Residential property owners in Andover are looking at average property tax increases between 3.5 and 4.6 percent next year, according to an assessor’s report the select board reviewed Monday.
The final vote on this year’s tax rate is scheduled for the select board’s Dec. 16 meeting.
The report (beginning on page 3 in the meeting packet) outlines shifts the select board can approve to split the burden carried by residential, commercial, and industrial properties. While Massachusetts law prohibits municipalities from raising taxes more than 2.5 percent annually, Andover voters have previously approved overrides of Proposition 2 1/2 to take on debt for new schools and to fully fund the Town’s pension.
The select board reviewed three different scenarios at Monday’s meeting:
- If the board keeps the same percentage of shares between the three different tax rates, residential tax bills would increase 4.6 percent, while commercial tax bills would rise 3.3 percent and industrial tax bills would go up 8.3 percent.
- If the select board chooses to keep the tax increases as uniform as possible across all three property classes, residential bills would rise 4.2 percent, commercial tax bills would go up 4.4 percent, and industrial tax bills would go up 9.5 percent, on average.
- If the select board keeps the same shift as this year, average residential, industrial, and commercial tax bills would rise 3.5 percent, 6 percent, and 11.1 percent, respectively.
The board has the latitude to consider other shifts than those included in the assessor’s report.
Last year, average residential tax bills rose 5.2 percent, down from 5.9 percent in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. The board opted for the higher residential rate for the current fiscal year to offer relief to businesses in Town. The average residential tax bill this year is $12,329.
While the actual tax rate set by the select board has decreased in five of the last six years, tax bills have risen about 5 percent annually because of assessment increases. The average assessed value of single family homes in Andover is rising 4.5 percent to $1 million in FY 2025 from $957,215 in FY 2024, up.