Vermont’s Property Valuation Reckoning: What the Statewide Reappraisal Means for Your Tax Bill
A comprehensive guide to the statewide reappraisal mandate, market disruption, and what Vermont homeowners should understand.
Vermont is undergoing the largest property reappraisal effort in state history.
Property owners across Vermont face a wave of reappraisals as towns either complete assessments, are in the middle of them, or will soon begin the process. This isn’t optional anymore—it’s mandated by state law. Understanding what’s happening and why can help Vermonters prepare for changes to property tax bills and navigate what experts are calling a decade of “assessment turbulence.”
The Problem: The Pandemic Broke Property Assessments
How Property Taxes Work in Vermont
Vermont property taxes are based on a property’s assessed value—the dollar amount a town’s assessor says the property is worth. Ideally, this assessed value should match what the property would sell for on the open market, called its Fair Market Value.
Towns maintain a “Grand List”—essentially an inventory of all taxable property and their assessed values. When most properties are assessed accurately, the tax burden is distributed fairly among property owners. But when assessments fall behind market reality, the system breaks down.
The COVID Housing Boom Changed Everything
Between 2020 and 2023, Vermont’s real estate market experienced unprecedented growth. Remote work brought an influx of out-of-state buyers. Housing inventory shrank. According to data from the Vermont Department of Taxes, properties that were valued at $400,000 in 2019 were selling for $700,000 by 2023 in some communities.
The problem: most Vermont towns hadn’t updated their property assessments in years. A town like Williston, which last reappraised in 2016, was still taxing properties based on pre-pandemic values even as the market surged. The Vermont Department of Taxes’ 2024 Equalization Study revealed that Williston’s Common Level of Appraisal—a measure of how closely assessed values match market values—had fallen to just 62.89%. This means properties were being taxed at roughly 63% of their actual market value.
Statewide, hundreds of towns found themselves in similar situations. The gap between what properties were worth on paper and what they were actually worth had grown dangerously wide.
Why This Creates Unfairness
When property assessments lag behind market values, several problems emerge:
• Long-term homeowners benefit at the expense of new buyers. A homeowner who bought their house in 2010 might be assessed—and taxed—on a value far below what they could sell for today, while their neighbor who bought in 2023 at peak prices pays taxes on the same outdated assessment even though they paid far more.
• Different property types are treated differently. In many Vermont communities, residential home values soared while commercial property values remained flat or declined due to factors like increased e-commerce. But if both are assessed using decade-old valuations, commercial properties may be carrying a disproportionate share of the tax burden.
• Tax rates become distorted. When a town’s Grand List is significantly undervalued, the tax rate must be artificially inflated to generate the revenue needed for schools and municipal services. This creates confusing “sticker shock” even though individual tax bills might not be proportionally high.
The old system relied on towns to monitor their own assessment levels and reappraise when certain statistical triggers were hit. But when hundreds of towns hit those triggers simultaneously due to pandemic-era market volatility, the system collapsed.
The Solution: Vermont’s New Reappraisal Law
Act 68 of 2023: The Six-Year Cycle
Recognizing the crisis, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 68 in 2023, which fundamentally changes how property reappraisals work. Starting January 1, 2025, every Vermont municipality must conduct a full reappraisal every six years.
Previously, towns could go 10, 15, or even 20 years without a reappraisal if their statistics looked acceptable. Now, there’s a strict schedule. The first wave of municipalities must complete their reappraisals by April 1, 2027.
According to legislative records, there are approximately 215 reappraisal projects scheduled across Vermont over the next decade—an unprecedented workload that’s already straining the capacity of the private appraisal firms that conduct this work.
Act 183 of 2024: New Tax Rate Math
In 2024, the Legislature passed Act 183 to address another problem: the confusing and volatile education property tax rates that resulted from outdated assessments.
Under the old system, if a town’s assessments were at 60% of market value, the state would divide the education tax rate by 0.60 to compensate—effectively more than doubling the published rate. This created alarming headlines about skyrocketing tax rates, even though the actual dollars collected remained relatively stable.
Act 183 introduced a “Statewide Adjustment” factor that smooths out these rate fluctuations. Instead of adjusting each town’s rate based solely on its own assessment level, the new formula compares each town to the statewide average. The Vermont Department of Taxes estimates the statewide average assessment level is currently around 72-75%.
Important to understand: this change affects how tax rates are calculated and displayed, but as the Department of Taxes clarifies, “it does not affect how much Vermont property owners pay in property taxes” in absolute terms. It’s a mathematical adjustment to reduce rate volatility, not a tax cut.
What’s Happening in Your Town
The Chittenden County Bottleneck
Communities across Vermont are at different stages of the reappraisal process. Chittenden County, home to some of Vermont’s most expensive real estate, is facing particular challenges.
