Maine Taxable Services List 2026: A Closed List of Ten Items, and Lawn Care, Towing, Handyman Labor and Junk Removal Are Not on It
Maine Taxable Services List 2026: A Closed List of Ten Items, and Lawn Care, Towing, Handyman Labor and Junk Removal Are Not on It
Maine taxes services from a closed list. Only the categories written into 36 MRSA 1752(17-B) are taxable services, so a service that is not named there is not taxed simply because it is a service. For a new service business, the useful question is not whether your industry is taxed. It is whether your specific service matches one of the ten categories. This guide covers the list, the January 1, 2026 change that folded the old Service Provider Tax into the sales tax, and the licensing and filing questions that come up at the same time.
Important: This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. How sales tax applies depends on the facts of your sales and contracts. Confirm your situation with Maine Revenue Services, and consult a qualified CPA or attorney before you set prices or file returns.
The closed list of ten taxable services
Under 36 MRSA 1752(17-B), these are the taxable services:
- Lodging: rental of living quarters in a hotel, rooming house, or tourist or trailer camp.
- Transmission and distribution of electricity.
- Extended service contracts on automobiles and trucks.
- Prepaid calling.
- Cable and satellite TV or radio.
- Fabrication services.
- Telecommunications.
- Installation, maintenance or repair of telecommunications equipment.
- Ancillary services.
- Digital audiovisual and audio services.
Three things to know about this list:
- It is closed. A service that is not on it is not taxable under this provision, even if it looks similar to one that is.
- Several entries are utility and telecommunications categories, such as electricity transmission and cable or satellite TV, that most small service businesses never touch.
- Some terms, including ancillary services and digital audiovisual and audio services, have statutory meanings that may not match everyday usage. If one of them describes your work, check the statute text or call Maine Revenue Services before you assume it applies.
For most small businesses, the entries that matter are lodging, fabrication, and installation or repair of telecommunications equipment. The rest of this guide focuses on those, along with the services people most often assume are taxed.
What changed on January 1, 2026
The Service Provider Tax, found in 36 MRSA chapter 358, was repealed. Its services moved into the 5.5% general sales tax for sales on or after January 1, 2026, under PL 2025 c. 388 Pt. G. If you have seen older guides that describe a separate service provider tax, they are out of date on this point.
The change moved those services into the general sales tax. It did not make repair services taxable. Repair work that does not fall within one of the ten categories remains outside the tax.
Fabrication versus repair: the line that trips people up
Fabrication means producing tangible personal property from materials the customer supplies. The standard example is a carpenter who builds cabinets from the customer's lumber. That work is fabrication and falls within the list.
Application, installation and repair are different. MRS Bulletin 46 (March 2026) says this work is not fabrication and is not taxed. A contractor who installs a customer-supplied fixture or repairs an item already in place is performing installation or repair, not fabrication. The distinction turns on whether you are producing a new item from the customer's materials or working on something that is already there.
Two cautions. First, a bulletin is guidance, and the facts of a particular job can change the answer, so describe your work accurately when you ask MRS. Second, selling a finished product you make is a separate question from charging for the service. Ask MRS how your product sales are taxed.
Services that are not on the list
The following are not on the taxable services list, so the service charge for each is not subject to sales tax under that list:
- Lawn care
- Snow plowing
- Handyman labor
- Junk removal
- Towing
- Courier services
- Plumbing labor
- Electrical labor
Keep the scope precise. Being off the list covers your service charge. Parts, materials, or goods you sell to the customer are a different transaction, governed by the general sales tax rules, so confirm how they are treated before you quote a job that includes them.
Contractors on construction contracts
Contractors are the group most likely to misapply the rules. Under MRS Bulletin 4 (revised December 22, 2025), a contractor working on a construction contract pays sales tax on the materials it buys and charges no sales tax to the customer. The tax is handled on the purchase side rather than added to the invoice.
