Worcester May Set 2022 Tax Rates After Thanksgiving

Worcester MA

22 November, 2021

12:53 PM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester residents keen to estimate next year's tax bills will have to wait at least one more week. The City Council will likely hold the 2022 tax classification hearing at the Nov. 30 meeting. At the meeting, Councilors will choose tax rates for residential, commercial and industrial property types. In a memo to City Council this week, Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy said his office was still in the process of calculating tax rate estimates due to this year's revaluation, where the city manually appraises all taxable property. In non-revaluation years, the Assessor uses typically market data to calculate property value increases. Like other large communities in the state, Worcester typically splits its tax rate, shifting some burden away from residential property owners and onto commercial owners. Councilors typically debate whether to shift property taxes at all, with some — mainly the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce — typically advocating for a single tax rate for all property types. In 2021, the residential rate was set at $16.28 (72 cents less than 2020) per $1,000 of value, and $36.20 for commercial (CIP) properties. Residential property values rose 8.23 percent between 2020 and 2021, meaning many residential owners saw a higher bill even if the residential rate fell. According to the Assessor, Worcester had the 134th highest residential tax rate in 2021 out of 351 communities in Massachusetts. But the average tax bill was $4,372, No. 232 out of the 351 communities. Worcester had the sixth-highest CIP rate in all of the state in 2021 at $36.20. If Council picks tax rates on Nov. 30, it'll actually be a little earlier than normal. The Council set rates on Dec. 8 in 2021.