On April 9, 2024 the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) announced that Maine Revenue Services, a bureau of DAFS, will extend the deadline to file Maine state taxes, for eight counties impacted by severe January storms, matching the recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) federal tax extension deadline for Maine taxpayers until July 15, 2024.
On April 4, 2024, the IRS announced federal tax relief for individuals and businesses in certain Maine counties affected by severe storms and flooding that began on January 9, 2024 and designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington, and York counties, postponing various tax filing and payment deadlines to July 15, 2024.
This extension is separate from an earlier IRS and Maine State tax filing deadline extension through June 17, 2024, in response to 10 FEMA designated Maine Counties as a result of December 2023 storms. Additional information on the February 5, 2024 extension announcement is located here.
Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and York counties were not included in the first IRS extension for filing through June 17, 2024 related to the December 2023 storms. This new relief related to the January 2024 storms will extend certain filing and payment due dates for taxpayers in those counties through July 15, 2024. For affected Maine taxpayers in these five counties, tax returns and final or estimated payments originally due on or after January 9, 2024, and before July 15, 2024 for Individual Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Fiduciary Income Tax (trusts and estates) and Franchise Tax are postponed to July 15, 2024.
Hancock, Waldo, and Washington counties did receive relief related to the December 2023 storms and already have an extension for certain filing and payments for Maine liabilities through June 17, 2024. This extended relief related to the January 2024 storms will extend those deadlines out another month to July 15, 2024. For affected Maine taxpayers in these three counties, tax returns and final or estimated payments originally due on or after December 17, 2023, and before July 15, 2024 for Individual Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Fiduciary Income Tax (trusts and estates) and Franchise Tax are postponed to July 15, 2024.
Any related penalties and interest will be abated through July 15, 2024 (Relief Period). Affected taxpayers are encouraged to file electronically. Affected taxpayers filing paper returns should write “MAINE FLOODING” across the top of their return. Affected taxpayers are still encouraged to make payments and file if they are able and prepared to do so before July 15, 2024.
Regardless of filing method, if any affected taxpayer receives a notice of assessment of penalties and/or interest for the Relief Period due to late returns or payments, please contact MRS immediately at income.tax@maine.gov (Income Tax programs) to request abatement.
Payment and filing deadlines for all other Maine tax types, including Maine sales tax and income tax withholding, remain unchanged.
Taxpayers with questions about special federal tax relief associated with federally declared disaster areas should contact the IRS at (866) 562-5227 or go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.
To clarify, taxes are due in the following Maine counties as indicated:
April 17, 2024: Aroostook
June 17, 2024: Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset
July 15, 2024: Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington, York