Nantucket Property Tax Rates Going Down, But Tax Bills Set To Increase

The Nantucket Select Board on Wednesday voted unanimously to set new tax rates for residential, commercial, and open space properties, and to keep the residential exemption steady at 25 percent.

The island's property taxes are calculated on a set rate per $1,000 of total assessed value. For the 2024 fiscal year, all three types of property tax rates have gone down, and were set as follows (pending final approval by the state Department of Revenue):

• Residential: $3.17 per $1,000 of assessed value
• Commercial, industrial, personal property: $5.37 per $1,000 of assessed value
• Open space: $3.01 per $1,000 of assessed value.

While all three tax rates were reduced from the prior fiscal year, tax bills for island property owners will be going up (less so for those with the residential exemption). This is due to a 20 percent increase in value for the average single-family property, and a series of tax override spending proposals that have been approved by voters. 

For property owners without the residential exemption, the average tax bill of $8,574 will rise to $10,138, an 18.2 percent increase. For those with the residential exemption, the average tax bill of $3,273 will climb to $3,852, a 17.7 percent increase.

The residential exemption - allowed under state law - reduces residential tax bills by excluding a portion of a residential property’s value from taxation. The law "shifts the tax burden within the residential class from owners of moderately
valued residential properties to the owners of vacation homes, higher valued homes and residential properties not occupied by the owner, including apartments and vacant lands," according to the state. 

The state allows individual communities to set their own residential exemption up to 35 percent. The Select Board on Wednesday was presented options by town assessor Rob Ranney to consider increasing the residential exemption to 27.5 percent or 30 percent. However, the board declined to make any changes and stated such a move would need to be tied to a large debt exclusion or operating tax override passed by voters.

Read Ranney's memo to the Select Board below: