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Understanding your Tax Bill

• First, the tax rates changed.
• There was a change in you total real value due to a permit issued, data correction, new construction, boundary line adjustment or subdivision, etc. If this is the case, you would have received a Change of Assessment Value letter back in June from the Assessing Department.
• The property tax credit based on income, if qualified and calculated by the State of VT Tax Department, might have decreased due to the state’s income limit decreasing from last year. If you qualified for a property tax credit, you would have received a letter sometime in June/July 2025 from the State of VT Department of Taxes indicating what the amount of the credit will be.  
• Check to see if the tax rate is based on homestead or non-homestead. These two rates are different. You must declare homestead annually if the property is your primary residence. The homestead declaration is filed with the State of VT Tax Department. The form is HS-122 and if you qualify for the property tax credit, that form is HI-144. The homestead declaration form is typically submitted at the same time income taxes are submitted to the state. Once filed, the Assessing Department receives your homestead declaration details from the state. This  determines how your property's assessed value is  used to calculate the homestead tax rate portion of your tax bill. If a homestead declaration is not filed, the entire assessed value is taxed at the non-homestead rate. If any portion of the property is used for rental or business purposes and declared on the homestead declaration, that specific percentage is categorized as non-homestead, and the remaining value is assessed at the homestead rate.