Southborough’s Select Board voted 4-1 on November 4 to retain one tax rate for residential and commercial property. Following that decision, the assessor calculated a fiscal 2027 rate of $14.44 per $1,000 of assessed value. My Southborough reported the vote and calculation in its account of the tax classification hearing.
At that rate, the average single-family homeowner’s property tax is expected to increase by $713, paid across four quarterly bills and excluding the Community Preservation Act surcharge. The estimated increase is 5.01%, compared with the 4.6% officials had projected in April; the difference is $59 above the Advisory Committee’s estimate for Annual Town Meeting. These figures were reported by My Southborough.
What is affecting the tax bill
The average single-family home’s appraised value for fiscal 2026 was $1,027,800 as of January, up $36,800 from the prior year, according to My Southborough’s report. It also reported that commercial values rose more than residential values, while industrial and personal-property assessments did not rise as much. Assessor Paul Cibelli cited declining “new growth”—tax revenue associated with new construction and development—as another factor affecting homeowners.
The Advisory Committee’s April estimate was provisional: the assessor had not yet finalized property values based on January 1 assessments, and other factors could change the result. My Southborough reported that the final estimate came in higher.
Options for changing who pays
A split rate, which would assign different rates to residential and commercial property, was again considered and rejected. My Southborough reported that Select Board member Tim Fling proposed a small initial difference to establish split rates for possible later adjustments. Cibelli argued that a split would not substantially reduce residents’ bills without significantly increasing the burden on local businesses. Board member Kathy Cook cited difficulties restaurants face staying in business.
A 2022 letter to the editor published by My Southborough argued that moving the commercial rate closer to the state average could reduce Southborough residents’ combined tax burden by $3.25 million a year, or about $1,000 per average residential property. That figure was the letter writer’s estimate.
The board also discussed a senior tax exemption. My Southborough reported that it would require approval by Town Meeting and the Massachusetts Legislature, and that Cibelli planned to bring information to the board’s next meeting. In 2023, board member Sam Stivers said he would want data connecting lower-valued homes with seniors on fixed incomes before supporting a residential exemption. That separate option would discount eligible homes below an assessed-value threshold, with the cost shifted to other homes within the residential tax base. A small commercial exemption based on the size of businesses operating on a property could also benefit commercial landlords who pay the property taxes on rented business space.
Residents can estimate their fiscal 2026 property tax by multiplying assessed value by $14.44 per $1,000. The preliminary fiscal 2027 bill was due November 2, and that payment will be credited toward the year’s total. The town’s online property cards were still showing fiscal 2025 assessment data, according to the article.
