Maine Tax Form Due Date Changes

Enacted on July 31, 2015, the federal Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 changed original and extension due dates for federal corporate and partnership returns for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2016.  Maine conforms to the changes in the federal due dates as follows.  These changes will be detailed on the applicable Maine tax forms and instructions.

Federal Return	Maine Return	Taxpayer Year End Date	Federal Due Date	State Due Date	Federal Extension Due Date	State Extension Due Date
1120	1120ME	December 31	April 15	April 15	September 15	October 15*
		June 30	September 15	September 15	April 15 of the following year	May 15 of the following year
		All Other Year End Dates	15th day of the 4th month following the end of the tax year	15th day of the 4th month following the end of the tax year	Six months	Six months plus 30 days
1065/ 1120S	941P-ME	Any	15th day of the 3rd month following the end of the tax year (March 15 for calendar year filers)	15th day of the 3rd month following the end of the tax year (March 15 for calendar year filers)	Six months (September 15 for calendar year filers)	Six months (September 15 for calendar year filers)

*The IRS may allow an extension of up to 6 months in which case the Maine deadline would be the IRS deadline plus 30 days.

To combat identity theft and the release of fraudulent refunds, the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, enacted December 18, 2015, changed the due date for submitting Forms W-2 and 1099 information to the IRS to January 31 for calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2016.  Although the due date for submitting the information to MRS remains February 28, employers and payers are encouraged to file directly with MRS as early as possible to help combat identity theft and the release of fraudulent refunds at the state level.  If you believe a breach of personal information has occurred, contact MRS at (207) 626-8475, as soon as possible.

For further information on the due date changes for Forms 1120ME and 941P-ME, please contact the corporate income tax hotline at (207) 624-9670.  For questions on submitting Forms W-2 and 1099 information to MRS, please contact the withholding tax unit at (207) 626-8475. 

 

Maine Revenue Services Rulemaking Activity

Rule 104 amended. MRS has amended Rule 104 (“Filing of Maine Tax Returns”).  The rule describes the requirements for filing certain Maine tax returns, including mandatory electronic filing of certain Maine tax returns.  Along with miscellaneous technical changes, MRS amended definitions in the rule by: adding “business trust” to the definition of Person; amending the definition of Software Developer to include a person that develops computer generated forms used in connection with unemployment compensation laws; and removing an obsolete reference to the lowest individual income tax bracket in the definition of Threshold Amount.  MRS also removed section .03(3) as the waiver provisions are provided elsewhere in the rule.  A copy of the rule can be found on the MRS website at http://www.maine.gov/revenue/rules/homepage.html.

Rule 803 amended. MRS has amended Rule 803 (“Withholding Tax Reports and Payments”).  The rule identifies income subject to Maine withholding and prescribes the methods for determining the amount of Maine income tax to be withheld.  It also explains the related reporting requirements.  MRS has moved the filing due date for pass-through entity withholding returns from April 30th to March 15th following the end of the calendar year.  This change is based on changes at the federal level and is effective for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2016.  MRS also updated references to Maine individual income tax rates based on recently enacted legislation.  In addition, miscellaneous technical changes such as changing references to employee and employer to payee and payer, respectively, and removing references to Form 941/C1ME were made.  A copy of the rule can be found on the MRS website at http://www.maine.gov/revenue/rules/homepage.html.

 

Prepaid Wireless Fee Notice of Intent
Issued by the Maine Public Utilities Commission

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has issued Docket No. 2016-00228 notifying the public of intent to increase the prepaid wireless fee from $1.01 to $1.16 per transaction.

The prepaid wireless fee collected by wireless carriers and retailers is comprised of amounts for the Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund, the Maine Universal Service Fund, and E-911.  The proposal would increase the Maine Universal Service Fund portion of the fee. 

Public comments may be filed directly with the Maine Public Utilities Commission through October 27, 2016.  View the notice at http://maine.gov/mpuc/telecom/documents/noi/2016_00228_NOI_9_28_16.pdf.

 

2016 Maine Educational Opportunities
Tax Practitioner Institutes
Maine Tax Forum

 (presented by SCORE Maine)

There is still time to register for upcoming continuing education opportunities.  The full agenda and registration materials are available at www.scoremaine.org/tax-practitioner-institute/ and www.scoremaine.org/maine-tax-forum/.

The dates and locations for this year are as follows:

Tax Practitioner Institute
October 20 – Augusta Civic Center
October 25 – Brewer, Jeff’s Catering
October 27 – Portland, Italian Heritage Center, 40 Westland Avenue

Maine Tax Forum
November 2 & 3 – Augusta Civic Center

The Tax Practitioner Institute is focused on the practical application of Federal and Maine tax rules and updates in tax law. TPI is a primer for newer practitioners and a refresher for the more experienced. 

The Maine Tax Forum is especially beneficial to experienced professionals providing tax advice to clients and assisting with more complex tax situations. Maine professionals engaged in tax, accounting and legal client service practices that are impacted by annual changes in the federal and state tax laws, will benefit from the in-depth presentations at this event.

 

Department	Telephone Numbers	FAX Numbers	Email Addresses
Taxpayer Service Center	(207) 626-8475	(207) 287-5855
Central Registration	(207) 624-5644	(207) 287-6975	taxregistration@maine.gov
Collections & Compliance	(207) 624-9595	(207) 287-6627	compliance.tax@maine.gov
Corporate Tax	(207) 624-9670	(207) 624-9694	corporate.tax@maine.gov
E-file Help Desk (1040 ONLY)	(207) 624-9730	(207) 287-6628	efile.helpdesk@maine.gov
Electronic Funds Transfer	(207) 624-5625	(207) 287-3618	efunds.transfer@maine.gov
Estate & Fiduciary Income Tax	(207) 626-8480	(207) 624-9694	estatetax@maine.gov
Fuel Tax	(207) 624-9609	(207) 287-6628	fuel.tax@maine.gov
Forms Request Line	(207) 624-7894
Individual Income Tax Assistance	(207) 626-8475	(207) 624-9694	income.tax@maine.gov
Insurance Premium Tax	(207) 624-9753	(207) 624-9694
Payment Plan/Income Tax	(207) 621-4300	(207) 621-4328	compliance.tax@maine.gov
Payment Plan/Other	(207) 624-9595	(207) 287-6627	compliance.tax@maine.gov
Practitioners’ Hotline	(207) 626-8458	(207) 624-9694
Property Tax	(207) 624-5600	(207) 287-6396	prop.tax@maine.gov
Sales Tax	(207) 624-9693	(207) 287-6628	sales.tax@maine.gov
Tax Clearance Letters	(207) 624-9628	(207) 287-6627
Office of Tax Policy	(207) 624-9677	(207) 287-3618
Taxpayer Advocate	(207) 624-9649	(207) 287-3618	taxpayer.advocate@maine.gov
Withholding Tax	(207) 626-8475	(207) 624-9694	withholding.tax@maine.gov
Tax Violations Hot Line	(207) 624-9600

This publication is designed to keep taxpayers, tax practitioners and the general public informed of developments, problems, questions and matters of general interest concerning Maine tax law, policy and procedure. The articles in this newsletter are not designed to address complex issues in detail, and they are not a substitute for Maine tax laws and/or regulations.
Suggestions for the Tax Alert? Please contact:: Maine Revenue Services PO Box 1060 Augusta, Maine 04332-1060