Monadnock Ledger Transcript – Factors used to determine property tax rates

Cities in the Monadnock region have published their tax rates for 2022. What this means for the landowner’s tax liability depends on the overall appraised value of the land in a city.

Tax rates include $27.86 per estimated $1,000 appraisal in Antrim, versus $26.07; $30.42 on the green field; $21.81 to Hancocks; $25.76 at Peterborough; $22.10 at Lyndeborough; $25.84 at Francestown and $24.96 at Temple.

The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (NHDRA) sets tax rates for New Hampshire cities and counties beginning in October each year. This follows local property appraisals that many New Hampshire towns and counties have conducted and which appraisers are required by law to conduct every five years. The NHDRA oversees the assessment process, but individual municipalities hire the assessors.

Tax rates are broken down into four different components: the local community rate, the local school rate, the state education rate, and the county rate. The rate is per $1,000 of the estimated appraisal. The property value is determined at market value on April 1 of each year. Real estate values ​​in New Hampshire have risen since 2012, according to NHDRA, with the most dramatic increase occurring between 2019 and 2021. Because of this increase, many New Hampshire homeowners have experienced a dramatic increase in their estimated valuations.

James Gerry, director of municipal and real estate division at NHDRA, explained in a 2021 statement what an increase in appraised value means for property owners.

“In short, just because a homeowner’s appraised value goes up doesn’t mean the property taxes they pay will go up,” Gerry said. “The appraised value (AV) determines who pays property taxes. While an individual’s AV is important, the driving force behind a property taxpayer’s payment is the relationship between their AV and the AV of every other property owner in the city or county in which they reside.”

For example, if a taxpayer’s AV in a city increases by 10 percent, but the city’s overall AV increases by 15 percent, all else being equal, the taxpayer should see a decrease in their property tax bill.

“You can think of a city’s overall AV as a cake,” explained Gerry. “Your AV is just a piece of this pie. If your piece goes up 10 percent but the total pie grows 15 percent, your share of the total pie goes down.”

The appraised value is not the only factor that influences the property tax. One of the main drivers of property taxes is appropriations, which are the amount of money a city is allowed to spend each year as a result of its budgetary process. Another factor is the amount of non-property tax revenue collected by the municipality. Increases in revenue from non-property taxes such as grants, fees and other taxes could help reduce property taxes. A decrease in this revenue could have the opposite effect.

Property values ​​across the Monadnock region have almost doubled according to Zillow’s Home Value Index, which measures median house prices in an area. As of February 2015, the median cost of a home in Peterborough was $206,000 and as of October 2022 it was $402,000. In Hancock, prices increased from $228,000 to $458,000 over the same period, and the trend is generally the same in other cities in the region.