Maine paycheck guide
How Maine's three brackets work in 2026
Maine's income tax is graduated, with brackets adjusted each year for inflation. For a single filer in 2026, the first $27,400 of taxable income is taxed at 5.8%, income up to $64,850 at 6.75%, and everything above that at 7.15%. Married couples filing jointly get brackets twice as wide, with 5.8% up to $54,850 and 6.75% up to $129,750.
Maine's 2026 supplemental budget raised the standard deduction to $15,700 for a single filer, $23,550 for a head of household, and $31,400 for a married couple, as a step toward matching the federal amount. Each person also gets a $5,300 personal exemption. Unlike the federal deduction, Maine's shrinks as income rises: a single filer keeps the full $15,700 at $100,000, only $5,704 at $150,000, and none at $250,000.
That phase-out is why Maine's effective rate climbs so steeply: 1.74% at $30,000, 4.51% at $75,000, and 6.79% at $250,000. Starting in 2026, Maine also adds a 2% surcharge on taxable income above one million dollars, which touches only a small number of top earners.
Worked example: $75,000 in Maine
Take a single filer with $75,000 in wages. Maine subtracts the full $15,700 standard deduction and the $5,300 exemption, leaving $54,000 of taxable income. The first $27,400 is taxed at 5.8%, which is $1,589. The other $26,600 sits in the 6.75% bracket and adds $1,796. Together that is $3,385 of Maine tax, 4.51% of pay.
The federal return subtracts $16,100 and taxes the remaining $58,900 in three layers: $12,400 at 10%, $38,000 at 12%, and $8,500 at 22%, for $7,670. Social Security takes $4,650 and Medicare $1,088. Net pay lands at $58,207 for the year, about $4,851 a month. The Maine $75,000 salary page shows the split per paycheck.
Double the salary and the picture changes. At $150,000 the deduction has shrunk to $5,704, taxable income is $138,996, and $74,146 of it is taxed at 7.15%. Maine tax reaches $9,418, or 6.28% of pay, leaving $104,373.
Paid family leave and other paycheck deductions
No Maine city or town taxes income, so a paycheck in Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, or Kittery has the same state withholding at the same salary. Municipal budgets in Maine run on property tax instead.
Maine does have a payroll deduction most states lack: the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave program. Contributions started coming out of paychecks in 2025, and benefits became available in 2026. Employers may split the contribution with workers, and the employee share appears as its own line on your stub. The estimates on this page exclude it, so your actual take-home pay will be slightly lower than shown.
Form W-4ME and the New Hampshire border
Maine employers withhold state tax from Form W-4ME, Maine's own certificate. Review it when your household changes. With two jobs, or two working spouses, each employer withholds as if it paid your only wages, so an extra flat amount on the W-4ME keeps you from landing in the 6.75% bracket with too little withheld. Above $100,000, check your withholding against your actual Maine bill, since the shrinking deduction raises tax faster than salary.
Maine has no reciprocity agreement with New Hampshire. A New Hampshire resident who commutes to a job in Kittery, York, or Portland owes Maine income tax on those wages as a nonresident, and New Hampshire has no wage tax to offset it. A Maine resident working across the bridge in Portsmouth pays no New Hampshire tax but still owes Maine on the full salary.
Maine against New Hampshire and the rest of the country
Maine's only neighboring state, New Hampshire, does not tax wages. A single $75,000 earner keeps $61,592 there, $3,385 more than in Maine. The Maine vs New Hampshire comparison shows how that gap grows with salary.
Nationally, Maine ranks 40th of 51 at $75,000 and 47th at $150,000. The larger 2026 deduction helps middle earners, but once it phases out and income reaches the 7.15% bracket, Maine slides toward the bottom of the list. Compare Maine with a Southern no-tax state on Maine vs Tennessee.
What to expect at your income
Earning under $50,000
The bigger 2026 standard deduction makes the most difference here. A single filer earning $30,000 owes just $522 to Maine, an effective 1.74%, while at $50,000 the bill is $1,697 and take-home pay is $40,658. A full-time hourly job grossing $41,600 costs $1,195 in Maine tax and nets $34,411. Lower-income renters and homeowners should look at Maine's refundable property tax fairness credit and the state earned income credit, both claimed on the Maine return.
Earning $50,000 to $150,000
Most of this range is taxed at 6.75% or 7.15% in Maine, on top of a 22% or 24% federal rate. At $100,000, a single filer's Maine tax is $5,129 and annual take-home pay is $74,051, or $6,171 a month. Above that, the standard deduction starts to phase out, so each raise costs more than the bracket rate alone. A married couple at $100,000 pays $3,394. Graduates paying student loans should check Maine's student loan repayment tax credit.
Earning over $150,000
Above $150,000, every additional dollar is taxed at Maine's top 7.15% rate, and by $250,000 the standard deduction is gone. A single filer at that salary pays $16,976 to Maine, an effective 6.79%, and takes home $166,206. The new 2% surcharge applies only to taxable income above one million dollars. For high earners with flexible work, the New Hampshire question is significant: living there while working remotely for a non-Maine employer avoids Maine tax entirely.
Maine paycheck tips
Complete Form W-4ME, not just the federal W-4
Maine withholding comes from the W-4ME. Two-earner households and anyone with a second job should check it, since Maine's middle bracket starts at a low income.
Claim the student loan repayment credit
Maine offers a tax credit for student loan payments made by graduates who live and work in Maine. It can be worth more than most deductions.
Watch for the paid leave line on your stub
The Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave contribution is a separate deduction. Account for it when comparing your pay stub with this estimate.
Use pre-tax savings to protect the deduction
Above $100,000, a traditional 401(k) or HSA dollar saves 7.15% in Maine tax and also lowers the income that drives the standard deduction phase-out.
Common mistakes
Assuming a New Hampshire address avoids Maine tax on a Maine job
Maine taxes wages earned in Maine no matter where you live. Only work done outside Maine escapes Maine tax for a New Hampshire resident.
Counting on the full $15,700 deduction at a high salary
Maine's standard deduction phases out as income rises. At $150,000 a single filer keeps only $5,704 of it, and at $250,000 none.
Forgetting part-year residency
Moving into or out of Maine midyear means a part-year return. Income earned while you lived in Maine is taxed by Maine even after you leave.
Moving to or from Maine
Moving to Maine
Moving to Maine from a no-income-tax state adds a real cost: a single $75,000 earner owes Maine $3,385. Coming from Massachusetts or New York, the difference depends on salary, so compare at your own income, especially above $100,000, where Maine's deduction phases out. No Maine city adds an income tax, but the Paid Family and Medical Leave contribution will appear on your pay stub, and property tax varies widely by town.
Leaving Maine
Leaving Maine for New Hampshire saves the $3,385 a $75,000 earner owes Maine, as long as the new job is outside Maine too. Maine ranks 40th of 51 at that salary and 47th at $150,000, so most moves lower state tax, and the savings grow with income. File a Maine part-year resident return for the year you move.