax advice.
Record-Keeping
Stay Audit-Ready: What Maine Hosts Should Keep
MRS can review your sales tax, the IRS and MRS your income tax, and your town your registration — keep the paper trail for all three.
| Keep | How long | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Platform tax reports showing 9% sales tax collected | At least 3 years after filing | Proves the platform, not you, collected on those stays |
| ST-7 returns and payment confirmations | At least 3 years after filing | Supports tax remitted on direct bookings and extras |
| Booking calendar with rental days and stay lengths | At least 3 years | Shows the 15-day casual-rental limit, 28-day exempt stays and personal-use days |
| Expense receipts, 1099-Ks and Maine depreciation addback schedules | At least 3 years (6 if income may be understated by 25%+) | Substantiates Schedule E deductions and the later Maine subtraction |
| Purchase records and depreciation schedules | Until 3 years after you sell | Needed to compute basis and depreciation recapture |
If you claim federal bonus depreciation, keep a running Maine schedule of the addback — you recover it through subtraction modifications over later years, and it is easy to lose track when you change preparers.
Estimator
Short-Term Rental Tax Estimator
Plug in your bookings and costs to see your likely taxable position.
Your Numbers
Total short-term-rental income, before costs.
Allowable running costs, mortgage interest, depreciation and platform fees.
Your top income-tax band, as a percentage.
Estimated tax owed
Income tax on your net rental profit at your marginal rate.
Illustrative estimate. A simplified model to orient you — it is not tax advice. Confirm your situation with a qualified local professional.
Sources & notes
Rates verified September 2026 at the official pages below. Town registration rules change often — confirm with Maine Revenue Services, your town and a qualified Maine tax professional before filing.
- Maine Revenue Services — Instructional Bulletin No. 32, Rental of Living Quarters (revised March 11, 2026) — 9% rate, casual rental rule, 28-day exemption, transient rental platforms, ST-7 due the 15th. maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/IB32 Rental of Living Quarters 2026_03_11.pdf
- Airbnb Help Center — Occupancy tax collection in Maine — 9% state sales tax on listing price including cleaning and guest fees. airbnb.com/help/article/2308
- Maine Revenue Services — 2026 Individual Income Tax Rate Schedules (revised May 20, 2026) — 5.8%, 6.75%, 7.15%; 2% surcharge above $1,000,000/$1,500,000; standard deduction. maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/2026-05/ind_tax_rate_sched_2026_rev.pdf
- Maine Revenue Services — Individual Income Tax (1040ME) — Residents and nonresidents with Maine-source income; Schedule NR. maine.gov/revenue/taxes/income-estate-tax/individual-income-tax-1040me
- Maine Revenue Services — Modifications Related to Bonus Depreciation & Section 179 — Bonus depreciation addback and later-year subtraction; Maine capital investment credit. maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/Bonusdep_guidance_2022.pdf
- City of Portland — Short Term Rental Unit Registration — Annual registration of every STR unit, due by January 1. portlandmaine.gov/1150/Short-Term-Rental-Registration
- Maine Legislature — LD 746 (132nd Legislature) fiscal note — Proposed 2% local option sales tax on short-term lodging (not enacted). legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills_132nd/fiscalpdfs/FN074602.pdf
- IRS — Publication 527, Residential Rental Property — Schedule E reporting, depreciation and personal-use rules. irs.gov/publications/p527
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions — Maine STR Taxes
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