Skip Maine state header navigation

Agencies | Online Services | Help

Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation

Home > Municipal Services > Property Tax Payments > Service Details

Property Tax Payments - Service Details

Financial Options for Participating Municipalities

Option A: Electronic Checks (eChecks)

An eCheck is the electronic submittal of payment that transfers money from the customer account to the merchant account (or a municipal account in this case), following federal NACHA rules.

Similar to a paper check, real time authorization of account numbers and balances is not possible. A few items to consider when considering eChecks:

  • Differences in consumer protections between paper checks and e-checks
  • Consumers can reverse charges for up to 60 days for web transactions
  • Accidental keying of account numbers may occur
  • Municipality is responsible for all collections and fees associated with bounces

Benefits to accepting eChecks:

  • Lower banking fees relative to credit card fees (credit card merchant fees are very expensive, especially for high dollar payments)
  • Not all tax payers will feel comfortable charging their tax payments to a credit card and would prefer to pay by eCheck

The way it works:

All eCheck payments will be deposited directly into a municipal government bank account. Municipalities may either open a Bank of America account by completing the attached paperwork, or verify that their current bank can accept NACHA files electronically. Please let InforME know which option you prefer so we can assist you in set up.

The InforME share is $2.00 per property tax paid. InforME will invoice the municipality the first week of each month for the previous month’s amount due. The Municipality has net 20 to remit payment.

Option B: Credit Cards

Municipalities may allow their residents to pay property taxes using a credit card. Using the InforME credit card engine, taxpayers may pay by MasterCard, Visa, or Discover cards. Municipalities must choose one of the following methods:

  1. Credit card payments are deposited directly into the municipality’s merchant account. A merchant account form must be completed and returned to InforME. InforME will invoice the municipality $2/payment on a monthly basis for the previous month’s transactions. Municipality has net 20 to submit payment.
  2. Credit card payments are deposited directly into the InforME merchant account and sent via ACH (funds sent electronically) daily (3 days after the date of the transaction) to the municipality’s bank account, minus:
    • $2 for InforME maintenance of the application, and
    • 2.5% per payment collected. This covers the merchant fee that InforME will be absorbing by using the InforME merchant account.
    • Municipalities electing this option must complete the ACH form (PDF) and return it to InforME. You will need the free Adobe Reader to open and print this form.

Convenience Fees

Municipalities with enabling legislative authority may choose to charge tax payers a convenience fee on top of the tax amount due. This convenience fee would cover the merchant fees, banking fees and InforME share. Please send statutory citation to InforME.

Administrative Features

The Municipal Administrative Site provides a secure, password protected interface that allows municipalities to search for online transactions by date, date range, transaction number, or name of property owner. Municipalities will also have the option to download a data file.