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.