Here is a number that surprises almost every Maine buyer, and not in the direction they expect. On a home at the statewide median sale price of $428,478, your entire transfer tax bill is about $943.
Not $9,430. Nine hundred and forty-three dollars.
Maine's transfer tax runs $2.20 per $500 of value, or 0.44% of the sale price — $1,885 on that $428,478 home. But 36 M.R.S. §4641-A splits that liability evenly: the grantor (seller) owes half and the grantee (buyer) owes half, 0.22% apiece, and half of $1,885 is $943. In a lot of states the deed transfer tax is the scariest line on the closing statement. In Maine it's a rounding error.
Which is exactly the problem, because the rest of the bill is not small. At that same median price, a 2-5% closing cost range comes to $8,570 to $21,424, midpoint around $14,997. Add a 20% down payment of $85,696 and you need roughly $100,693 in cash to reach the table. The transfer tax is under 1% of that. Everything else is what deserves your attention — and our full line-by-line breakdown of closing costs walks that whole list.
A note before you start: this is general education, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Every figure below is a statewide number drawn from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset, and your county, lender, title company, attorney, and contract will all move the total. Maine's median price in particular is contested — Redfin reports $428,478 while Houzeo's live-MLS page shows $390,300 — and a statewide median describes neither Kittery nor Presque Isle especially well. Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are the authoritative documents. Use this to sanity-check them, not to replace them.
1. What closing costs actually run in Maine
A 2-5% range against Maine's $428,478 median gives you roughly $8,570 to $21,424, midpoint near $14,997. The width is honest: a straightforward title-company closing sits near the bottom, while an attorney-handled purchase with a survey, higher lender charges, and a full year of prepaid taxes and insurance sits near the top. On a $350,000 purchase the same range is $7,000 to $17,500.
Closing costs are separate from your down payment, and both come due the same day. With 20% down at the median you finance $342,782 and put $85,696 down; add the $14,997 midpoint and you're bringing about $100,693 in cash. That six-figure threshold catches Maine buyers off guard far more often than any tax line does.
See your all-in Maine closing costs2. The transfer tax and the statutory 50-50 split
Maine Revenue Services collects the transfer tax at $2.20 per $500 of the property's value — 0.44% of the sale price. On the $428,478 median that's $1,885; on a $350,000 sale, $1,540.
What makes Maine unusual is not the rate but that the split is written into statute rather than left to local custom. Under 36 M.R.S. §4641-A the seller and buyer each carry half, both sign the declaration of value at closing, and the register of deeds collects from both:
- Total at the $428,478 median: $1,885
- Seller's statutory half (0.22%): $943
- Buyer's statutory half (0.22%): $943
Compare that to states where "who pays transfer tax" is a negotiating chip worth thousands. In Maine it's fixed at the outset, and the dollars are small enough that trading it rarely moves a deal. It also barely reacts to price: the $38,178 gap between the two competing statewide medians ($428,478 versus $390,300) changes the total by only about $168, because 0.44% of $38,178 is $168. There is no Maine equivalent of a city surtax that quietly doubles your bill.
3. The high-value tier that changed in November 2025
There is one place the flat rate stops being flat. For transfers on or after November 1, 2025, an additional $3.80 per $500 — another 0.76% — applies to the portion of value above $1,000,000.
The first $1,000,000 is still taxed at $2.20 per $500; only the excess carries the surcharge. Up there the combined rate is 1.20%, since 0.44% plus 0.76% is 1.20% — nearly three times the base rate on every dollar past the million mark. For most of Maine that's theoretical. On the coast, the stretch of market that pulls the statewide median toward $428,478 in the first place, it isn't. If you're shopping near seven figures, price the two tiers separately before you write an offer.
4. No mortgage recording tax, which genuinely helps
Maine has no mortgage recording tax. Several states charge a separate tax based on your loan size when the mortgage is recorded, stacked on top of transfer tax on the sale price. Maine does not. Your register of deeds charges flat per-page fees, small and knowable in advance.
Financing $342,782 costs you nothing extra in state tax versus financing half that. A refinance triggers no transfer tax either, since no deed changes hands — at current rates of 6.65% on a 30-year fixed or 5.95% on a 15-year, the government-fee side of a Maine refinance is not the part worth worrying about.
5. Who closes your loan is your choice in Maine
Maine does not legally require an attorney at closing. Closings here are commonly handled by either a licensed Maine attorney or a title company, and the choice is genuinely yours — which is why the practical answer to "who closes in Maine?" is it varies.
