Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town (FY2026)

Massachusetts property tax rates for fiscal year 2026 range from $2.18 per $1,000 of assessed value in Hancock to $20.50 in Wendell, and the statewide average residential rate is $12.18 per $1,000, according to the Massachusetts Division of Local Services (DLS). All 351 cities and towns set their own rate every year, which is why two houses with the same market value can carry very different tax bills depending on which side of a town line they sit.

I'm Jessica Shauffer, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty based in South Easton, and property taxes come up in nearly every buyer conversation I have. This guide covers the certified FY2026 residential rates for the 25 towns I work in across Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk counties, how the Massachusetts system actually works, the exemptions that can lower your bill, and how to look up any town in the state. Every rate below comes from the DLS Tax Rates by Class databank.

How Massachusetts Property Tax Works

The formula is simple: your annual tax bill equals your assessed value divided by 1,000, multiplied by the town's tax rate. A home assessed at $550,000 in a town with a $12.00 rate owes $6,600 a year. Local assessors set assessed values at full and fair cash value as of January 1 preceding the fiscal year, and the fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30. Most communities bill quarterly: preliminary bills around August 1 and November 1, then actual bills around February 1 and May 1 once the new rate is certified.

Proposition 2 1/2 is the guardrail behind all of this. A town's total tax levy can't grow more than 2.5 percent per year, plus an allowance for new growth like new construction. If a town wants to raise more than that, it needs voters to approve an override (permanent) or a debt exclusion (temporary, tied to a specific project) at the ballot box. One practical result: when home values climb quickly, rates often fall, because the levy is capped even as the tax base grows.

Rates are set town by town each fall and must be certified by the state's Division of Local Services before actual bills go out, typically in late fall or early winter. So the FY2026 rates below took effect July 1, 2025, and first appeared on the actual bills issued around January 2026.

FY2026 Residential Tax Rates in My Service Area, by County

All figures are FY2026 residential rates per $1,000 of assessed value, certified by the Massachusetts DLS.

Bristol County: Attleboro $12.20, Easton $12.59 (North Easton and South Easton are villages of Easton and share the town rate), Mansfield $13.09, North Attleborough $11.06, Norton $13.03, Raynham $11.75, and Taunton $11.14. If you're considering this corner of the state, my Bristol County guide covers the towns in more depth, and my post on moving to Easton gets into schools, commute, and neighborhoods.

Plymouth County: Bridgewater $12.03, East Bridgewater $13.69, West Bridgewater $13.61, Halifax $14.08, Hingham $10.47, Kingston $12.82, Lakeville $9.74, Middleborough $13.12, and Plymouth $12.55. More on the area at my Plymouth County page.

Norfolk County: Canton $9.75, Foxborough $13.00, Norwood $9.82, Sharon $17.15, Stoughton $11.81, and Westwood $12.87. I also cover Weston, over the line in Middlesex County, at $10.88.

The takeaway: within my service area alone, rates run from $9.74 in Lakeville to $17.15 in Sharon. That's a spread of $7.41 per $1,000 of value — real money on any home, and worth understanding before you fall in love with a house.

Why Rates Differ So Much From Town to Town

Three things drive the differences. First, the commercial base. Massachusetts towns can adopt a split tax rate that shifts more of the levy onto commercial and industrial property. Towns with large commercial bases, like Canton and Norwood, can keep residential rates below $10 because businesses shoulder a bigger share. Sharon, by contrast, is almost entirely residential, so homeowners carry nearly the whole levy — that's a big part of why its rate is $17.15.

Second, assessed values. A town with high average home values needs a lower rate to raise the same amount of money. Hingham's $10.47 rate isn't a bargain in absolute dollars; it reflects expensive real estate spread across the levy.

Third, local decisions. Overrides, debt exclusions for schools or public safety buildings, and the size of the municipal budget all push rates up or down over time. Some cities also adopt a residential exemption that shifts taxes within the residential class itself — more on that below.

Property Tax Exemptions in Massachusetts

Massachusetts law offers personal exemptions that reduce the tax bill for qualifying homeowners. The main ones, per the DLS: seniors under Clause 41C, which provides a base $500 exemption (towns can increase it to $1,000) — generally for homeowners 70 and older, though communities can lower the age to 65, and income and asset limits are set locally. Veterans under the Clause 22 series, which starts at $400 for veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 10 percent and scales up to a full exemption for the most serious disabilities; certain surviving spouses also qualify. Legally blind homeowners under Clause 37A receive $500. Qualifying surviving spouses, minor children of a deceased parent, and some elderly homeowners can receive a smaller exemption under Clause 17/17D, with amounts that vary by community.

You apply through your local board of assessors, and you must reapply each year. The deadline is December 15 or three months after the actual tax bills are mailed, whichever is later. Because eligibility rules, amounts, and income limits vary town to town, call your assessor's office before assuming you do or don't qualify.

Separate from personal exemptions is the abatement process — how you challenge the assessment itself. If you believe your home is overvalued or disproportionately assessed, you file State Tax Form 128 with the board of assessors after the actual bill arrives. The deadline is the due date of the third-quarter actual bill, typically February 1 in quarterly-billing communities. If the assessors deny it, you can appeal to the state Appellate Tax Board.

The Rate Is Not the Bill: Sharon vs. Canton

Here's the mistake I see buyers make: they compare rates and stop there. The rate only matters when applied to assessed value. Take two identical $600,000 assessments — in Sharon at $17.15, the annual bill is $10,290; in Canton at $9.75, it's $5,850. But in practice, you're rarely comparing identical assessments, because home prices differ between the two towns, and assessments follow prices.

So when you're comparing towns, pull the actual assessment and actual tax bill for specific homes you're considering — both are public record on each town's assessor database — rather than relying on the rate alone. When you're budgeting a monthly payment, remember lenders escrow property taxes, so a higher tax bill reduces how much house the same monthly payment buys. My mortgage calculators can help you run those numbers. And if you're selling, taxes get prorated at closing — I break that down in my guide to seller closing costs in Massachusetts.

How to Look Up Any Massachusetts Town

The authoritative source is the Division of Local Services' Tax Rates by Class databank on the state's DLS gateway, which lists certified rates for all 351 municipalities and lets you filter by year and class. Mass.gov also publishes an annual FY2026 Tax Levies, Assessed Values and Tax Rates page. For a quick-reference map, joeshimkus.com compiles the same DLS data by county. And for your specific property, your town assessor's online database shows your current assessed value — the other half of the equation.