Boston Homeowners Face 13% Property Tax Hike Starting in January

Boston is already one of the most expensive U.S. cities to live in—and it's about to become even pricier.

In October 2025, the median home list price in Boston was just under $800,000, the fifth-highest among the top 50 U.S. metros and the highest outside California, according to the Realtor.com® monthly housing market trends report.

Now, residential property taxes in the city are set to increase by 13% beginning in January—which will translate to $780 for the average homeowner.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press briefing on Tuesday that homeowners will see an unusually large tax bill in January, since the new rate will be applied retroactively to the prior quarter.

“With a 13% annual increase, the January bill will be felt as a 26% increase over the last quarter's bill,” she said. “That's a lot of money to come up with suddenly, particularly for our seniors and residents on fixed incomes, particularly for everyone who's seeing energy bills go up as the weather gets colder and heating systems are turned on.”

City officials said the final confirmation of the rates won't come until the Massachusetts Department of Revenue approves the submitted property values.

According to Wu, the increase is driven by the decline in commercial property taxes, since the value of commercial buildings has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year alone, commercial property values declined by 6%, while residential values rose by 2%.

As a result, commercial real estate taxpayers in Boston will see a 4.4% decrease in their property tax bills, Wu said. This represents an average $210,000 in savings.

As the Trump administration moves toward federal reductions, these looming cuts leave Wu dealing with a tight financial landscape.

Over 70% of the city’s $4.6 billion budget relies on property taxes, the bulk of which comes from commercial properties.

Proposed tax relief

Last year, Wu proposed legislation that would allow the city to increase property tax rates on businesses beyond the limit set by the state so that the property tax burden wouldn't shift toward residential properties. Although it was passed by the Boston City Council and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the measure never made it through the state Senate.

Last fall, she recrafted the bill to set a 9% annual increase for residents. But again, it didn't pass the Senate.

Wu has rewritten her property tax plan once again.

"It was passed by the Boston City Council for the third time months ago and has been stalled up at the State House awaiting action,” Wu said.

Wu has now called for immediate passage of the plan, but legislators are currently on break until the new year.

"With taxes for the average single family home projected to be up 34% from 2023 to 2026, Boston residents are facing serious financial hardship," Wu wrote in a letter to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, and NAIOP Massachusetts, which her press office shared with Realtor.com®. "Allowing continued double-digit residential property tax increases threatens to weaken our economic prospects and our ability to remain a talent hub."

Impact on the housing market

How will these tax increases affect the Boston housing market?

"Clients are aware of the recent increases in property taxes, and it does come up in conversations, but it’s one of several factors they consider when making a move—not the deciding one," says Boston real estate agent Elaine Dolley, of Douglas Elliman. 

Dolley says clients are definitely paying attention to the evolving tax landscape, "but they continue to see strong value in Boston’s housing market, its amenities, and its long-term stability."