Delinquent Property Taxes in Maine: The Lien Forecloses By Itself, 18 Months After It Is Recorded
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Maine · Last updated October 21, 2026
A Maine town takes a house for unpaid property taxes by letting a date go by. Delinquent property taxes are taxes an owner did not pay by the date the taxing body fixed, after which interest is added and the property can be taken to collect them. Here the tax collector records a tax lien certificate in the registry of deeds, and that filing creates a tax lien mortgage to the municipality with priority over all other mortgages, liens, attachments and encumbrances of any nature (36 M.R.S. 943). Nobody bids on it. No judge signs anything. If the tax lien mortgage, together with interest and costs, is not paid within 18 months after the date of filing, it is deemed to have been foreclosed and the right of redemption to have expired (36 M.R.S. 943). Two things follow from that. The date you need is the recording date of the certificate, not the date on your bill, because the 18 months run from the filing. And the last warning is a letter: the treasurer must send notice of the impending automatic foreclosure, naming the exact date, not more than 45 days nor less than 30 days before it (36 M.R.S. 943). The money side is local. Interest runs at the rate your own town voted, under a ceiling the Treasurer of State sets each year, which is 7.0 percent for taxable year 2026 (36 M.R.S. 505(4)). If the town later sells, it owes you the proceeds above what it is owed (36 M.R.S. 943-C). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
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Where are you with the unpaid property taxes?
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When does a Maine town actually own my house for unpaid property taxes?
Eighteen months after the tax lien certificate was filed. If the tax lien mortgage, together with interest and costs, is not paid within 18 months after the date of the filing of the certificate in the registry of deeds, it is deemed to have been foreclosed and the right of redemption to have expired (36 M.R.S. 943).
What event starts the 18 month redemption clock in Maine?
The recording of the tax lien certificate at the registry of deeds, not the delinquency date and not any sale. Before recording, the collector must have demanded payment and let 30 days pass, and that demand may be given only after the expiration of 8 months and within one year after the date of original commitment (36 M.R.S. 942).
How much interest does Maine charge on delinquent property taxes?
A simple annual rate each municipality votes for itself, applied until the taxes are paid in full. The maximum is set by the Treasurer of State and may not exceed prime, rounded up to the next whole percent, plus 3 percentage points (36 M.R.S. 505(4)). For taxable year 2026 that maximum is 7.0 percent.
Does a Maine town have to warn me before the foreclosure happens?
Yes. The municipal treasurer must notify the party named on the tax lien mortgage and each record mortgage holder not more than 45 days nor less than 30 days before the foreclosing date, naming the exact date of foreclosure (36 M.R.S. 943). Late notice lets that person redeem until 30 days after it is given.
Maine delinquent property tax rules at a glance
The office that can take a Maine home for unpaid taxes is the one that sent the bill, and it needs no courtroom and no auction. Delinquent property taxes are taxes left unpaid past the date the taxing body set, after which interest accrues and the property can be taken to satisfy the debt. The mechanism is a recorded tax lien certificate that becomes a tax lien mortgage to the town (36 M.R.S. 942, 943), and the taking is automatic: 18 months after the filing date the lien is deemed foreclosed and redemption ends (36 M.R.S. 943). Both halves of the answer are local. Your town votes the due date, the delinquency date and the interest rate, under a statewide rate ceiling of 7.0 percent for 2026 (36 M.R.S. 505(4)). After foreclosure, the town must hand back sale proceeds above its costs (36 M.R.S. 943-C).
A Waterville house whose foreclosure date lands on a January morning in 2028
A Waterville owner leaves 3,180 dollars of 2025 tax unpaid past the town's voted date. Commitment was September 2, 2025, so the collector may demand payment only after the expiration of 8 months and within one year of it, a window running from May 2 to September 2, 2026 (36 M.R.S. 942). The demand goes out on June 10, 2026, the 30 days expire July 10, and the certificate is recorded at the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds on July 16, 2026. Eighteen months later, on January 16, 2028, the lien is deemed foreclosed and redemption ends (36 M.R.S. 943). The treasurer's warning letter is due between December 2 and December 17, 2027. Interest runs at the rate Waterville voted for 2025, a year whose statewide ceiling was 7.5 percent. The payoff and the filing dates are for the treasurer and the registry to confirm.
Relevant Laws
36 M.R.S. 505 (the town votes the due date, the delinquency date and the interest rate)
Lets a municipality determine by vote when tax lists are committed, when property taxes become due and payable, and the date or dates from and after which interest must accrue, which must also be the dates on which taxes become delinquent. The rate must be specified in the vote and applies to delinquent taxes committed during the taxable year until paid in full. The maximum rate is established by the Treasurer of State and may not exceed Wall Street Journal prime on the first business day of the calendar year, rounded up to the next whole percent plus 3 percentage points, posted by January 20. Subsection 4-A allows a municipality to adopt up to 2 points above the maximum in a year when the maximum falls by 2 or more points.
