Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the Board of Assessors announced today the recommendation for Residential and Commercial Tax Rates for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). The recommended rates for FY26 are $15.46 per $1,000 of valuation of residences, and $34.35 for commercial, industrial, and personal property (CIP).
While the tax rates are lower than last fiscal year, the average single-family home values have increased from $255,800 in FY25 to $275,200 in FY26. Thus, even while being taxed at a lower rate than last fiscal year, tax bills will increase.
Last fiscal year’s average tax bill was $4,011. In FY26 the average tax bill, with no offset to the tax levy, would have been $4,359, an increase of $348. With Mayor Sarno now committing $7 million to offset the tax levy the average single family residential tax bill will be approximately $4,255, an increase of $244.
Last year the City approved the maximum shift allowed by law to business and commercial properties, which helped to lower the residential tax rate.
Mayor Sarno working with the City Council worked to address the tax rate early during the budget season. As a result, no new programs or services were added and cuts were made to the budget, including eliminating 15 unfilled positions. However, the budget still grew by approximately $56 million, of which $51 million are fixed costs the city must pay, such as the city’s health insurance for employees, funding the pension fund and schools. $4.2 million of the remaining $5.4 million went to support public safety.
In an effort to continue to provide as much relief possible for city residents and businesses, Mayor Sarno, after discussions with City Councilor Tim Allen, Chair of the City Council Finance Committee, and continuing to work together with the City Council will commit a total of $7 million to offset the tax levy; $5 million from certified free cash and $2 million from the interest on the innovative financial investment plan off of the United States Treasury Notes.
This recommendation has been developed in consultation with Chief Administrative and Financial Officer (CAFO) Cathy Buono, Deputy CAFO Lindsay Hackett, Chairwoman of the Board of Assessors Jessica Guerra, and the Board of Assessors.
The residential rate reflects a decrease of $.22 from last year’s rate of $15.68. The CIP rate reflects a decrease of $.87 from last year’s rate of $35.22. If approved by the City Council, this will be the lowest residential rate in over 20 years, since 1993.
Due to the booming real estate market, the average single-family tax bill could have increased by $348.22. However, with Mayor Sarno’s $7 million toward the tax levy on behalf of residents and businesses and the lower tax rates, the average single-family tax bill will now increase by approximately $244, saving tax payers approximately $104.
The real estate market has remained strong over the years, which reflects in the comparable market sales and values as of January 1, 2025. The average single-family home value rose to $275,200 from last year’s $255,800, a nearly 7.0% increase or $19,400. As a result, many homeowners now have additional equity in their properties.
The average single-family tax bill produced by the proposed rate would be approximately $4,255 which is expected to keep Springfield in the bottom ten percent of all communities in the Commonwealth. Last year, the average single-family tax bill was $4,011.
The proposed rates will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration.
“Our residents are feeling the effects of inflation and the increases in prices such as the cost of buying groceries,” stated Mayor Sarno. “All of this has a negative effect on our resident’s quality of life. I strongly believe that these lower rates will continue to provide much-needed relief for our residents. With this lower residential tax rate and the $7 million I have committed to offset the tax levy, the average single-family tax bill, which could have increased by nearly $350 without anything to the levy, will now increase approximately $244 given the growing market rate values of most properties. After discussions with Councilor Tim Allen, Chair of the Finance Committee, and as we have done in the past working with the City Council to continue to provide tax relief for our residents, I am happy that we could work together to offset this burden on behalf of our residents, families and business community.”
“These strategic and fiscally prudent measures are made possible thanks to our sound and sustainable financial policies and our innovative investment strategies that aim to enhance the quality of life for our residents while being mindful of our overall budget and being able to maintain our core city services, programs and initiatives,” said Mayor Sarno.
City Councilor and Finance Chairman Tim Allen said, “As Finance Chair, I am happy to represent the City Council and proud to work with Mayor Sarno and his team on this issue. I appreciate his willingness to work on all of the tax relief initiatives for our residents. It’s hard to keep taxes low in this era but I recognize everyone’s hard work and the mayor committing an extra $3 million to offset the tax levy for a total of $7 million. This will help to reduce the increase in the average single-family home to under $250.”
“This is a delicate balancing act of maintaining core and vital city services while also being respectful to our residents and businesses,” Mayor Sarno added. “We must remain mindful and plan accordingly for any unforeseen emergencies, expenses, and economic uncertainty – especially on the federal level – that we may experience, including a possible recession, inflation, and shortages on goods and materials which can drive prices up. We don’t want to mortgage our future with short-term and short-sighted measures that will result in our taxpayers later experiencing a balloon property tax payment in the future when the funding to offset the tax levy isn’t there, while also hindering our municipal efforts to provide services, programs, infrastructure enhancements, and relief in the future.”
