Maine Paycheck & Income Tax Calculator

How Maine income tax works

Maine has three bands. For a single filer: 5.8% on the first $27,400 of Maine taxable income, 6.75% to $64,850, and 7.15% above. Filing jointly, the two break points are $54,850 and $129,750.

Two allowances come off before any of that, and together they are among the more generous in the country:

• a standard deduction of $15,700 single, $31,400 joint
• a personal exemption of $5,300 for you, and another $5,300 for a spouse on a joint return

A single filer therefore shelters $21,000 — more than the federal standard deduction — before Maine’s rates touch anything. On $75,000 that leaves $54,000 of Maine taxable income and about $3,385 in state tax, an effective state rate of roughly 4.5%.

Then there is the part most calculators miss.

The 0.5% paid family leave deduction

Maine started taking money for Paid Family and Medical Leave with pay dates on or after January 1, 2025, more than a year before the benefits it funds became available in May 2026. If you have looked at a Maine take-home figure that seemed too high, this is the usual reason.

The Department of Labor sets the joint contribution at 0.5% or 1% of wages depending on employer size, and is explicit about the employee’s share: “No more than 0.5 percent can come from the employee.” Employers with 15 or more staff contribute 1% and may deduct half from wages; smaller employers contribute 0.5% and may deduct all of it. Either way the most that comes out of your pay is 0.5%.

It is capped. The premium “will be calculated to exclude amounts above the annual base limit set by the U.S. Social Security Administration”, so the contribution stops at the Social Security wage base of $184,500 for 2026 — a maximum of $922.50 for the year.

On $75,000 that $375 is about 11% again on top of the $3,385 of income tax — not enormous, but a real deduction from every payslip that appears in no headline rate. The figures on this page include it.

The deduction disappears above $102,250

Maine’s generous shelter is not generous for long. The standard deduction is withdrawn proportionally once Maine adjusted gross income passes $102,250 for a single filer or $204,550 filing jointly.

The worksheet is straightforward: take the income above the threshold, divide by $75,000 ($150,000 joint), cap the result at one, and remove that fraction of the deduction. So it is fully gone at $177,250 single and $354,550 joint, leaving only the $5,300 exemption.

Both statuses withdraw at the same rate — $15,700 over $75,000 and $31,400 over $150,000 are the same fraction, about 20.9 cents of deduction per extra dollar earned.

That has a consequence worth knowing before judging a raise. Inside the phase-out band, one more dollar of income is taxed and removes about 21 cents of shelter, so taxable income climbs by roughly $1.21. Multiply by 7.15% and the real marginal rate is:

7.15% × 1.2093 ≈ 8.65%

So between $102,250 and $177,250 a single Maine filer faces about 8.65% on the next dollar — higher than the state’s own top rate. Above $177,250 nothing more can be withdrawn and the marginal rate drops back to 7.15%.

The personal exemption phases out on a separate and far higher schedule, from a base of $266,700 in 2018 dollars indexed upward every year since. It cannot arise at any salary shown on this page, so the calculator applies it in full throughout.

Take-home pay at every salary in Maine

After federal tax, Maine state tax, FICA and the 0.5% paid family leave contribution, with the deduction phase-out applied at each income. With no local income tax anywhere in Maine, these figures hold in Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, South Portland and Auburn alike.

What lands in your account each payday

On $75,000 a year in Maine, filing single, split across the pay schedules employers actually use.

The 2% surcharge starting in 2026

Maine’s 2026 rate schedule carries something the 2025 one did not. Note (1) reads:

For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, the tax calculated above is increased by a surcharge of 2% on the portion of the taxpayer’s Maine taxable income greater than $1,000,000 if filing single, $750,000 if married filing separate; or $1,500,000 if married filing jointly or head of household.

2026 is the first year it applies. It takes the top marginal rate from 7.15% to 9.15%, which puts Maine among the higher top rates in the country — above Minnesota’s 9.85% only in the sense of approaching it, and well above every other New England state except Massachusetts, whose own millionaire surtax works the same way.

Two details are worth noting. The thresholds are not simply doubled for couples in the way the ordinary bands are — $1,000,000 single against $1,500,000 joint, rather than $2,000,000. And unlike the rate bands, the surcharge thresholds are not indexed for 2026; the schedule says they begin adjusting for inflation only from tax years beginning in 2027.

This page folds the surcharge into the bracket table as a 9.15% top band, which produces identical figures to calculating it separately.

Dates that matter for the 2026 tax year

Maine returns (Form 1040ME) are due April 15, 2027, matching the federal deadline. Estimated payments, if required, fall quarterly in April, June, September and the following January.

The rates and allowances on this page are from Maine Revenue Services’ 2026 schedule, revised May 20, 2026, and apply to income earned between January 1 and December 31, 2026. The paid family leave contribution is administered by the Department of Labor rather than Maine Revenue Services, and is deducted at source rather than settled on the return.

Questions people ask

What are the Maine income tax rates for 2026?

Three bands. For a single filer, 5.8% on the first $27,400 of Maine taxable income, 6.75% to $64,850, and 7.15% above. Filing jointly the thresholds are $54,850 and $129,750. From 2026 a further 2% surcharge applies above $1,000,000 of taxable income ($1,500,000 filing jointly).

What can I deduct in Maine?

Two things. A standard deduction of $15,700 for a single filer or $31,400 filing jointly, and a personal exemption of $5,300 for the taxpayer plus another $5,300 for a spouse on a joint return. A single filer therefore shelters $21,000.

What is the Maine paid family leave deduction?

Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave program takes up to 0.5% of your wages from every payslip. Withholding began with pay dates on or after January 1, 2025, and benefits started in May 2026. The contribution is capped at the Social Security wage base, so it stops at $922.50 a year for 2026.

Does the Maine standard deduction phase out?

Yes, above $102,250 of Maine adjusted gross income for a single filer and $204,550 filing jointly. It is withdrawn proportionally over the next $75,000 ($150,000 joint), so it reaches nil at $177,250 and $354,550. The personal exemption phases out too, but not until far higher incomes.

Why is my real marginal rate 8.65% and not 7.15%?

Because inside the phase-out band each extra dollar you earn is taxed and also costs you about 21 cents of deduction, so your taxable income rises by roughly $1.21. At the 7.15% rate that works out at 8.647%. Above $177,250 the deduction is gone and the rate returns to 7.15%.

Does any Maine city charge a local income tax?

No. No Maine municipality levies an income tax, so where you live in the state does not change your income tax bill. The paid family leave contribution is statewide.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. There is no account, and the salary you type is never sent to a server or stored. It never leaves your device.