36 M.R.S. 552 (the tax lien on real estate and how long it lasts)
Creates a lien to secure payment of all taxes legally assessed on real estate, provided the inventory and valuation describe the real estate accurately enough to identify it. The lien takes precedence over all other claims on the real estate and continues in force until the taxes are paid or the lien is otherwise terminated by law. This is the lien that the tax lien certificate procedure enforces.
36 M.R.S. 942 (the 30 day demand, the recorded certificate, and the costs)
Lets the tax collector, after the expiration of 8 months and within one year after the date of original commitment of a tax, demand payment within 30 days by notice given in hand, left at the last and usual place of abode, or sent by certified mail return receipt requested, with 3 dollars for making the demand. After the 30 days expire and within 10 days thereafter the collector records a tax lien certificate in the registry of deeds, files a copy with the municipal treasurer, and sends a true copy to each record mortgage holder. For a homestead claiming the exemption, the notice must also state that the owner may apply for a poverty or hardship abatement, that the municipality will assist, and how to reach legal services providers. The taxpayer's costs are the recording and discharge fees under Title 33, section 751, plus 13 dollars, plus the section 943 notice fee if that notice is sent, plus all certified mail fees.
36 M.R.S. 943 (the tax lien mortgage, the 18 months, and the notice of impending automatic foreclosure)
Provides that filing the tax lien certificate creates a tax lien mortgage to the municipality with priority over all other mortgages, liens, attachments and encumbrances of any nature, and that the municipality has no right of possession until redemption expires. If the tax lien mortgage together with interest and costs is not paid within 18 months after the date of filing, it is deemed to have been foreclosed and the right of redemption to have expired. The municipal treasurer must notify the party named on the lien and each record mortgage holder not more than 45 days nor less than 30 days before the foreclosing date, in a statutory form headed IMPORTANT: DO NOT DISREGARD THIS NOTICE, stating the exact date of foreclosure, for a 3 dollar fee plus certified mail costs. Untimely notice lets the person who missed it redeem until 30 days after notice is given. An unnoticed mortgagee of record may redeem within 3 months of actual knowledge of the recording, and a probate judge may grant up to 60 further days where the person assessed dies before the 18 months run.
36 M.R.S. 943-A (the demand notice must mention the hardship abatement)
Requires that each notice under sections 942 and 1281 sent to a person on whose primary residence taxes have been assessed contain a statement that the person may apply for an abatement of those taxes if the person cannot pay them because of poverty or hardship.
36 M.R.S. 943-C (sale of foreclosed properties and the former owner's excess proceeds)
Governs the sale of all tax-acquired property taken through sections 942 and 943 or sections 1281 and 1282. If the municipality sells to anyone other than the former owner it must send the former owner certified and first-class mail notice of the sale process at least 90 days before listing, on a notice prepared by the State Tax Assessor, list with a licensed broker who holds no municipal office at the highest reasonable price, convey by quitclaim deed at the highest price obtainable within 12 months after listing, and pay the former owner the proceeds in excess of seven listed items including taxes owed, post-foreclosure taxes that would have been assessed, accrued interest, listing and mailing fees, maintenance and improvement expenses, the cost of the lien and foreclosure process, and unpaid utility charges. An itemised accounting is required on request. Further provisions cover 3 failed broker attempts, retention for municipal use against an independent appraisal, a 30 day notice of intent to pay, publication for 3 consecutive weeks where the former owner cannot be found, transfer to the Unclaimed Property Fund if unclaimed, and the waiver of a section 946-B action on receipt of the proceeds.
36 M.R.S. 944 (waiver of foreclosure and the court route)
Lets a municipal treasurer, when authorized by the inhabitants or in a city by the legislative body, waive the foreclosure of a tax lien mortgage by recording a waiver before redemption expires, after which the lien continues in full force and effect. A 50 cent charge plus the registry's recording fee is added to the amount secured. If the lien is not paid within 6 months after the waiver is recorded it may be foreclosed in an action for equitable relief, and the court must set a redemption period expiring not less than 90 days from the decree and in no event before 18 months from the filing of the tax lien certificate.
