Maine sells no tax lien certificates to investors. To buy a Maine tax deed you buy the property itself, through a broker sale that each city or town runs itself, not the county of land the city or town already owns through tax foreclosure. Review the sale terms, deed and applicable law to confirm the property interest conveyed.
New here? There is no certificate step in Maine. You buy the property itself, so the money is at risk on the parcel from day one and the research has to happen before the sale, not after. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Step 1: Learn the timeline and lien priority
Understand this before you commit any money.
- Timeline and lien priority
- Each municipality votes the date or dates its property tax is due and the date interest begins, which is also the date the tax becomes delinquent. The interest rate is set in the same vote. Under 505(4) it may not exceed the Treasurer of State's annual maximum, which itself may not exceed the prime rate on the first business day of the year, rounded up, plus 3 points: 7.00 percent for 2026.
Full Maine rule detail for step 1, Learn the timeline and lien priority
Under 505(4-A), in a year when that maximum falls 2 points or more below the prior year's, a municipality may adopt a rate up to 2 points above it. The tax is secured by a lien on the real estate. After 8 months and within 1 year from the tax's commitment, the collector may serve a demand for payment within 30 days; if it remains unpaid, the collector records a tax lien certificate within the next 10 days. The resulting tax lien mortgage has priority over all other mortgages, liens and encumbrances. The lien procedure is in addition to other collection methods the law provides.
Step 2: Know when the redemption right ends
- The redemption window
- The owner, or anyone with an interest, may pay the tax, interest and costs at any time within 18 months after the lien certificate is filed in the registry of deeds.
- What the owner pays
- To redeem before the city or town takes title, the owner pays the unpaid tax, interest at the municipality's voted rate (no higher than the Treasurer of State's maximum for that tax year, 7.00 percent for 2026, unless 505(4-A) applies), and lien costs: the registry fees for recording and discharging the lien, $13, the $3 notice fee for the pre-foreclosure notice if sent, and certified mail fees.
- What it means for you
- That right ends when the city or town takes title, before the city or town offers the parcel to the public, so the former owner cannot redeem a parcel on the city or town’s sale list.
Full Maine rule detail for step 2, Know when the redemption right ends
The redemption window, continued. 30 to 45 days before the foreclosure date the treasurer must notify the owner named on the lien and each record mortgage holder; anyone not given timely notice may redeem until 30 days after the notice is actually given. After foreclosure there is no right to redeem, although the municipality may choose to sell or convey the property back to the former owner, and the former owner is paid any excess when the property is sold.
Step 3: Learn what sends a parcel to the sale
- What starts it
- Automatic foreclosure: the tax lien mortgage, with interest and costs, not paid within 18 months after the lien certificate was filed in the registry of deeds.
- The opening bid
- No opening bid in the auction sense. The broker lists at the highest reasonable price at which the property is expected to sell, and the municipality conveys to the buyer at the highest price obtainable within 12 months of listing. If after 3 attempts no broker will take the listing, or the broker cannot sell within 12 months, the municipal officers may sell in any manner the municipality's legislative body authorizes (for example sealed bid or public auction), still paying the former owner any excess proceeds. A municipal officer may buy tax-acquired property from that municipality only through a sealed-bid sale advertised at least twice in a 7-day period, and may not take part in accepting bids, except to buy back property owned by the officer's child, spouse or parent with the municipality's authorization.
Full Maine rule detail for step 3, Learn what sends a parcel to the sale
What starts it, continued. No court order and no sale is needed; title vests in the municipality. A municipality may instead waive the automatic foreclosure before it occurs and foreclose in court (944, 945). In the Unorganized Territory the State's mortgage forecloses if unpaid by March 30 of the year after the certificate is filed.
Step 4: Buy through the broker listing
The city or town sells the property it has acquired for taxes through a real estate broker listing rather than at an auction.
Step 5: Or buy over the counter
You do not have to wait for an auction.
- How it works
- There is no over-the-counter list of liens. Once a lien forecloses, a municipality that sells to anyone other than the former owner lists the property with a licensed broker, so buyers find it on the open market and make an offer through the listing agent like any other listing. If the listing fails, the municipality may sell by any method its legislative body authorizes. In the Unorganized Territory, Maine Revenue Services no longer publishes an annual sealed-bid packet and lists State tax-acquired land with a broker.
- What is available
- No statewide list of municipal tax-acquired property. Ask the municipal office (treasurer, tax collector or select board) what it holds and which broker lists it. Unorganized Territory listings are on the broker page Maine Revenue Services links (On Point Realty, State Tax-Acquired Properties).
What the deed conveys in Maine
Quitclaim only, with no warranty. A challenge to the validity of the tax taking may be brought for 5 years after the redemption period expires (liens recorded after October 13, 2014), 2 years for commercial real estate on liens recorded after June 30, 2026, and only 6 months after a code enforcement officer certifies residential tax-acquired property abandoned (liens recorded after December 1, 2021). The former owner's receipt of excess proceeds waives that challenge. A former owner or mortgagee who was not given the required notices may have a late redemption right (see redemption). Budget for a title search and, where a title insurer requires it, a quiet-title action under 946.
Fold any title work into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed and what survives a tax deed before you bid. A quiet title action is how a buyer clears a title an insurer will not accept.
Buying tax deeds in Maine: common questions
How do you buy a tax deed in Maine?
Can you buy Maine tax deeds online?
More Maine answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the Maine tax sale FAQ. New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Maine walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Sep 28, 2026 against Maine statutes.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the office that runs the sale before you bid.