By Jim Damicis, Scarborough resident and Senior Vice President, Camoin Associates

Homes are the largest financial asset of many Americans. We love seeing their values rise… except when it’s time for a property tax revaluation.

In 2024, the Town of Scarborough will determine the current market value of every property to make sure taxes are assessed fairly.^* Without doing this, some tax bills would be based on pre-COVID home values while others would be based on current values.

It is a common myth that revaluations alone increase towns’ property tax revenues. They don’t. Rather, they change the relative portion that each property owner is asked to pay and are driven by changes in the real estate market. People whose homes were undervalued before the revaluation will get larger tax bills. Understandably, we tend to hear a lot from them. People whose homes were overvalued get smaller bills. They tend to be quieter. Some tax bills will remain about the same.

As Scarborough begins this process, let’s look at where things currently stand. In 2024, Scarborough’s property tax rate was 15.97, up from 14.70 in 2020. This means the Town collects $15.97 for every $1,000 of property value. A home worth $100,000 pays $1,597; a $1,000,000 home pays $15,970.

The property tax rate is determined by property valuation and the dollars raised for municipal, school, and county services (“the tax levy”). In 2024, Scarborough’s property valuation was $5.1 billion, up from $4.7 billion in 2020. In 2024 Scarborough’s tax levy was $82 million, up from $69 million in 2020.

To understand how Scarborough’s property rate compares to other area municipalities requires the use of equalized (“full value”) tax rates. This adjusts for differences in municipal assessing practices by using the State’s “equalized” or “adjusted” valuations.

For the 2024 equalized property tax rates as estimated by the State, Scarborough had an equalized rate of 11.64.^** This was lower than rates in Biddeford, South Portland, Portland, Gorham, and Saco and higher than Cape Elizabeth and Old Orchard.

*Revaluations are required by the Maine’s Constitution: “All taxes upon real and personal estate, assessed by authority of this State, shall be apportioned and assessed equally according to the just value thereof.” Scarborough’s last revaluation was in 2019.

**2022 equalized tax rate derived by dividing 2022 municipal commitment by 2024 State Valuation with adjustments for Homestead and BETE Exemptions and TIFs; full value tax rates represent taxes per $1,000 of value and include the combined rates for education, municipal, and county services.

Sources: Town of Scarborough Tax Commitment Report 2024, Scarborough Assessing Report; Maine Revenue Services, Estimated 2022 Full Value Tax Rates