Portland, ME · Updated Oct 2026

What a Portland house pays

Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.

Sent only to free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a Portland house

$12,621a year · $1,052 a month

Starts at $566,600 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

A typical Portland house pays about $12,600 a year: $6,810 property tax and charges, $1,520 water and sewer, $200 trash, $3,010 electricity and gas, $1,080 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 22, 2026. Insurance: what you enter, or a typical premium until you do. Sources are listed at the bottom.

Ways to pay less

Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:

Switch to the one 15-gal bag a week cartUp to $104 a year
Your cart costs $17 a month; the smallest costs $8. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your garbage hauler.
Veterans 62+ or 100% disabled: $6,000 veteran exemption$6,000 off assessed value
A veteran who served during a recognized war period and is 62 or older, or who receives 100% disability as a veteran, gets $6,000 of just value of the home exempted.
How: File the application with the local town office where the home is; it must reach the Assessor's office by April 1.
Legally blind: $4,000 exemption$4,000 off assessed value
A legally blind owner gets $4,000 of just value of the home exempted.
How: File the application with the local town office where the home is; it must reach the Assessor's office by April 1.
Income limits: Maine Property Tax Fairness CreditRefundable income tax credit
Maine residents who paid property tax or rent on their primary home and meet income and tax-paid limits can get part of it back on the state income tax return, even if they owe no income tax.
How: File Form 1040ME with Schedule PTFC/STFC.
State Property Tax Deferral ProgramTaxes deferred, repaid later
The State pays the property taxes on a participant's homestead each year; the total deferred taxes plus interest and costs must be repaid after the taxpayer withdraws or is disqualified.
How: Apply to Maine Revenue Services; the 2026 filing period was January 1 to April 1, 2026.
Low income: PWD Lifeline water rate$3.02 minimum charge
Portland Water District's Low Income minimum charge is $3.02, compared with $12.86 for the standard 5/8-inch residential meter. Lifeline rates are based on the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) guidelines.
How: Contact The Opportunity Alliance at (207) 553-5900 or 877-429-6884.
LIHEAP-eligible: 30% off Unitil gas30% off gas rates
Unitil residential customers identified by the Maine State Housing Authority as eligible for LIHEAP may get a 30% discount on delivery and gas supply rates for 12 months.
How: Call Unitil at 1-888-301-7700 with questions about the discount.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartYou buy purple City bags, so the cost depends on how many bags you put out; curbside trash is collected only in official City bags. Recycling is collected weekly.

Value before exemptionsUse the assessed value on your tax bill. Portland revalued all property to market value in 2025.

I live here and have the Maine homestead exemption

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $1,077, Maine statewide average, 2022 (NAIC data, via the Insurance Information Institute).

Your use

Water, units a month

On your water bill. 1 unit (CCF) is 748 gallons. A typical Portland house uses about 7.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Central Maine Power (CMP) bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 9, 2026in 17 daysPublic hearing on Portland Water District's proposed water rate adjustment, effective January 1, 2027.
Mar 12Second half of the FY 26/27 property tax is due March 12.
After each due dateLate property tax payments are charged interest at 8.5% a year.
Within 185 days of commitmentAbatement (appeal) applications must be filed in writing with the assessors within 185 days from commitment.

Who serves this house

Water: Portland Water District; Portland Water District member monthly rates effective January 1, 2026; the standard residential meter is 5/8 inch
Property tax: 1.26% of value; 2026 tax year (FY 2027, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), City of Portland
Garbage: City of Portland Public Works (Solid Waste); Weekly pay-as-you-throw trash and recycling collection.
Sewer: City of Portland, billed by Portland Water District; Portland's wastewater rate is $13.50 per HCF of water, with a 1 HCF minimum; Portland Water District bills wastewater fees on behalf of the city and towns.
Electricity: Central Maine Power (CMP); The Maine PUC's average residential rate for CMP includes transmission, distribution, stranded costs and standard offer supply.
Gas: Unitil; Unitil has gas service in Portland.
Schools: Portland Public Schools; School is $6.62 of the FY 2027 tax rate in the city budget's tax calculation.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Sebago Lake, Maine's deepest and second-largest lake; the water is not filtered.
PFAS: No PFAS compounds or lithium were detected in 2024 tests for 29 PFAS compounds.
Lead: PWD's lead inventory found no lead mains or service lines in its system.
Hardness: 7.2 mg/L as CaCO3 (Maine recommended limit 150).

PWD is proposing a water rate adjustment effective January 1, 2027: about $3.00 more a month for a typical residential customer (public hearing November 9, 2026). Wastewater fees are not affected.

