Every Westport house that sells this fall is taxed differently from any bill issued before July 2026. The Board of Finance set the mill rate at 13.2 for the fiscal year that began July 1, down from 18.86. That cut sounds like relief. It was built to absorb a revaluation that raised the typical home's assessment by about 60 percent. For most single-family homes, the arithmetic still comes out to a bigger bill.
That matters on both sides of a sale. A buyer who compares Westport carrying costs using a tax figure from the 2025-26 bill is working from the old assessment and the old rate. A seller whose house went up faster than the town average now hands the buyer a higher annual cost than the house carried a year ago. And on closing day, the tax adjustment between the parties is calculated on the new bill.
The Number That Changed Under the Listing
Westport's tax bills due beginning in July 2026 are the first ones based on the Grand List of October 1, 2025. That list reflects the town's state-mandated revaluation, carried out by Vision Government Solutions of Hudson, Massachusetts. This one was an inspection revaluation, with appraisers visiting most properties. The 2020 revaluation did not require an inspection for most homes. Renovations and additions made since then had a direct path into the new figures.
When Assessor Paul Friia signed the 2025 Grand List in February, it totaled $17,497,161,570. That is just over 50 percent above the 2024 list of $11,616,471,195. Within real estate, residential assessments rose 60 percent and commercial assessments rose 16 percent. Connecticut assesses property at 70 percent of estimated market value, so a home's assessment and its market value move together.
Forty-Three Percent Is the Line That Matters
The Town describes a revaluation as revenue neutral. The budget decides how much the town collects, and the revaluation only changes how that amount is split among taxpayers. That is why the mill rate fell, and it also tells you how far the fall reaches.
Dividing the old rate of 18.86 by the new rate of 13.2 gives about 1.43. On our arithmetic, a home whose assessment rose by roughly 43 percent ends up with about the same bill as before, if spending had stayed flat. A home that rose less sees its bill fall. A home that rose more sees it climb. The town average for residential property was well above that line. Finance Director Gary Conrad put the average residential increase at 59.55 percent and the commercial increase at 16.55 percent.
| Assessment change since the 2024 list | Effect on the annual bill at 13.2 versus 18.86 |
|---|---|
| About +16.55%, the commercial average | Roughly 18% lower |
| About +43% | About the same |
| About +57%, the south-of-I-95 home average | Roughly 10% higher |
| About +59.55%, the residential average | Roughly 11.7% higher |
| About +66%, the north-of-I-95 home average | Roughly 16% higher |
These percentages are our calculations from published town averages. Any single house will vary with its own assessment and with any appeal outcome.
Spending did not stay flat. In February, before the budget was set, the 06880 blog worked out that a flat budget would have produced a mill rate of about 12.52. It also estimated that each 1 percent of budget growth adds about 0.125 mills. In May, the RTM approved a $266,062,614 all-funds budget for fiscal 2026-27. The final 13.2 rate came in above the 12.52 flat-budget figure, and by that 0.125-mill rule of thumb the gap reflects budget growth. Part of the change in a homeowner's bill comes from the budget, and the larger part comes from the reshuffle.
Why Homes Carried the Shift
Residential real estate makes up most of what Westport taxes. Real estate as a whole is about 95 percent of the Grand List. When homes gain value nearly four times faster than commercial property, a revenue-neutral system moves more of the levy onto homes. At the May 20 meeting where the board unanimously adopted 13.2, Conrad described it plainly:
"The expenses remain the same. It's just the rebalancing of who pays that amount of taxes."
Board of Finance Chair Danielle Dobin said residential properties had appreciated about 60 percent on average over five years, compared with about 17 percent for commercial. Conrad tied the slower commercial growth to changing retail patterns and pressure on brick-and-mortar businesses. The 06880 blog pointed to Bridgewater Associates' Nyala Farm headquarters as an example of commercial property that did not rise nearly as much as homes. Westport Journal summed it up when the rate was introduced. The revaluation shifted more of the tax burden onto homeowners, and many will pay more even with the lower rate.
The Highway Split
The town averages hide a geographic difference. According to Friia's figures, as reported in Westport Journal and repeated by 06880, home values north of I-95 rose about 66 percent on average. South of I-95, the Long Island Sound side of town, they rose about 57 percent.
Nine points of appreciation sounds small. Measured against the 43 percent break-even line, the gap is large. On our arithmetic, the average home north of the highway is about 23 points past break-even, compared with about 14 points for the average home south of it. That works out to an increase of roughly 16 percent on the bill, compared with roughly 10 percent.
For a buyer comparing an inland house with one closer to the water, the tax gap between the two narrowed this year, and narrowed more than either list price suggests. For a seller north of I-95, last year's tax figure understates the new owner's cost by more than it would on a comparable home south of the highway. No published breakdown separates waterfront from inland or condominiums from single-family homes. The I-95 split is the only geographic cut the Assessor's figures provide.
Where It Lands on Closing Day
Westport bills real estate tax once a year but collects it in four installments. They are due July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1, and each can be paid without penalty until the first of the following month. Many Connecticut towns follow a January and July pattern, so Westport's quarterly schedule changes the math for anyone used to six-month installments.
The Fairfield County Bar Association form contract provides that real estate taxes "shall be apportioned over the fiscal period for which levied." It applies the bar custom of the community where the property sits, and a written agreement signed by both parties can change that. Westport's tax calendar treats October 1 as the assessment date for the following year's taxes, and the new rate applies to the fiscal year that began July 1. A closing this fall is therefore adjusted on the first post-revaluation bill.
Here is how the new figure works through, using a hypothetical home:
- Find the assessment. The Town's online property records list each parcel's Total Assessment near the top of the page.
- Drop the last three digits and multiply by 13.2. Westport Journal's example shows a $1,197,400 assessment producing an annual bill of $15,806.
- Compare it with the old figure. If that home's assessment had risen by the residential average, it would have been about $750,500 on the prior list. At 18.86, that comes to roughly $14,150 a year. The same house now costs about $1,650 more a year to hold.
- Split it into quarters. The $15,806 bill comes to about $3,950 per installment, and the closing adjustment is calculated from those amounts.
At the 70 percent assessment ratio, that example home has an estimated market value of about $1.71 million.
Questions Buyers and Sellers Raise
Could appeals still move a particular house's number?
In March, 330 homeowners asked the Board of Assessment Appeals for reductions. About 60 business owners also contested their assessments, generally through Superior Court. Friia expected the effect on the overall list to be relatively minor. The filing window for the 2025 list closed February 20, 2026. A property's current record shows where its assessment stands.
Is this a one-year event?
Connecticut requires a revaluation every five years. The values set as of October 1, 2025 will carry forward until the next one, with annual updates for new construction and renovation activity. The mill rate will still be reset with each year's budget.
Did anyone's bill go down?
Any property whose assessment rose less than about 43 percent would see a lower bill at 13.2 than at 18.86, before budget growth is counted. The commercial average fell into that range. The residential average did not.
If you're preparing a Westport home for sale, or weighing one against a home in a neighboring town, the post-revaluation assessment is now part of the price conversation. On The Harbor can review your property's new assessment alongside recent sales and prepare a carrying-cost picture that reflects this year's numbers. Request a private home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