36 M.R.S. 904 and 906 (proof of redemption, and which bill your payment pays)
Section 904 makes the municipal treasurer's receipt or certificate of payment of a sufficient sum to redeem any real estate taxed legal evidence of that payment and redemption. Section 906 lets municipal officers, on request of the treasurer or tax collector, require that any tax payment received be applied against outstanding or delinquent taxes on that property in chronological order beginning with the oldest unpaid tax bill, except for a period with an unresolved abatement request or appeal.
36 M.R.S. 841 (abatement procedures, including hardship or poverty)
Subsection 2 lets municipal officers, or the State Tax Assessor for the unorganized territory, within 3 years from commitment and on their own knowledge or on written application, make such abatements as they believe reasonable on the taxes on the primary residence of any person who by reason of hardship or poverty is in their judgment unable to contribute to the public charges, and allows that 3 year period to be extended. The officers must inform anyone indicating an inability to pay of the right to apply, assist with the application, make forms available, keep applications and files confidential, hold proceedings in executive session, and give a written decision with reasons and appeal rights within 30 days.
36 M.R.S. 946-B (how long a taking can be challenged)
Bars an action against the validity of a governmental taking of real estate for nonpayment of property taxes after a 5 year period immediately following the expiration of the period of redemption, for a tax lien recorded after October 13, 2014. Subsection 5, added in 2025, cuts that to a 2 year period for commercial real estate, defined to include apartment buildings with 5 or more units, mobile home parks, office buildings and recreational facilities, and applies to a lien recorded on commercial real estate after June 30, 2026. Disability or lack of knowledge of any kind does not suspend or extend the limits.
36 M.R.S. 1071, 1074, 1078 and 1080 (the tax collector's auction sale route)
A separate statutory route kept on the books and amended in 2025. If a tax on real estate remains unpaid on the first Monday in February after assessment, the tax collector sells as much of the real estate as is necessary at public auction at 9 a.m. on that first Monday in February, after posted notice 6 to 7 weeks ahead for resident owners and 3 weeks of newspaper publication for nonresident owners. Where the bidding is for less than the whole, the bidder who will pay the sum due for the least fractional part is the purchaser. Redemption on this route runs 2 years from the day of sale, by paying into the municipal treasury for the purchaser the full amount certified to be due with interest on the whole at 8 percent a year from the date of the sale, and the deed is delivered to the purchaser if the property is not redeemed in that time.
36 M.R.S. 1281 and 1282 (the unorganized territory, where the State is the lienholder)
Requires the State Tax Assessor, annually after January 15th but no later than January 31st, to mail each owner of unpaid real estate a notice describing the property and the unpaid taxes and interest, demanding payment by the next February 21st, with the same homestead abatement and legal services information the municipal notice carries. If payment is not made the assessor records a certificate by March 15th. Filing that certificate creates a mortgage to the State with priority over all other encumbrances, and if it is not paid by the 30th day of March of the year following the filing the mortgage is deemed foreclosed and the right of redemption has expired. Part payments accepted during the redemption period do not interrupt or extend it, and are refunded if the property is not redeemed.
36 M.R.S. 6251 (the State Property Tax Deferral Program)
Lets a taxpayer apply to defer the property taxes on a homestead by filing a claim with the municipal assessor after January 1st but no later than April 1st of the first year claimed, where the taxpayer is 65 or older or unable to be employed by reason of disability on April 1st, is within the statutory income and liquid asset limits, which for applications filed after January 1, 2024 are income under 80,000 dollars and liquid assets under 100,000 dollars for a sole owner, and the homestead receives the homestead exemption. The assessor forwards each claim to the bureau within 30 days and the bureau determines eligibility.
36 M.R.S. 6271 (municipal senior deferral, and what partial payments do not do)
Authorizes a municipality to adopt by ordinance a property tax deferral program for senior citizens, open to an owner at least 70 years of age who has resided in the eligible homestead for at least 10 years with household income not exceeding 300 percent of the federal poverty level, with interest on the deferred taxes accruing at 0.5 percentage points above the otherwise applicable delinquent rate unless the municipality adopts a lower rate. Subsection 5 states that partial payments accepted during the 18-month redemption period provided for in section 943 may not interrupt or extend the redemption period or in any way affect foreclosure procedures.
Office of the State Treasurer: maximum interest rate on delinquent property taxes for 2026
The Treasurer of State's announcement of January 9, 2026 states that the interest rate charged on delinquent property taxes will be reduced from 7.5 percent to 7.0 percent, that for taxable year 2026 the maximum interest rate a municipality may charge for delinquent property taxes is 7.0 percent, and that municipalities may vote to determine the rate of interest that applies to taxes becoming delinquent during a taxable year until those taxes are paid in full. It quotes the statutory formula in 36 M.R.S. 505(4).
