Department of Revenue Administration finalizes this year's tax rate
Rochester City Manager Blaine Cox is reporting that the tax rate for property taxes, to be billed this December, has been set at $24.65 per thousand dollars of property value, a $0.04 increase over the prior year. This represents a 0.2 percent increase from the previous $24.61 rate (per thousand dollars of assessed valuation).
The four-cent increase to the rate is attributed to the combination of multiple factors and does not necessarily mean residents will see a higher property tax bill. The county tax effort increased 4.8% and the local school portion increased 4.2%, while the municipal tax effort decreased 2.3% and the state education effort decreased 4.5%.
The changes in these tax efforts collectively resulted in a 1.5% increase to the total amount to be raised through taxation. The total net assessed valuation increased by $37,138,191 or 1.3% over the prior year.
The breakdown of Rochester’s tax rate is as follows:
■ City: $7.89 (decrease of 29 cents from last year).
■ Local education: $12.41 (increase of 35 cents).
■ State education: $1.84 (decrease of 10 cents).
■ County: $2.51 (increase of 8 cents).
The current median assessed value of a single-family home is $208,000 and will receive a tax bill of $5,127. Taxes on an assessment of $208,000 last year resulted in a tax bill of $5,119.
Rochester has experienced an approximate increase of 23% in the median single-family home value between April 1, 2019 and April 1, 2021 (two years). The 2020 median assessment was $208,000 and when equalized at 93.3% represented a fair market value of $222,900. The 2021 assessment equalization rate has not yet been set by the NH Department of Revenue Administration. The estimated 2021 equalization rate is 76.8%, which represents a fair market value of $270,800 for a home with a median assessed value of $208,000.
Final tax bills are being processed and are tentatively scheduled to be mailed on December 15th. Tax bills are due 30 days from the mailing date.