Whether a particular job is a construction contract is a question of fact. Do not assume a job qualifies because you call it a construction project. Confirm with MRS, and keep purchase records that show which materials you bought for each job.
Maine sales tax rates
Maine's rate depends on what is sold. Use this table as a quick reference:
| Type of sale | Rate |
|---|---|
| General sales | 5.5% |
| Prepared food and on-premises liquor | 8% |
| Lodging | 9% |
| Short-term car rentals | 10% |
Lodging appears on the taxable services list, and the 9% rate applies to it. Confirm the treatment of any category not listed here with Maine Revenue Services.
Licensing is separate from sales tax
Maine has no general statewide business license and no general town license. Forming an LLC, registering a corporation, or filing an assumed name is a filing, not a license to operate. Whether you need a license depends on the activity you perform.
- Municipal licenses. Maine has 482 organized municipalities: 23 cities, 430 towns and 29 plantations. Municipal officers license named activities by ordinance, and fees vary widely from town to town. The state does not set them, so contact the clerk's office where you will operate.
- Food businesses. The Health Inspection Program licenses eating places, and the Department of Agriculture licenses food processors.
- Trades. State boards under the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation license trades. Maine has no HVAC license and no general contractor license, but a specific trade may have its own board, so check with the board for your trade.
- Counties. Maine has 16 counties, but they license nothing for ordinary businesses.
To identify the licenses your activity requires, use the free Business Answers assistant at maine.gov/businessanswers.
Filing your business name and entity
Your filing depends on your structure. Sole proprietors and general partners file a sworn assumed-name certificate with the clerk of the city or town where the business is carried on. LLCs and corporations file with the Secretary of State. Maine does not offer online filing of formation documents. The forms are fillable PDFs that must be printed and mailed or delivered with payment.
| Filing | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LLC Certificate of Formation (MLLC-6) | $175 | Filed under 31 MRSA 1531 |
| Corporation Articles of Incorporation (MBCA-6) | $145 | Filed under Title 13-C |
| Assumed name statement for a registered entity (ASUM-5) | $125 | Filed with the Secretary of State |
| Name reservation (MLLC-1) | $20 | Reserves the name for 120 days |
| Annual report, LLC or corporation (MLLC-13 or MBCA-13) | $85 | Due June 1 each year. The first report is due between January 1 and June 1 of the year after formation. |
Expedited handling is available for an added fee: $50 for 24-hour service or $100 for immediate service, though availability depends on staffing. The Secretary of State states corporate filings take 2 to 7 business days, but that figure has varied across its pages, so treat it as an estimate. The municipal fee for a sole proprietor's assumed-name certificate is set by each city or town and is not published by the state.
Every LLC and corporation must also maintain a registered agent. A noncommercial agent needs a physical street address in Maine, not a P.O. Box.
Self-check before you charge sales tax
- Match the exact service to one of the ten categories. If it does not match, the list does not make it taxable.
- If the work involves fabrication, check whether you are building something from the customer's materials. Application, installation and repair are not taxed under Bulletin 46.
- If you are working under a construction contract, pay sales tax on your materials and do not charge the customer sales tax.
- Apply the correct rate: 5.5% general, 8% on prepared food and on-premises liquor, 9% on lodging, and 10% on short-term car rentals.
- Check the municipal office and any state board for your activity before you open.
- Have a CPA or attorney review anything unusual, and confirm with MRS before you rely on this guide for a specific job.
Official resources
- Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions: https://www.maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions
- Business entity search: https://apps3.web.maine.gov/nei-sos-icrs/ICRS
- Annual Report Online (InforME): https://apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/aro/index.pl
- Maine Revenue Services: https://www.maine.gov/revenue/
- Sales tax permit: https://revenue.maine.gov/_/
- Business Answers: https://maine.gov/businessanswers
- Maine Small Business Development Centers: https://www.mainesbdc.org/
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Maine district: https://www.sba.gov/district/maine
Confirm any figure in this guide with the agency that administers it before you act on it, since fees and rules change.