Unlock the vital role of an Annual Report for your Maine business, going beyond compliance to become a strategic asset for transparency and growth; explore our guide below to seamlessly navigate the process and propel your company toward sustained success in the Pine Tree State.
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Starts at $0 + state fees and only takes 5-10 minutes
If you’ve started a business in the state of Maine, you can congratulate yourself for taking a major step forward in your career. And with this accomplishment comes the responsibility of filing the Maine annual report for your company.
You need to file this report on an annual basis if you’re a partial or sole owner of a C or S corporation, a foreign or domestic Maine limited liability company (LLC), or other eligible entity.
If you fail to submit this report on time each year, it can result in late fees. If you’re too late filing your report or simply fail to file at all, it can cause the legal dissolution of your business. This is why it’s so important to submit your report by the filing deadline each year to avoid unwanted consequences. Here’s what we’ll cover:
An annual report is a concise summary of the vital statistics and demographics of your business. It contains all of your company’s current contact information, including for your key employees and managers.
The Maine annual report bears no relation to the taxation of your company’s revenue. For more information about the taxes you’ll owe, visit Maine’s Department of Revenue Services. The entities that must file an annual report in Maine are:
The state of Maine has the same reporting requirements for all types of business entities that must file this report. It doesn’t matter whether your company is a C corporation or an LLC.
If you intend to file your company’s annual report online, visit the state of Maine’s corporate filing page and input your information directly into the system. You can pay for the filing fee via subscriber account, electronic check, or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express).
If you need to file a paper return, you can go to the state’s paper return portal and enter your company’s charter number. Your company was assigned this number when you registered it with the state of Maine. The system will generate a preprinted report for you to fill out manually.
Once you’re done filling out the report, you’ll submit it to the state’s Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions. Enclose a check or money order to pay for the filing fee. The check must be made payable to the Maine Secretary of State, and also list your company’s charter number.
Also note that the archive of records that Maine keeps on all registered businesses is open to public scrutiny. Anyone can visit the state website and bring up your company’s information on the corporate search web page.
The state of Maine requires all types of business entities to file annual reports by the first day of June each year. Failure to meet the legal filing deadline will result in a $150 late fee (or $75 for nonprofits). If the filing fee and late fee aren’t paid and the report is not submitted within 65 days of June 1 (meaning by Aug. 5), the state of Maine will dissolve your business entity.
Although the late fee is relatively small, the dissolution of your business entity could be financially disastrous for you and your business partners. You’ll become personally liable for all outstanding debts and other financial obligations. If you don’t have sufficient capital on hand to meet those obligations and regain good standing status, you may be forced to declare bankruptcy.
The filing fee for the Maine annual report differs by entity.
The late fee for all types of businesses except for nonprofits is $150, while nonprofits must pay an extra $75.
All types of businesses required to do annual reporting must furnish the same information on their annual reports. The information that is required by the state of Maine includes:
After you submit your annual report, the state of Maine will take a few days to review your report and compare it to your previous year’s report (if one exists). Then they will publish it in their public records.
If you don’t file your annual report for the previous year by June 1st of the following calendar year, you’ll be assessed a late fee. If you completely fail to file a report, or delay filing your report until after Aug. 5 (65 days after the deadline), the state of Maine will begin dissolution proceedings against your business. A dissolved company can no longer operate under its former business structure and would lose all legal protections granted by that structure.
Fortunately, you can revive a dissolved business by filing for a Maine certificate of revival and paying a fee.
If you have problems or questions regarding the filing of your company’s annual report, you can contact the state of Maine’s Reporting and Information Section.
The penalty for nonprofits is $75, while the penalty for any other type of business entity is $150. These fees must be paid in addition to the regular filing fees that are assessed each year. The state of Maine no longer sends annual reminders to businesses in the state to file annual reports by the deadline.
If you fail to file, the state of Maine will dissolve your business structure, leaving you open to legal liability and to fulfill its financial obligations personally. You can revive a dissolved Maine company by filing for a certificate of revival with the state.
If your business was open for part of last year, then yes. If your business closed before Jan. 1 of last year, no filing is required. For example, if your company opened in January 2019, you would have to file the annual report by June 1, 2020. If it opened in 2020, you will have to file the annual report by June 1, 2021.
You can usually fill out the report in a few hours at most, assuming you have all of the necessary information on hand. The report is relatively straightforward in nature.
A digital signature is acceptable for reports filed online. Original signatures are required on all paper reports. The signature needs to come from the person who is actually filing the report, so if you have delegated the task of filing your report to someone else in your company, then that person must provide this signature.
New Maine LLCs and corporations need to file an initial annual report (known in Maine as a “first annual report”) covering the period of time that they were in business during the previous year. A business formed after Jan. 1 of the current year but before June 1 will not be required to file a report until the following year. The June 1 deadline applies regardless of when the company’s fiscal year begins or ends.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
Written by Team ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness has helped people start, run, and grow over 850,000 dream companies. The editorial team at ZenBusiness has over 20 years of collective small business publishing experience and is composed of business formation experts who are dedicated to empowering and educating entrepreneurs about owning a company.
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