Other ME cities

What a Sanford house pays

How these numbers are made

Property tax: Portland's FY 2027 (2026 tax year) mil rate of $12.58 per $1,000 of assessed value, one combined rate that covers city, school and Cumberland County. The city's adopted budget split, based on a draft valuation, is $5.44 city, $0.50 county and $6.62 school ($12.57). Portland's assessor states the FY27 ratio of assessed to market value is 100%, so the $25,000 Maine homestead exemption is used at its full amount. We start at the $566,600 median residential value reported after the 2025 revaluation (FY26); FY27 values were not revalued. Portland has no flat charges on the tax bill that we found.
Water: Portland Water District member rates from January 1, 2026: $12.86 a month for a 5/8-inch meter including the first 100 cubic feet (1 HCF), then $3.21 per HCF up to 30 HCF, $3.13 to 100 HCF, $2.76 to 500 HCF and $1.59 above. The page starts at 7 HCF, PWD's typical monthly use for a three-person home. A water rate increase is proposed for January 1, 2027.
Sewer: Portland's wastewater rate on the PWD bill, $13.50 per HCF of water with a 1 HCF minimum. Portland's separate stormwater service charge, which the City bills based on each property's impervious area, is not included because we could not get a current rate from a source we can check.
Trash: Portland has no trash fee; you buy purple City bags ($1.90 per 15-gallon bag, $3.90 per 30-gallon bag, prices since July 1, 2024). The monthly figure is bags a week x price x 52 / 12, starting at one 30-gallon bag a week. Recycling is collected at no extra charge.
Electricity: CMP's average residential rates as of July 1, 2026 from the Maine PUC: $27.37 a month including 50 kWh, then $0.24680 per kWh (delivery $0.119590 plus Standard Offer supply $0.127210 for calendar 2026). CMP's rates do not vary by season, so this is a year-round figure; the Standard Offer price resets January 1, 2027. Starting use is 550 kWh a month, the average CMP customer in the Maine PUC's Standard Offer announcement.
Gas: Unitil (Northern Utilities) R2 residential heat rate effective July 1, 2026: $33.87 a month, plus distribution, environmental response, EERA and the current cost of gas, $1.1934 per therm for the first 40 therms and $0.9394 after. The cost of gas changes each May 1 and November 1 and is usually higher in winter, so the yearly gas figure may be low. Many Portland homes heat with oil or propane instead. Starting use is 59.5 therms a month, Maine's 2024 residential gas use per customer (EIA). Insurance: Maine's 2022 average homeowners premium (NAIC via III).
Bag prices are from the July 1, 2024 City increase; CMP is Portland's electric utility (the City is a CMP net-billing customer).
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Portland compares

A typical Portland house against the 320 cities we cover nationwide, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Portland	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.26%	1.23%	higher than 167 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide
Water	$385	$654	lower than 263 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$1,134	$735	higher than 249 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide
Trash	$203	$379	lower than 231 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide
Electricity and gas	$3,008	$2,743	higher than 198 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide
Home insurance	$1,077	$1,492	lower than 277 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide
Total	$12,621	$11,671	higher than 190 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide

Cities bill differently (some put trash on the tax bill, some cover more services), so a higher number isn't necessarily worse. The property tax rate is compared instead of dollars because house values differ.

Questions to ask your candidates

Each one starts from a number above. Any candidate can answer them.

1. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $385 a year at typical use, lower than 263 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide.

Ask: "Water here costs about $385 a year at typical use, lower than 263 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,134 a year, higher than 249 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide. Some cities bill sewer on the property tax bill instead, which is not counted here.

Ask: "Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here cost about $1,134 a year, higher than 249 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $203 a year for the standard cart, lower than 231 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.

Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $203 a year for the standard cart, lower than 231 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Portland house costs

What is the property tax rate in Portland?

About 1.26% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year (FY 2027, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), City of Portland), plus flat charges on the same bill.

How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Portland?

About $5,976 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the maine homestead exemption.

How much is the water bill in Portland?

About $127 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7 units, or 5,236 gallons a month) on Portland Water District.

How much does trash pickup cost in Portland?

$8 to $34 a month, depending on the trash cart size (One 15-gal bag a week, One 30-gal bag a week, Two 30-gal bags a week).

When is property tax due in Portland?

Mar 12: Second half of the FY 26/27 property tax is due March 12.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Portland?

Yes. Veterans 62+ or 100% disabled: $6,000 veteran exemption: A veteran who served during a recognized war period and is 62 or older, or who receives 100% disability as a veteran, gets $6,000 of just value of the home exempted.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Portland?

Low income: PWD Lifeline water rate: Portland Water District's Low Income minimum charge is $3.02, compared with $12.86 for the standard 5/8-inch residential meter. Lifeline rates are based on the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) guidelines. Contact The Opportunity Alliance at (207) 553-5900 or 877-429-6884.

How much does a house in Portland cost to run each year?

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