What actually sets Vermont apart
The annual homestead declaration is the single most consequential piece of Vermont paperwork. It is not a one-time filing like most states' homestead exemptions — it has to be redone every year with your income tax return, and forgetting it moves you onto the non-homestead education rate for the whole year.
Property taxes in Vermont at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 1.71% of home value per year
- Median home value: $290,500
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $4,956 per year (about $413 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 5th of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 7th of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Vermont statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
Rate and bill agree in Vermont
Vermont sits 5th of the fifty by tax rate and 7th by the amount a median-value owner actually pays. That agreement is less common than it sounds: 19 of the 50 states move ten places or more between the two rankings, because home values vary far more widely than rates do. In Vermont the 1.71% headline is a fair summary rather than a figure that needs correcting.
How Vermont works out what you owe
Towns list property at fair market value, and the state applies a common level of appraisal to bring each town's listed values into line with actual sales. The bill combines a municipal rate with a statewide education tax.
Vermont sets no statutory limit on how fast a home's taxable value can rise, so a Vermont assessment tracks the market more closely than it would in a capped state.
Exemptions Vermont homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces a Vermont bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Homestead declaration: Vermont owners must declare their homestead with the state every year. Miss it and the property is billed at the non-homestead education rate, which is higher, plus a penalty.
- Property tax credit: An income-based adjustment that reduces the education portion of the bill for homestead owners below an income limit, claimed on the state return.
Where you buy inside Vermont changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Vermont:
- Chittenden County: Burlington and the state's largest market, where municipal rates vary between the city and surrounding towns
- Rutland County: lower values with higher municipal rates, and a ski-town second-home market at Killington
- Windsor County: the Upper Valley, where buyers compare Vermont bills against New Hampshire's on the other side of the river
Vermont and its neighbours
The same $290,500 — the Vermont median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- New Hampshire at 1.77%: about $5,142 a year, roughly $186 more than the $4,956 a Vermont owner would pay on the same value.
- Massachusetts at 1.11%: about $3,225 a year, roughly $1,731 less than the $4,956 a Vermont owner would pay on the same value.
- New York at 1.6%: about $4,648 a year, roughly $308 less than the $4,956 a Vermont owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing a Vermont assessment
If the assessed value on your Vermont home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the town listers for grievance, then the Board of Civil Authority. The window is grievance day follows the lodging of the grand list in the spring, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Vermont property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
Due dates are set by each town, commonly in instalments across the fiscal year that begins in July. The homestead declaration and property tax credit claim are filed with the Vermont Department of Taxes with the income tax return, by the April filing deadline.
Does this calculator use my exact Vermont county tax rate?
No — it applies the Vermont statewide average of 1.71%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Vermont is wide enough to matter: on a $290,500 home, $2,104 a year separates Vermont from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Vermont county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.