Maine ended the 2025 fiscal year with a $152 million revenue surplus, defying repeated projections that state revenues would flatten.

But taxpayers shouldn’t expect to get any refunds.

Since the surplus is from a prior two-year budget, the money must be distributed to a predetermined list of priorities outlined in state statute. Only projected surpluses within the same two-year budget can be spent by lawmakers.

In a written statement Friday, Gov. Janet Mills celebrated her fiscal policies, which also have resulted in a recent bond credit update from Fitch Ratings to AA+, the second highest rating.

Mills highlighted Maine’s strong budget position amid “needless economic challenges and uncertainty coming from Washington” — a reference to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and efforts to slash federal spending.

“Over the past six years, my administration has worked hard to invest in Maine people, improve our economy, and produce responsible, balanced state budgets,” she said.

News of the surplus, coupled with the fact that the state’s budget stabilization, or “rainy day,” fund is maxed out at $1 billion, comes after repeated warnings to lawmakers that state revenues were flattening.

Despite the current surplus, projections for the next two-year period do suggest a leveling off of revenues, which contributed to lawmakers increasing some taxes last session. That budget included a slate of tax increases and fees on things like cigarettes, cannabis and internet streaming services that total $177 million in new revenue.

The latest surplus also comes as lawmakers continue to face an uphill battle to get their bills funded for priorities such as health care, child care, housing, education and economic development.

Nearly 300 bills totaling more than $2.5 billion over the next two years were still awaiting funding when the session ended in June. A large part of that cost was tied to a $1.6 billion bill that would increase cost of living adjustments for state employee pensions, but is unlikely to secure final passage.

Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, said in a written statement Mills’ approach to budgeting has the state well-positioned against the uncertainty of the Trump administration.

“With federal budget cuts looming, continued chaos in Congress, an uncertain tourism season, and new international tariffs taking hold, it is responsible governance to take a cautious approach,” Daughtry said. “We have no clear picture yet of how deep or wide-ranging the federal impacts will be in Maine, and the best thing for Mainers is to prepare for what could come.”

House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, repeated his party’s opposition to the new taxes and fees enacted by Democrats, which he said target retirees, working class and low-income Mainers.

“Unfortunately only one of them (Democrats) had the moral fortitude to vote ‘no,'” Faulkingham said. “The question now is with this revenue surplus, will Democrats backtrack and cut these taxes, of will they continue their reckless spending?”

Since taking office in 2019, Mills has repeatedly called for fiscal restraint within her own party, which has controlled both chambers throughout her two terms in office.

Still, the state’s biennial budget has grown from about $7.2 billion when Mills took office to $11.6 billion in the current biennium. Her budgets have fully funded revenue-sharing with municipalities and provided 55% of public education funding to local districts. Funding has also gone toward free school meals, investments in affordable housing and free community college, which is funded for one additional high school class.

Uses for the recent surplus are limited to what is outlined in state statute.

Through the so-called cascade, funds first go toward the state’s reserve for operating capital ($2.5 million), the governor’s contingency account ($350,000), the Finance Authority of Maine’s loan insurance reserve ($1 million) and retiree health insurance liabilities ($2 million).

An additional $24 million is prioritized for the MaineCare Stabilization Fund and $3 million for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the remaining balance, state law requires 80% go to the state’s budget stabilization fund, which brings that total to $1.03 billion, the statutory limit. The remaining 20%, or $33.8 million, will go toward transportation projects.