Maine: Sales Tax Handbook
What constitutes sales tax nexus in Maine?
One of the more complicated aspects of Maine sales tax law is sales tax nexus, the determination of whether a particular sale took place within the taxation jurisdiction of Maine, and is thus subject to state (and possibly local) sales taxes.
If a vendor's transactions are determined to have nexus in Maine, the vendor must register for a Maine sales tax license and collect appropriate sales taxes from the buyer for all transactions with nexus in the state. On this page, we have compiled some of the most commonly needed facts about what constitutes sales tax nexus in Maine.
Sales Tax Nexus in Maine
According to Maine law, retailers who have tax nexus can be defined very plainly in several different ways. Maine considers a business to have tax nexus if they have have substantial physical presence in the state; an office, store, repair facility, warehouse, or any other place of business within the state's boundaries, or if there is an employee, contractor, salesperson, or any other representative working within the state of Maine.
For additional details on sales tax nexus law in Maine, see the nexus information page from the Revenue Services at http://www.state.me.us/revenue/salesuse/reference-04.htm 
Taxation of Internet-Based Sales in Maine
NOTE: 2018 Supreme Court Ruling Regarding Online Sales Taxes
In the 2018 Supreme Court case South Dakota vs. Wayfair Inc, Et Al., the court overturned a previous ruling that required a merchant to have physical nexus in order for a state to collect sales tax. This means that any state is now free to enforce collection of sales taxes on out-of-state online merchants. The information provided here may be subject to change, and many states are expected to begin collecting online sales taxes following this ruling.
Generally, Maine does not charge sales tax on Internet-based transactions determined to have nexus within the state. This means that purchases from Amazon.com and other Internet-based retailers may be sales-tax-free.
The nexus status and taxability of Internet-based sales, by vendors and/or consumers within Maine, have been the subject of hot debate in recent years. You can learn more on our introduction to Internet-based sales taxes.
Does my business have tax nexus in Maine?
The folks at the sales tax compliance company Avalara are an approved Maine sales tax partner, and you can use their free Maine nexus wizard tool to determine whether or not your business has nexus, and is therefore required to pay Maine sales taxes. If you're interested in automating your sales tax collection and filing process, click here to get more information.
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