Regional Variances
Maine delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Sale mechanism
A tax lien certificate followed by automatic foreclosure, with no auction, no bidder and no judge on the ordinary route. Recording the certificate creates a tax lien mortgage to the municipality with priority over all other mortgages, liens, attachments and encumbrances of any nature, and the municipality has no right of possession until the right of redemption has expired (36 M.R.S. 942, 943).
Delinquency dates
Set locally, not statewide. A municipality votes when taxes are due and payable and the date or dates from and after which interest accrues, which must also be the dates on which taxes become delinquent (36 M.R.S. 505(2), 505(4)). The statute speaks of the date or dates, so a town may fix one due date or several, and the governing dates are the ones in your own town's vote.
Interest before foreclosure
Simple interest at the voted rate, with no separate statutory penalty. It applies to delinquent taxes committed during the taxable year until those taxes are paid in full (36 M.R.S. 505(4)). The statewide maximum for taxable year 2026 is 7.0 percent, reduced from 7.5 percent, and a town may vote less than the ceiling.
Time before the town can take title
The demand may be made only after the expiration of 8 months and within one year after the date of original commitment, the certificate is recorded after those 30 days expire and within 10 days thereafter, and the 18 months then run (36 M.R.S. 942, 943). The shortest ordinary path from commitment to automatic foreclosure is about 2 years and 3 months.
Redemption period and clock
Eighteen months, measured from the date of the filing of the tax lien certificate in the registry of deeds (36 M.R.S. 943). Three extensions exist: until 30 days after a late treasurer's notice is actually given, 3 months after an unnoticed record mortgagee gains actual knowledge of the recording, and up to 60 additional days a probate judge may grant where the person assessed dies before the 18 months run.
Redeemer's charge
A simple annual interest rate set by your own municipality under a statewide ceiling, not a penalty percentage, not a bid-down rate and not an investor's return, because no investor buys anything. The ceiling is posted by the Treasurer of State by January 20 each year and may not exceed prime rounded up plus 3 percentage points, which is 7.0 percent for 2026 (36 M.R.S. 505(4)).
Other redemption costs
A fixed list rather than a percentage: the registry's recording and discharge fees under Title 33, section 751, plus 13 dollars, plus 3 dollars for the pre-foreclosure notice if it was actually sent, plus all certified mail return receipt requested fees (36 M.R.S. 942), and 3 dollars for the original demand. A recorded waiver of foreclosure adds 50 cents plus its recording fee (36 M.R.S. 944).
Notice to the owner
Three notices. A written 30 day demand given in hand, left at the last and usual place of abode or sent certified mail (36 M.R.S. 942), which for a homestead must also describe the hardship abatement option (36 M.R.S. 943-A). A true copy of the recorded certificate to each record mortgage holder. Then the treasurer's notice of impending automatic foreclosure, 30 to 45 days ahead, in the statutory capitalised form naming the exact date (36 M.R.S. 943).
Where to redeem
The municipal treasurer of the town or city where the property lies, or the assignee of record where the municipality assigned the lien, since either prepares and records the discharge once the tax, interest and costs are paid within the period (36 M.R.S. 943). The treasurer's receipt is legal evidence of redemption (36 M.R.S. 904). In the unorganized territory you pay the State Tax Assessor (36 M.R.S. 1281).
Surplus proceeds
Owed to the former owner, and the municipality must pay without being sued. On a sale to anyone other than the former owner the town lists with an independent licensed broker, conveys at the highest price obtainable within 12 months after listing, and pays over everything above seven listed deductions, after a 90 day pre-listing notice and a 30 day notice of intent to pay (36 M.R.S. 943-C). Unclaimed money goes to the Unclaimed Property Fund.
Payment plan
No statutory installment plan of redemption, and partial payments do not stop the clock: the Legislature said they may not interrupt or extend the 18-month redemption period provided for in section 943 or in any way affect foreclosure procedures (36 M.R.S. 6271(5)). The statutory alternatives are a hardship or poverty abatement (36 M.R.S. 841(2)), the state deferral program (36 M.R.S. 6251) and the town's discretionary waiver of foreclosure (36 M.R.S. 944).
Other statutory routes
Three besides the lien certificate. A court route in an action for equitable relief after a recorded waiver of foreclosure, with a judicial redemption period of at least 90 days from the decree (36 M.R.S. 944). The tax collector's public auction sale on the first Monday in February, redeemable for 2 years from the sale at 8 percent a year (36 M.R.S. 1071, 1078). And the State Tax Assessor's own lien in the unorganized territory, foreclosing on March 30 of the following year (36 M.R.S. 1281, 1282).
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