The citywide reevaluation project is nearly complete! Check out the preliminary results on the city’s website.
How it works.
State law requires re-appraisal of property values on a regular cycle. This is how we keep property taxes (somewhat) fair. This is based on a “fair market value,” which is loosely what you could expect to pay for a property (but does not mean it will sell for that price!). State law requires re-appraisal every five years. Previously, the City was able to get by on annual data from sales records and abatement requests (requests for revaluations or non-payment of taxes on individual properties due to hardship). This is called “statistical review” to determine the market value. This is in contrast to “full measure and list,” which results in actual visits to properties to document features and improvements. Concord, while still compliant with state law, has not completed this more in-depth analysis of the entire City since 1990. In 2024, it was decided that this was needed, as increasing interactions with property owners made it apparent that many of the City’s property records were out of date. This hinders the ability of the City to produce fair and consistent assessments of properties that may appear similar but are not. Consider your own home and your neighbor’s identical home, but one has a finished basement and one has an unfinished basement. Should they have the same tax bill? Additionally, the Assessing department determined that their staff’s time was better spent on a five-year cycle rather than a one-year statistical cycle, such that more time can be spent in the field.
Why this matters.
Property taxes as we know them are a flawed system of revenue generation. As the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy puts it, they are “…not based directly on the ability to pay taxes, assuming income is the best measure of ability to pay. The property tax can be particularly burdensome for low- and moderate-income families. It also can be burdensome for families of limited means who have experienced house price increases that have outstripped increases in their incomes…” This is especially evident in an economy where “starter homes,” condos, and manufactured homes appear much more “competitive” in the market despite remaining out of reach for many. For that reason, it’s difficult to swallow that this is a “fair” adjustment to the property assessments in Concord. Cities and towns are backed into a corner in New Hampshire, as we cannot transition to a Land Value Tax model (more info here, here, and here) and we can only offer tax credits and exemptions for a few select populations. I can’t speak to how much tax bills will go up for owners of manufactured homes or condos, but are awaiting the final reports of the citywide reevaluation project. Property owners can expect their notifications of new assessed values in the coming weeks. Do not calculate your taxes based on this amount.
What relief can I get?
Concord has a “menu” of tax relief options it can offer under state law, and a few that it must offer in conjunction with the state. We cannot create any new ones in addition to these.
What can we do?
Contact your state reps and advocate for some combination of the following:
- Enable Land Value Taxing and strategize how best to coordinate among cities, towns, school districts, and counties.
- Enable cities and towns to charge a plastic bag tax.
- Raise the income limit for Low-Income Relief from State School Taxes.
- Enable cities and towns to institute more environmental-related exemptions, such as one for pollinator lawns.
Work with your city councilors to strategize ahead of the budget process next spring. Some ideas bouncing around my head include:
- What to do with the TIF districts.
- What to do with City properties not being used.
- Allocating a small portion of the budget for a use to be decided on by voters.
If push comes to shove, you may file an abatement on your property. There is strength in numbers, and the state may start to see the real impact of taking away school aid in the coming years.