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An Act To Increase the Homestead Exemption
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §683, sub-§1-B, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. J, §1, is amended to read:
 
1-B. Additional exemption.   A homestead eligible for an exemption under subsection 1 is eligible for an additional exemption of $5,000 of the just value of the homestead for property tax years beginning on April 1, 2016 and of, $10,000 of the just value of the homestead for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2017 and $20,000 of the just value of the homestead for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2018.
 
SUMMARY
This bill increases the total exemption under the Maine resident homestead property tax exemption program to $30,000 for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2018. Under current law, the total exemption is scheduled to increase from $15,000 to $20,000 for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2017. Sixty-two and one-half percent of the just value of all the homestead exemptions is included in the total municipal valuation used to determine the municipal tax rate and state valuation; that percentage is not affected by this bill.