- Title company: title insurance, a settlement or closing fee, and recording fees. No separate attorney line.
- Attorney: add their fee. In exchange you get contract review and someone whose obligation runs to you rather than to the transaction.
An attorney earns their fee on an old rural deed with a vague boundary description, a shared right-of-way, a private road maintenance agreement, or anything touching shoreland zoning — all ordinary in Maine, not exotic. On a clean subdivision purchase, plenty of buyers skip it. Title insurance works the same here as anywhere; see what title insurance covers and who it actually protects.
6. Who pays what, and what's negotiable
The transfer tax split is settled by statute, as covered in section 2. Almost everything else is contract. Buyers customarily carry lender charges, the appraisal, the lender's title insurance policy, recording fees, and prepaids — the property tax and homeowners insurance dollars that fund your escrow account up front. Sellers carry their own half of the transfer tax and their agent's commission. Seller credits toward buyer closing costs are a normal part of Maine negotiations, especially outside the tightest coastal towns.
Within the buyer's column the usual hierarchy holds: lender fees have real room in them, third-party services you get to choose can be shopped, and government fees and prepaids are fixed. Which fees you can push back on and which you can't sorts the list. Prepaids aren't a fee at all — they're your own money moving early, which how escrow accounts get funded explains.
7. How to lower the bill before you sign
- Decide early whether you want an attorney. Your entire buyer-side transfer tax is $943, so the choice described in section 5 moves your total more than any tax maneuvering will.
- Shop lenders, not just rates. Origination and underwriting charges vary meaningfully on an identical $342,782 loan, and what each lender fee actually pays for tells you which lines to compare.
- Ask for a seller credit. A credit covering even a third of the $14,997 midpoint beats a small price cut, because it's cash you don't have to produce on closing day.
- Compare your Loan Estimate to your Closing Disclosure. Some items may legally change between the two and some may not; how to read a Loan Estimate line by line covers the tolerance rules.
Frequently asked questions
How much are closing costs in Maine?
At the statewide median sale price of $428,478, a 2-5% range works out to roughly $8,570 to $21,424, midpoint near $14,997. On a $350,000 purchase the same range is $7,000 to $17,500. Those figures exclude your down payment.
How much is the transfer tax in Maine?
$2.20 per $500 of value, or 0.44% of the sale price — $1,885 on the $428,478 median. The statute splits it evenly, so each side pays about $943.
Does the buyer or the seller pay transfer tax in Maine?
Both. Unlike states where the split is local custom, 36 M.R.S. §4641-A assigns half to the grantor and half to the grantee, 0.22% each, or $943 per side at the median.
What changed about Maine's transfer tax in November 2025?
For transfers on or after November 1, 2025, an additional $3.80 per $500 applies to the portion of value above $1,000,000. The first $1,000,000 stays at $2.20 per $500, and above the threshold the combined rate is 1.20%.
Does Maine charge a mortgage recording tax?
No. Maine has no mortgage recording or intangible tax, so the size of your loan doesn't trigger a percentage-based state charge. Registers of deeds charge flat per-page recording fees instead.
Do I need a lawyer to close on a house in Maine?
Not legally. Maine closings are handled by either a licensed attorney or a title company, and you choose. An attorney is worth strong consideration on rural parcels, older deeds, shared access, or shoreland-zoned property.
How much cash do I need to buy a house in Maine?
At the $428,478 median with 20% down, you'd finance $342,782, put down $85,696, and add roughly $14,997 in closing costs at the midpoint — about $100,693 in cash. A smaller down payment cuts that portion but not the closing costs; ways to reduce what you bring to closing covers the levers.
What to do next
Run your real purchase price through Maine's payment calculator, which folds in the state's property tax and insurance averages so you see an all-in monthly figure, not just principal and interest. Then work backward from the cash you have: down payment, plus 2-5% for closing costs, plus 0.22% for your half of the transfer tax.
Run your Maine numbers at your actual price- Maine mortgage payment calculator
- Maine affordability calculator
- Maine first-time buyer calculator
- How to buy a home in Maine
- First-time home buyer programs explained
Every figure on this site is sourced and dated; you can see where each one comes from on our methodology page.
The figures above are illustrations drawn from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset. They are statewide numbers, not county-level quotes, and Maine's price levels vary sharply between the southern coast and the rest of the state. Your own costs depend on your address, lender, title company, attorney, and contract. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed real estate professional, mortgage lender, or attorney in Maine.