Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Partially, and the same way for public, private and federal pensions: each person may deduct up to $48,216 of pension income for 2025, reduced dollar-for-dollar by Social Security received. Military retirement pay is fully exempt.
Federal civil service pensions in Maine: does Maine tax federal pensions.
More on public pension systems, topic by topic: Maine PERS disability retirement, Maine PERS COLA and Maine PERS working after retirement.
More state retirement-income schedules, line by line: Maine Schedule 1S.
Inherited an IRA? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: Maine tax on inherited IRA withdrawals.
Hold a 403(b) or 457(b)? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: does Maine tax 403(b) and 457(b) withdrawals.
Married, or planning for a spouse’s death? Whether the state is a community property state, from its own statutes: Is Maine a community property state?.
Selling your home? How the state taxes the profit, from its own tax documents: Does Maine tax the profit from selling your home?.
The state’s income tax schedule: the Maine tax brackets for 2026.
Withdrawing from an IRA or 401(k)? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Maine tax withholding on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals.
Trusts have their own page: does Maine tax trust income.
Dividends and interest have their own page: does Maine tax dividends and interest.
Annuity payments have their own page: does Maine tax annuity income.
Military retired pay has its own page: does Maine tax military retirement.
Saving for a child’s college? The state’s 529 break has its own page: Maine 529 plan tax deduction.
Selling stocks, funds or real estate has its own page: does Maine tax capital gains.
Withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA have their own page: does Maine tax 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
The MainePERS payment options and refund rules, from the system’s own handbooks: MainePERS retirement decisions.
More on Maine: Is a Living Trust Worth It in Maine?, Leaving Maine in Retirement (2026) and Maine LLC Annual Report.
Confidence note: high. This page is scoped to pension, IRA and 401(k) taxation specifically. For the state’s full retirement-tax picture (Social Security, tax rates, estate and probate), see how Maine taxes retirement income generally.
How pensions and retirement-account withdrawals are taxed
Related guides: State tax on 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, State withholding on retirement withdrawals and State tax on military retirement pay.
| Public (state/local government) pensions | Partially exempt via the general pension deduction: up to $48,216 per person for 2025, reduced dollar-for-dollar by Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits received. |
|---|---|
| Private (employer) pensions | Same deduction and cap as public pensions; the statute treats state, federal and employer-plan pensions as one category. |
| Federal government pensions (FERS/CSRS) | Same treatment as state and private pensions, under one shared statutory definition of “employee retirement plan.” |
| Military retirement pay | Fully exempt, effective for tax years beginning January 1, 2016 (not a recent change); a 2025 law broadens the exemption to all uniformed services starting tax year 2026. |
| IRA and 401(k)/403(b) distributions | Partially exempt, folded into the same general pension deduction described above. A 2025 law added a carve-out excluding certain pre-age-55 lump-sum-style distributions from the deduction. |
| General retirement-income exclusion | $48,216 per person for 2025, reduced dollar-for-dollar by Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits. New for 2025: the deduction phases out above $125,000 AGI (single/married filing separately), $187,500 (head of household), or $250,000 (married filing jointly); these are the statutory base amounts, which Maine adjusts annually for inflation, so the thresholds on the 2025 forms may differ. |
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How our partner relationships workSocial Security
Social Security is never taxed by Maine, though it reduces the pension deduction dollar-for-dollar. Social Security has its own rules in every state; see the full breakdown in how Maine taxes retirement income generally.
Figures verified against 36 M.R.S. sec. 5122 and the Maine Revenue Services Individual Income Tax FAQ (revised April 13, 2026) on September 30, 2026; the inflation-adjusted 2025 phaseout thresholds were not re-checked.
Statute and sources
Governing citation: 36 M.R.S. sec. 5122(2)(M-2) (pension and military deduction), (M-3) (2025 phaseout).
Read September 4, 2026.
Related: how Maine taxes retirement income generally · does Maine tax Roth conversions? · Roth conversion taxes, all 51 jurisdictions.
General information drawn from each state’s own published statutes and revenue-department guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures and exemption amounts are current as of the date in the quick answer, are set by state law, and can change by future legislation; any pending bill named on this page is not yet law. This page cannot see your own return, which governs. We are not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice.
For your own numbers, run the Retirement Tax Comparison Tool (2026): Compare Any Two States.
See Retirement Tax Relocation (2026): The Four Taxes That Change When You Move for the full state by state breakdown.