Like many states, Maine treats individuals who are domiciled outside of Maine and who spent a significant amount of time in Maine as a Maine resident for tax purposes if that individual is a statutory resident. A statutory resident is an individual who maintained a permanent place of abode in Maine for the entire tax year and spent more than 183 days of the year in the State of Maine (unless the individual is in the U.S. Armed Forces).
A permanent place of abode is not considered permanent if it is only maintained during a temporary stay in Maine for the accomplishment of a particular purpose. An individual who is domiciled outside of Maine but maintains a second home in Maine at which they stay during part of the year would not meet this exception, even during COVID-19. Therefore, an individual residing in a permanent place of abode in Maine for more than 183 days during the tax year would be considered a Maine statutory resident, even during COVID-19.
Read the Maine Department of Revenue’s entire summary of these rules in their most recent newletter.