Contact Information & Hours
- Assessor: Matt Caldwell (Caldwell Municipal Assessing & Consulting LLC)
- Assessor’s Assistant: Pamela Linscott
- Email: assessors@gouldsborotown.com
- Office hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, 8AM–4PM
- Location: 59 Main Street, Prospect Harbor, ME 04669
- Phone: (207) 963-5589
- Fax: (207) 963-2986
Hancock County Registry of Deeds
Looking to retrieve a copy of your deed? Visit the Hancock County Registry of Deeds online at no charge at hancockcountydeeds.com.
Pay Taxes Online
Pay your tax bill online through the State of Maine payment portal. A 2.5% fee applies for debit and credit card payments. If you have delinquent taxes, payments are applied to the oldest balance first.
Tax Bills
Tax Commitment Books
Alphabetical
By Map and Lot
Tax Maps
Tax maps are available as individual PDF downloads. Visit the Documents page and filter by the “Maps” category to browse all available tax maps.
Property Tax Exemptions
Blind Exemption
Resident property owners declared legally blind by their physician are entitled to an exemption of up to $4,000. Submit documentation to the Assessor’s Office on or before April 1. (Title 36, M.R.S.A. Section 654)
Homestead Exemption
Homeowners whose permanent residence is in Maine are entitled to a reduction in valuation. You must have been a Maine resident for at least 12 months prior to April 1 of the filing year. Once filed, the exemption remains until you sell or change your legal residence.
Veterans Exemption
Veterans age 62 or older who served during a federally recognized war period, as well as 100% disabled veterans, qualify for a $6,000 exemption. The widow, minor child, or widowed mother of a veteran may also qualify. Required documentation: proof of service, honorable discharge (DD214), and birth certificate. Paraplegic veterans qualify for an exemption of up to $50,000.
Key Dates
- Tax year: April 1 – March 31
- Fiscal year: July 1 – June 30
- Bills mailed: August (includes two coupons)
- First payment due: October 31
- Second payment due: March 31
- Interest: begins November 1 and April 1, respectively
- If you escrow, provide your mortgage holder with the tax bill or a copy
Filing deadline
All exemption applications are due by April 1 of the current tax year.
Gouldsboro Property Revaluation Project
The Town of Gouldsboro has contracted with Caldwell Municipal Assessing & Consulting (CMAC) to conduct a multi-year review of the Town’s real estate records followed by a complete townwide revaluation in 2030.
The project has two distinct phases:
2026–2029: Property Data Review
Approximately one-quarter (25%) of the municipality will be reviewed each year. CMAC will conduct on-site visits to verify the accuracy of the Town’s existing assessing records and collect information needed for the eventual revaluation.
2030: Townwide Revaluation
CMAC will use the property information collected during the preceding years, together with an analysis of the Gouldsboro real estate market, to develop new assessed values for real property throughout the Town. The new values will be used for the 2030/FY31 tax year.
What is a property revaluation?
Under the Maine Constitution, property taxation must be apportioned equitably according to the “just value” of property. Maine Revenue Services explains that just value is equivalent to market value, although municipalities may assess at a uniform percentage of market value rather than necessarily at 100%.
Maine Revenue Services defines a revaluation as the development of new assessed values through new land and building pricing schedules reflecting market value as of April 1 of the year the revaluation takes effect.
A revaluation is therefore not simply an across-the-board percentage increase in everybody’s assessment. The purpose is to determine appropriate values for individual properties and to make sure property is being assessed consistently and equitably throughout the municipality.
For improved real estate, Maine law requires assessors to consider relevant factors including age, condition, use, construction, location, design, physical features and economic characteristics, and to consider the cost, income and sales-comparison approaches to value.
What are the “quarter reviews”?
The terminology can be confusing. A “quarter review” does not mean that your property will be reviewed quarterly.
Gouldsboro has been divided into four annual review groups. CMAC will review approximately:
- 2026 — Quarter 1
- 2027 — Quarter 2
- 2028 — Quarter 3
- 2029 — Quarter 4
- 2030 — Complete townwide revaluation
The purpose is to spread the physical review of properties over several years rather than attempting to inspect the entire Town immediately before the revaluation. The Town’s contract specifically calls for CMAC to review approximately 25% of the municipality through on-site visits each year.
What will happen when my property is reviewed?
CMAC will compare the Town’s existing assessing records with the property. Depending upon the property, the review may include:
- Verifying the accuracy of existing land and building information;
- Identifying errors or outdated information in the property record;
- Collecting additional building information needed for the 2030 revaluation;
- Updating information in the Town’s assessing database; and
- Taking a digital photograph of the principal structure if an appropriate photograph is not already on file.
Exempt properties will also be reviewed. CMAC field staff will carry photo identification and an introductory letter, and their vehicles will have warning strobes and identifying “Town Assessor” magnets.
Will my assessment change before the 2030 revaluation?
It may. The new values resulting from the townwide revaluation will not take effect until 2030.
However, during the 2026–2029 property reviews, CMAC may identify information that is missing or incorrect on an existing property record. For example, a property record might not include an addition, garage, deck, outbuilding, or other improvement that currently exists.
When an existing property record is corrected, the change may be reflected in the following year’s assessment. Any such property will continue to be valued using the same existing Gouldsboro pricing schedules and assessment methodology currently used for other properties in Town. It will not be valued using the new pricing schedules that will be developed for the 2030 revaluation.
The purpose is to make the Town’s property records accurate while continuing to assess properties on a consistent basis. In 2030, properties throughout Gouldsboro will then be valued using the new land and building pricing schedules developed as part of the townwide revaluation.
How will the 2030 values be determined?
The 2030 revaluation will involve considerably more than the physical property reviews now underway.
CMAC will analyze arms-length real estate sales during the three years preceding the April 1, 2030 valuation date, investigate residential, commercial and industrial construction costs, analyze land values by location, quantity and quality, and develop updated land and building cost schedules appropriate for Gouldsboro.
The objective is to establish a consistent assessing system that reflects the Gouldsboro real estate market as of April 1, 2030.
Does a higher assessment automatically mean a higher tax bill?
No.
This is probably the single most important point to explain to residents.
A revaluation changes the distribution of assessed value among properties; it does not, by itself, determine how much money the Town raises in property taxes. The municipal tax rate is calculated after the amount that must be raised through property taxation and the Town’s total taxable valuation are known.
Because a revaluation can substantially increase the Town’s total assessed valuation, the tax rate can decrease correspondingly. What matters to an individual taxpayer is how the change in the value of their property compares with the change in value of the Town’s taxable property overall.
For example, if values throughout Gouldsboro approximately doubled, an individual property’s assessment doubling would not mean its tax bill would double. Conversely, a property whose value increased substantially more than the Town-wide average could bear a larger share of the tax burden after revaluation.
The central purpose of the revaluation is therefore equity among taxpayers, not increasing municipal revenue.
Will property owners have an opportunity to review their new values?
Yes.
Before the 2030 tax commitment, CMAC’s contract requires notices to taxpayers and provides for informal one-on-one meetings with property owners to discuss the proposed assessments.
That process will give property owners an opportunity to review the information used to value their property, identify factual errors, and discuss the proposed valuation before the annual tax commitment is completed.