Disclaimer: The informaon provided here is intended to be an overview only. Vermont tax statutes,
regulaons, Vermont Department of Taxes rulings, or court decisions supersede informaon presented here.
Revised October 2022 | Publicaon IG-1264
Comparing Vermont Property Taxes to Peer States
1
Property Tax Rate Esmates
How do Vermont’s property taxes compare with property taxes in our neighboring states? In pracce, property
taxes even in the same state vary from county to county—so how do those ranges compare throughout
the Northeast? The infographic below answers these quesons by directly comparing esmates for median
eecve property tax rates statewide and by providing a range of esmated median tax rates for counes
within each state.
The dark green bands represent the range of eecve property tax rates between the lowest and highest
tax-rate counes in each state. The light green bands represent the median eecve property tax rate for the
state, given as a margin-of-error range since the median-valued home may not pay the median tax amount.
These esmates are based on the most authoritave gures available from US Census data for median home
value and median real estate taxes paid aer any exempons and adjustments
1
.
Note: Tax rate is computed as median real estate taxes paid / median home value
1
For median home value of and median real estate taxes paid for owner-occupied housing units, see American Communies Survey
2020 5-year esmates, tables B25077 and B25103, respecvely (data.census.gov/cedsci/)
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2
Credits and Adjustments to Property Taxes
Each of the states included in this analysis provide some kind of property tax relief to lower property tax
burdens for certain income- and/or age-qualied households. We summarize the scope and extent of these
relief programs in the table below, which draws on state records and data collected by the Lincoln Instute of
Land Policy.
Summary of Property Tax Credit and Adjustment Programs from Vermont and Peer States
Sources
• Residenal Property Tax Relief Programs (lincolninst.edu/research-data) - Lincoln Instute of Land Policy; search for programs in
2020; Benet Type=Circuit Breaker, Credit; Eligibility=Age, Homeowner, Income ceiling, Principal residence, Property value limit
• State Eligibility Requirements: ME: Property Tax Fairness Credit Summary (maine.gov/revenue) Maine Revenue Services; MA:
Massachuses Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit (mass.gov/info-details); RI: Personal Income Tax Forms | RI Division of Taxaon
(tax.ri.gov) “RI-1040H”; VT: Forms And Instrucons | Department Of Taxes (tax.vermont.gov) “HS-122, HI-144”; CT: Individual
Income Tax Forms (portal.ct.gov) “CT-1040” Under “Instrucon Booklets”, Circuit Breaker For Elderly Or Disabled Homeowners
| Lincoln Instute Of Land Policy (lincolninst.edu); NY: STAR Eligibility (tax.ny.gov); NH: Taxpayer Assistance | NH Department Of
Revenue Administraon (revenue.nh.gov)
• Average Benet Data: ME: Oce Of Tax Policy | Maine Revenue Services (lincolninst.edu) “2021 Tax Expenditure Report”; MA:
DOR Press Releases And Reports | Mass.Gov (mass.gov) “Senior Circuit Breaker Credit Usage By Town (2001-2020)”; RI: Reports
| RI Department Of Revenue (tax.ri.gov) “2022 Tax Expenditures Report”; VT: Property Tax Credit Stascs | Department Of
Taxes (tax.termont.gov) “Property Tax Credits” Under “PDF Report” In 2021; CT: 2020 Individual Income Tax Report (portal.
ct.gov) “2020 CT-1040 & CT1040NR/PY Income Tax Data”; NY: NYS School Tax Relief (Star) Reimbursement By County: Beginning
Levy Year 1998 | State Of New York (data.ny.gov); NH: Reports | NH Department Of Revenue Administraon (revenue.nh.gov)
“2021 Annual Report”; For Total # Taxpayers, SOI Tax Stats - Number Of Returns Filed, By Type Of Return And State And Fiscal
Year - IRS Data Book Table 3 | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov/stascs/)
MA RI VT NY NH
Age Restrictions
All ages 65+ 65+ All Ages
65+ or claiming
dependent(s)
All ages All ages
2021 Benefit
Limits
$1,500 for
seniors, $1,000
otherwise
$1,130 per tax
return
$415 per tax
return
The maximum
benefit offered
from the Vermont
Property Credit
Claim is $8,000.
$200 for non-
seniors, $1,250
for married
seniors and
$1,000 for single
seniors.
For 2022, maximum
exemption depends on
municipality and school
district; average
maximum $627 with
range from $11 to
$2645. Additional
programs for
households 65+ and
very low income
households.
Up to 100% of taxes
refunded for those
earning <$20k for
single filers or <$40k
for head-of-
household or
married joint filers.
Covers only first
$100K of property
value.
Tax Credit or Bill
Adjustment
Tax Credit Tax Credit Tax Credit Bill Adjustment Tax Credit Tax Credit Tax Credit
Would the
median-income
household (2020
Census) in this
state qualify for
this benefit?
No; disqualified
by income
restrictions.
No; disqualified
by age & income
restrictions.
No; disqualified
by income
restrictions.
Yes. Median
household
qualifies for this
benefit.
Yes. Median
household
qualifies for this
benefit (if not
Married Filing
Separately).
Yes. Median
household qualifies
for this benefit.
No; disqualified by
income
restrictions.
Average Benefit
Received
(For most recent
year available)
For FY22, Maine
DoR predicts
approximately
54,000 taxpayers
(7.5% by 2021
filers count) to
receive an
average credit of
$655.
In 2020, 101,476
households (3%
of taxpayers)
received an
average benefit
of $956.
In 2020, 11,976
households
(2.2% of
taxpayers)
reveived an
average benefit
of $283.
In 2021, 116,469
households (33.4%
of taxpayers)
received an
average benefit of
$1,609.
In 2020, 407,929
households (24%
of taxpayers)
received an
average benefit
of $155.
In 2021, over 1.6
million households
(15.8% of taxpayers)
received an average
benefit of $644.
Households 65+
(5.6% of taxpayers)
received an average
benefit of $1,416.
In 2020, 5,572
households (0.7%
of taxpayers)
received an
average benefit of
$144.
State
ME CT
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3
Source References and Supporng Material for the Analysis
Census Definitions
3
Household: “A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit… A housing unit is a house,
an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended
for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live
separately from any other people in the building and which have direct access from the outside of the building
or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families
living together, or any other group of related or unrelated people who share living arrangements.”
Income of Households: “This includes the income of the householder and all other individuals 15 years old
and over in the household, whether they are related to the householder or not.”
Owner-Occupied (housing unit): “A housing unit is owner-occupied if the owner of co-owner lives in the unit,
even if it is mortgaged or not fully paid for. The owner or co-owner must live in the unit and usually is Person 1
on the quesonnaire.
Real estate taxes: “…the total amount of all real estate taxes on the enre property (land and buildings)
payable to all taxing jurisdicons, including special assessments, school taxes, county taxes, and so forth. Real
estate taxes include state, local, and all other real estate taxes even if delinquent, unpaid, or paid by someone
who is not a member of the household. However, taxes due from prior years are not included. If taxes are paid
on other than a yearly basis, the payments are converted to a yearly basis.
3
American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey 2021 Subject Denions (census.gov)
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Median Income and Median Taxes by State and County
4
4
For median home value of and median real estate taxes paid for owner-occupied housing units, see American Communies Survey
2020 5-year esmates, tables B25077 and B25103, respecvely: (data.census.gov/cedsci/)
2
Highest Eecve Tax Rate Counes
Lowest Eecve Tax Rate Counes
State Eecve Tax Rate
