Maine guide

Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax: $2.20 Per $500 Split Between Buyer and Seller

Maine charges a real estate transfer tax of $2.20 per $500 of the purchase price, and as the buyer you pay half — $1.10 per $500.

Reading as buyer.

TL;DR

Maine charges a real estate transfer tax of $2.20 per $500 of the purchase price, and as the buyer you pay half — $1.10 per $500. On a $400,000 home that means roughly $880 out of pocket at closing just for this tax. The tax is reported on a Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration (RETTD) that you and the seller both sign at the closing table.

Before you start — 7 things to know

Maine's real estate transfer tax is $2.20 per $500 of consideration (or fraction of $500), and by default the buyer pays half of that — $1.10 per $500.
On a $400,000 Maine home the buyer's share of the transfer tax is about $880; on a $650,000 home it is about $1,430.
The Maine transfer tax is calculated on total consideration, which includes the cash purchase price plus any mortgage the buyer assumes from the seller.
Buyer and seller can contractually agree to a different split of Maine's transfer tax in the purchase agreement, but if they say nothing the law splits it 50/50.
The deed will not be recorded in Maine without a signed Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration (RETTD), so the buyer must sign the form at closing.
First-time buyer status does not exempt a Maine buyer from the transfer tax — arm's-length purchases do not qualify for the exemptions listed in 36 MRSA §4641-B.
Common Maine transfer tax exemptions under §4641-B include gifts with no consideration, transfers to government entities, and certain transfers between parents and children for nominal consideration.

The timeline — step by step

Before signing the Maine purchase agreement, check whether it uses the default 50/50 transfer tax split or shifts more of the tax onto the buyer.
When estimating cash needed for closing on a Maine home, budget $1.10 per $500 of purchase price for the buyer's share of the transfer tax.
A few days before closing, the closing attorney or title company prepares the Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration (RETTD) using the allocation the buyer and seller agreed to.
At the Maine closing, both buyer and seller sign the RETTD and each party's share of the transfer tax is collected as part of the closing disbursements.
After closing, the deed and the signed RETTD are submitted together to the Maine registry of deeds — without the RETTD, the deed cannot be recorded.

Common questions

How much will Maine's real estate transfer tax cost me as a buyer?

Maine charges $2.20 per $500 of price total, split 50/50 by default, so the buyer side is $1.10 per $500 — about $880 on a $400,000 home and about $1,430 on a $650,000 home.

Can I negotiate the Maine transfer tax split in my offer?

Yes — the Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration defaults to a 50/50 split, but buyer and seller can contractually agree to a different allocation in the purchase agreement, and the closing attorney will reflect that allocation on the RETTD.

Do first-time buyers get any break on Maine's transfer tax?

No — first-time buyers in an arm's-length sale pay the same $1.10 per $500 as any other Maine buyer, because the §4641-B exemptions cover situations like gifts, divorce transfers, and government transfers rather than ordinary purchases.

What counts as the 'consideration' Maine's transfer tax is based on?

Consideration for the Maine transfer tax includes the cash purchase price plus anything else of value paid for the property, including a mortgage the buyer assumes from the seller, not just the headline sale number.

What happens if the Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration isn't filed at my Maine closing?

Without the signed RETTD, the deed cannot be recorded at the registry of deeds, so the title transfer is not effective for recording purposes — that is why the form is required at every Maine closing.

Sources

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