“My administration is committed to providing what relief and support we can while maintaining core and vital services to continue stimulating our local economy, keeping us competitive with business development, and creating more of that good four-letter word, jobs, while just as important, being respectful to our homeowners,” explained the Mayor.
“Thanks to our careful fiscal stewardship under the direction of Mayor Sarno, the Office of Administration and Finance is able to continue to provide much-needed relief for our tax paying residents and businesses,” said CAFO Cathy Buono. “This is always a delicate and challenging balancing act. We strongly believe that the various measure of relief that are offered will allow us to maintain our fiscal flexibility to continue to invest in our reserves, pension liability, infrastructure improvements and maintain core city services and our options for providing continued relief in the future.”
Chairwoman of the Board of Assessors Jessica Guerra stated, “I believe we continue to strike a good balance of maintaining a sound and respectable fiscal tax rate while trying to provide as much relief we realistically can for our taxpayers. These are not easy decisions but we are confident that our taxpayers will realize less of an increase in their bills.”
The assessed values of real estate reflect physical condition as of June 30, 2025 and market value as of January 1, 2025.
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Statutory Tax Exemptions
Mayor Sarno and Chairwoman of the Board of Assessors Jessica Guerra would like to remind the public that homeowners may be eligible for property tax relief based on their personal circumstances. Especially for seniors, as Mayor Sarno and the City Council approved additional monetary relief by modifying the limits on the State Clause 41C statute for tax abatements for seniors. The eligibility age has been reduced to 65 from 70, and the abatement amount increased to $1,000 from $500.
There are two types of applications. Homeowner Personal Exemption applications and Property Overvalue applications.
Homeowner Personal Exemption applications include State statutory relief for citizens of Sixty-Five years of age who meet certain income and asset levels; widows and widowers of any age with assets below a certain level or persons over 70; veterans of at least 10% disability or otherwise meeting other criteria; and blind persons. In Fiscal Year 2025, 1,100 households received some type of statutory relief, for an approximate aggregate savings of $951,000. Please note, the deadline to file is April 1, 2026.
Property Overvalue applications are mostly used to appeal the Fair Market Value of your home to the Board of Assessors. If you believe the assessed value of your property exceeds the fair market value, it is your right to file an overvalue application. Please note, the deadline to apply February 2, 2026.
HERO Act Exemptions
Mayor Sarno and City Councilor Kateri Walsh sponsored the local option for the HERO’s Act that provided additional tax exemptions for eligible veterans. Veterans are encouraged to work with the Assessor’s Office to determine how the HERO Act may impact them and their families.
Residents are also reminded that the local Targeted Tax Relief Initiative will be available in FY26. The third quarter bills will include an option to donate to the targeted tax relief fund, as well as a helpful reminder of all the statutory tax relief abatements available.
With Mayor Sarno’s proposed Targeted Tax Relief now approved by the City Council, a home rule petition has been filed with the state delegation and is pending state approval. The Mayor’s home rule petition would help supplement the targeted tax relief fund with a one-time payment of $1 million from the city’s certified free cash account. This one-time payment would seed this new targeted tax relief fund for eligible residents. Going forward, the City Council’s special Pilot Committee on New Revenue, chaired by Ward 6 City Councilor Victor Davila, which focuses on outreach to nonprofit entities to voluntarily contribute more in payments in lieu of taxes, will play an integral role in helping to sustain this targeted tax relief initiative. A portion of any payment in lieu of taxes received from nonprofit entities would go directly into this special targeted tax relief initiative for eligible residents.
The Assessor’s Office encourages all residents who are unsure if they might qualify for some type of relief or benefit, to call or come into the Assessor’s Office in order to discuss their options. The Assessor’s Office phone number is (413) 886-5256. Their office is located in City Hall, 36 Court Street, Room 9, Springfield, Massachusetts. Assessor’s Office webpage: https://www.springfield-ma.gov/finance/assessors
Mayor Sarno stated, “I want to commend my Board of Assessors – Chairwoman Jessica Guerra, Melanie Nacewicz, and Sacoy Malone and their staff for their efforts and the excellent job they do working with and getting back to our residents and businesses that reach out for help.”
Additionally, seniors can file for the Massachusetts Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit for Owners and Renters. The maximum amount of this credit has recently doubled. The Mass Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit is available for seniors age 65 or older, who meet certain income guidelines. For more information, please visit the Massachusetts Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit website at: www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-senior-circuit-breaker-tax-credit