An update on property taxes

Do you want to know what your property tax bill will be this year?

Short answer: multiply the value of your home (as shown in the document “Official Notice of Change of Appraisal” that all property owners received in late May), by $1.2911 and divide the result by 100. We have this information thanks to town clerk Mary Mead’s recent post on Front Porch Forum.

In May, The Charlotte News published information on next year’s estimated property taxes. Since then, the town-wide reappraisal process has been completed. The homestead and non-homestead education tax rates have been finalized, and according to Mead, the municipal tax rate will be finalized in early August, once all appeals arising from the reappraisal process have been considered and resolved.

Three numbers go into the calculation of our property taxes:

• The appraised value of our homes
• The municipal tax rate
• The homestead education tax rate.

For fiscal year ’24 (the year that started on July 1, 2023) the homestead education tax rate is $1.0911. Mead estimates that the fiscal year ’24 municipal tax rate will be between $0.18 and $0.20. Taking the higher number for the municipal tax rate and adding the homestead education tax rate gets us to the total tax rate of $1.2911.

Let’s do the math: If your home is appraised at $500,000, your property taxes will be about $6,450. For a $750,000 home, about $9,680 and for a $1 million home, about $12,900.

Keep in mind that about 85 percent of property tax revenue is used to meet our share of the Champlain Valley School District budget; only 15 percent goes toward the town budget.

If you have any questions about property taxes, please contact Mead or Emily Tupper, assistant town clerk.