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Property tax fairness credit
sales tax fairness credit
October 2018. The most underserved population of Mainer’s, with respect to this tax credit, is the group of people that do not have a Federal filing REQUIREMENT.
Most of these taxpayers are entitled to Maine’s
Property Tax Fairness Credit and
Sales Tax Fairness Credit
Both of these tax credits are refundable. This means that in spite of having no tax bill to ‘pay’, these tax credits will produce a refund that will be paid to the ‘taxpayer’ filing the tax return.
To obtain the refund that is created by eligibility for these tax credits you simply make
a declaration of the taxpayer’s income and
the rent or property tax that was paid
Tables shown on page 8 of 2018 Maine Individual Income Tax Booklet
A step by step guide and detailed illustration for how to prepare a tax return for taxpayers who are NOT required to file a Federal tax return but are entitled to the Property Tax Fairness Credit and the Sales Tax Fairness Credit is BELOW (click to jump).
Property Tax Fairness Credit / Sales Tax Fairness Credit
Since these credits are determined with the same data input, they are bundled together here.
The Sample returns (below) will be an illustration of the mechanics of the calculation and not the actual amounts reflecting the higher credit limits.
Property Tax Fairness Credit and Sales Tax Fairness Credits are valuable refundable credits available to Maine Residents & Part-year residents.
Software Entries
From the Maine CREDITS menu,
select Property Tax Fairness Credit - Schedule PTFC.
You MUST manually enter into the software either
Rent paid or
Property Tax paid (even if you have already entered it on Schedule A - Itemized Deductions in the Federal return).
The calculation and credit will be determined through the software.
When Taxpayer is not filing a federal return
There is a distinctly different procedure for taxpayers that don’t have a Federal filing requirement and consequently no Maine filing requirement.
The taxpayer SHOULD file in order to receive these tax credits.
Please follow the steps below to prepare this return.
‘1. Begin the tax return as usual entering the personal information in the Basic Information area of TaxSlayer.
2. Select Health Insurance from the left side menu. Your answers here are
YES, has insurance
NO, did not purchase marketplace insurance
12 months coverage
3. Select State Section from left side menu.
4. Select Credits from the Maine Return menu.
5. Select Property Tax Fairness Credit - Schedule PTFC from the Credits menu.
6. Select Enter Income If You Did Not File A Federal Return.
Enter Income – note: SSDI goes on the SS benefits line
(see screenshots below)
From the CREDITS Menu in the Maine Return SELECT Property Tax Fairness Credit - Schedule PTFC
Enter Income If You Did Not File A Federal Return as provided by taxpayer. Noting that SSDI is reported on the Social Security line
7. Select e-File, then check radio box “Send State Only”
CONFIRM your decision by clicking the little red “x” in the upper right corner of the Warning box.
Because it is unusual to exclude the filing of the Federal return, this ominous looking page appears. Confirm your decision by clicking the little red ‘X’ in the upper right corner of Warning box.
8. Finish return as prompted (see screenshot below)
Once you click the red '“x” in the Warning box, you will see the screen below. You will have to select a Federal Return Type (Strange, I know!)
You MUST choose a Federal Return Type even though you are only filing a State Return.
9. Select Summary/Print
10. Print only Maine pages (see sample Maine return, p1 below)
You should review the return to ensure it has been properly identified noting:
The return has been marked as “filing a return only to claim the Property Tax Fairness Credit”
There is no amount in the Federal Adjusted Gross Income box on Line 14
Return must indicate that it is for “filing a return only to claim the Property Tax Fairness Credit”
11. Check Return Tags – “PTFC Return” and “State Return Only”
This is an important step. You are alerting the ERO to the absence of the Federal return so (s)he will not spend extra time investigating a potential error in data entry to prevent a transmission error.
You can add these Return Tags at any time from the home screen (TaxSlayer might call this your Office).
Adding Return Tags is extremely helpful to the ERO and will reduce time spent investigating why there is no Federal return