City budget
The city's property tax rate, what the property tax raises, and what it comes to for a home and for each resident, from Maine Revenue Services (MRS).
Checked . State figures as of ; MRS publishes each tax year's figures in the November or December after the next.
Summary
- Property tax rate $15.01 Per $1,000 of assessed value · Tax year 2024 · State median $14.56
- Property tax raised $227.4M Tax year 2024
- Property tax per resident $3,260 Tax year 2024 · State median $2,061 · Calculated by Publick
Property tax rate
The rate is in dollars for each $1,000 of a property's assessed value, and the same rate applies to homes and businesses. It pays for the city, its schools, and its share of the county. Maine names each rate by its tax year: the rate is set on property as it stood on April 1, and the city's fiscal year usually starts that July.
| Tax year | Portland | State median | Certified ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $15.01 | $14.56 | 90% |
| 2023 | $14.41 | $15.58 | 100% |
| 2022 | $13.61 | $15.70 | 100% |
| 2021 | $12.99 | $16.50 | 100% |
| 2020 | $23.31 | $16.70 | 77% |
| 2019 | $23.31 | $16.73 | 84% |
| 2018 | $22.48 | $16.50 | 89% |
| 2017 | $21.65 | $16.40 | 94% |
| 2016 | $21.11 | $16.05 | 100% |
| 2015 | $20.63 | $15.75 | 100% |
Calculated by Publick. The middle of the tax rates of the 482 Maine municipalities with a rate that year, as Maine Revenue Services publishes them.
Maine towns and cities assess property at a share of its market value, the certified ratio, which falls as values rise between revaluations. When a city revalues, assessed values jump and the rate falls to match, so a lower rate doesn't by itself mean lower bills. In 2024 the city's assessed values were 90% of market value. Source: MRS, Municipal Valuation Return Statistical Summary (opens in new tab).
What the property tax raises
The city's property tax commitment, the tax it levied, was $227.4 million in tax year 2024, on $15,149.3 million of taxable property: land, buildings, and business equipment, after exemptions.
| Tax year | Commitment | Taxable valuation | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $227.4M | $15,149.3M | +6.1% |
| 2023 | $214.3M | $14,872.9M | +7.6% |
| 2022 | $199.3M | $14,641.4M | +4.9% |
| 2021 | $189.9M | $14,621.6M | +1.4% |
| 2020 | $187.3M | $8,037.0M | +1.3% |
| 2019 | $185.0M | $7,936.2M | +4.8% |
| 2018 | $176.5M | $7,849.6M | +5.0% |
| 2017 | $168.0M | $7,761.2M | +3.5% |
| 2016 | $162.4M | $7,691.5M | +2.3% |
| 2015 | $158.7M | $7,691.4M | – |
The change is in the commitment. Amounts are not adjusted for inflation. Source: MRS, Municipal Valuation Return Statistical Summary (opens in new tab).
Property tax per resident
In tax year 2024, Portland's property tax came to $3,260 per resident. The median across 482 Maine towns, cities, and plantations was $2,061.
Calculated by Publick. Each municipality's 2024 property tax commitment, from Maine Revenue Services' Municipal Valuation Return, divided by its Census population estimate for July 1, 2024. The median is of 482 Maine towns, cities, and plantations.
Property tax per resident depends on how much of a town's tax base is businesses rather than homes, and on seasonal homes, whose owners pay tax but aren't counted as residents. Population: 69,752. Sources: MRS (opens in new tab); U.S. Census Bureau population estimates (opens in new tab).
– means no figure for that year: the state hasn't published it, or, for a change, there's no earlier year to compare with.