Income Taxes in Maine
Maine's income tax is a three-bracket graduated system topping out at 7.15% for the overwhelming majority of filers, joined for tax year 2026 by a real, genuinely new 2% millionaire's-tax surcharge (LD 2212) that pushes the effective top rate to 9.15% for the roughly 2,600 highest-income filers -- paired with a full Social Security exemption and a real, current $48,216 pension income deduction, subject to a new income-based phaseout.
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Learn moreA three-bracket base structure, inflation-indexed
Maine's individual income tax runs a real, current, three-bracket graduated structure for 2026: 5.8% on taxable income up to approximately $24,500 (single filers; roughly double for joint filers), 6.75% from there up to approximately $58,050, and a 7.15% top marginal rate on income above $58,050. This record verifies 7.15% has held as the top rate for a number of recent years, with only the bracket thresholds themselves adjusting annually for inflation -- the rate the overwhelming majority of Maine taxpayers face.
LD 2212's 2026 millionaire's-tax surcharge is a real, genuinely new development
Layered directly on top of that base structure for tax year 2026, this record discloses a real, genuinely new and substantial development: LD 2212, a 2% 'millionaire's tax' surcharge on individual income above $1 million (single filers) or $1.5 million (joint filers and heads of household), signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on April 10, 2026 as part of the state's supplemental budget, effective retroactive to January 1, 2026. This record verifies that surcharge pushes Maine's effective top marginal rate to 9.15% for the roughly 2,600 highest-income filers it affects, projected to raise approximately $160 million over the current biennium -- a real, disclosed, significant change for high earners specifically, even as 7.15% remains the current top rate for the overwhelming majority of taxpayers below the surcharge's thresholds. Given the base 7.15% rate alone sits meaningfully above many other states' top brackets, and the surcharge pushes the effective top rate to 9.15% for the highest earners, this dataset applies a HIGH_INCOME_TAX tag to Maine rather than a moderate one.
Social Security is fully exempt, and the pension deduction is real but now phases out
Maine fully, unconditionally exempts Social Security benefits from state income tax -- a real, current exemption this record verifies as current for tax year 2026, independent of and in addition to Maine's separate pension income deduction. That pension deduction runs a real, current $48,216 per taxpayer for tax year 2025 returns (filed in 2026). A real, disclosed new income-based phaseout reduces that deduction starting at adjusted gross incomes above $125,000 (single filers), $187,000 (head of household), or $250,000 (joint filers) -- and the deduction itself must separately be reduced by any Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits received. This record discloses that layered, real retiree-tax picture with full specificity rather than a vague 'tax-friendly for retirees' label, a meaningful consideration given Maine's genuinely oldest-in-the-nation population (median age 44.9 in 2025).
What this means for a prospective mover
A household earning below the surcharge's $1 million (single) or $1.5 million (joint) thresholds faces Maine's familiar 5.8%-7.15% bracket structure, unaffected by the new 2026 surcharge. A household approaching or above those thresholds should directly model the surcharge into their relocation math -- a real, meaningful consideration this record does not soften. Retirees specifically should confirm how the pension-deduction phaseout applies to their own adjusted gross income, given the deduction's real, disclosed interaction with Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits received.
Key takeaways
- Maine's 2026 income tax runs three brackets from 5.8% to a 7.15% top rate for the overwhelming majority of filers.
- A new 2026 2% millionaire's-tax surcharge (LD 2212, signed April 10, 2026, retroactive to January 1, 2026) pushes the effective top rate to 9.15% for the roughly 2,600 highest-income filers above $1M single/$1.5M joint income.
- Social Security income is fully exempt from Maine state income tax, and a separate $48,216 pension income deduction (tax year 2025) applies, subject to a new income-based phaseout above $125,000-$250,000 AGI depending on filing status.
- Given the 7.15% base top rate and the new 9.15% effective rate for the highest earners, this dataset applies a HIGH_INCOME_TAX tag to Maine.
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