MONKTON — Monkton’s 2020 municipal tax rate turns out to be 4.5 cents lower than what the selectboard estimated it would be back in March.
On Aug. 31 the board set the 2020 town property tax rate at 39.37 cents per $100 of assessed property value, a decrease of 1.82 cents, or 4.4%, from 2019.
As reported in our Aug. 6 story, the tax cut was accomplished in part by reducing current-year paving expenses and by rolling costs related to the town hall and library project into the bond that will be used to pay for that project.
But Monkton residents will not see an overall reduction in their property taxes this year.
The town’s residential education tax rate increased by 7.47 cents, or 4.5%, to $1.7294.
Monkton’s nonresidential education tax rate increased by 12.13 cents, or 7.7%, to $1.6939.
The total property tax rate for Monkton residents is $2.1231, an increase of 5.65 cents, or 2.7%.
The total nonresidential rate is $2.0876, an increase of 10.31 cents, or 5.2%.
Monkton’s common level of appraisal (CLA), as reported by the Vermont Department of Taxes, decreased by 1.88 points to 96.11.
Residents paying on the full value of their property will see a tax increase of $56.50 per $100,000 of assessed value, and nonresidents will see an increase of $103.10.
Monkton residents who pay based on their incomes are very likely to receive prebates for a portion of their school tax bills, and some will also receive municipal tax credits.
In 2019 more than two-thirds of Monkton residents received education tax credits, according to the Vermont Department of Taxes.
Last year 472 of the town’s 681 house sites received credits totaling $746,883, or an average of $1,582.
In addition, there were 43 Monkton recipients of municipal tax credits, which averaged $304.
Property tax payments are due in full by Nov. 15. The late fee, however, has been suspended this year.
Right after setting the tax rate at its Aug. 31 meeting, the Monkton selectboard suspended the 8% penalty for late property tax payments. This suspension applies only to the 2020 tax year.