Williston, which hasn’t reappraised since 2016, is currently preparing a Request for Proposals to hire a contractor. Town officials estimate that property values have roughly doubled since the last reappraisal. The town is aiming to meet the 2027 deadline, though competition for appraisal firms is fierce.
In 2022, Williston’s Selectboard actually appealed the state’s equalization study results, successfully arguing technical points that temporarily kept their assessment ratio above the threshold that would have triggered a mandatory reappraisal. While this delayed immediate action, it also meant the eventual correction will be more dramatic for taxpayers.
Essex and Essex Junction serve as a cautionary tale. The municipalities contracted with CATALIS Tax & CAMA, Inc. for a reappraisal initially scheduled for 2025. In December 2024, they announced a forced delay to June 2026, explicitly citing “the difficulty in recruitment and retention for the adequate number of field inspectors.” Even with a contract in place, labor shortages in the appraisal industry are causing delays.
Burlington completed its first citywide reappraisal in 16 years in 2021. The Grand List jumped by nearly 60%, and while the tax rate dropped significantly, the distribution of the tax burden shifted dramatically. Residential properties in neighborhoods that had gentrified rapidly saw increases, while some commercial properties saw decreases.
Colchester is currently undergoing reappraisal with Vision Government Solutions, with data collection beginning in January 2025 for a 2026 completion.
Rural and Upper Valley Communities
Towns outside Chittenden County face similar challenges, often complicated by resort economics and second-home markets.
Hartford is working with Tyler Technologies on a reappraisal for the 2025 Grand List, attempting to correct assessment levels that had caused significant tax rate volatility.
Woodstock, with an assessment level of just 64%, saw its tax rate jump by 62 cents in a single year according to Valley News reporting—a dramatic example of the volatility that occurs when corrections are delayed.
Some towns, unable to secure full reappraisal services quickly, are opting for “statistical reappraisals.” St. Johnsbury, for example, contracted with NEMC for a statistical update that uses mathematical modeling to adjust existing data rather than sending inspectors to physically inspect every property. This approach is faster and cheaper but can’t catch unreported renovations or other changes that require physical inspection.
What to Expect: The Reappraisal Process
The Inspection
When a town begins its reappraisal, property owners receive notification that data collectors will be visiting their neighborhood. These inspectors typically work between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM on weekdays.
If homeowners are present, inspectors will request an interior inspection that takes approximately 10-15 minutes. They’re verifying information that affects the property’s value: quality of construction, overall condition, room count, finished basement area, and recent improvements.
If no one is home, inspectors will measure the exterior of the property and leave a “green card” requesting that the owner schedule an appointment for an interior inspection. While interior inspections are technically voluntary, they ensure assessments are as accurate as possible.
For commercial properties and rental units, the process is more involved. Business owners must typically complete Income and Expense Forms, as assessors use income-based valuation methods for these properties.
The Timeline
A full town-wide reappraisal typically takes 18-24 months from contract signing to completion. Data collection might occur over several months, followed by analysis, value modeling, and review periods where property owners can question their assessments.
The new values typically take effect on the April 1 Grand List date following completion, which means they’ll appear on tax bills later that year.
Understanding “Revenue Neutrality”—And Why Your Bill Might Still Change
Town officials often describe reappraisals as “revenue neutral,” and this is technically true at the municipal level—the town collects the same total amount in taxes whether or not it reappraises.
However, this doesn’t mean individual tax bills will stay the same. Here’s why:
Imagine a town with two properties: a residential home and a commercial building. Before reappraisal, both are assessed at $300,000 (but outdated). The town needs $12,000 in taxes total. Each property pays $6,000.
After reappraisal, the residential home is now valued at $500,000 (it appreciated significantly), while the commercial building is valued at $350,000 (it appreciated less). The total Grand List is now $850,000 instead of $600,000. The town still needs $12,000, so the tax rate drops. But now the residential homeowner pays a larger share of that $12,000 because their property makes up a bigger portion of the town’s total value.
Bottom line: “revenue neutral” means the total collected stays the same, but an individual property owner’s share of that total can shift significantly depending on how their property’s value changed relative to others.
This tax shift was evident in Burlington’s 2021 reappraisal, where many residential neighborhoods saw increases while commercial properties saw their share of the burden decrease.
The End of Local Control: Vermont’s Governance Shift
A less-discussed aspect of this transition is the gradual elimination of Vermont’s unique Board of Listers system. For two centuries, Vermont towns elected neighbors to assess each other’s property. The complexity of modern property valuation is making this model obsolete.
Towns across Vermont are voting to eliminate elected lister positions in favor of appointed, professional assessors. Bethel voted 80 to 15 to eliminate town listers. Plymouth’s Selectboard proposed elimination due to increased complaints and the technical training required. Williston plans to place lister dissolution on the March ballot.
As one Williston Selectboard member noted in a public meeting, dealing with the technical requirements of Act 68 compliance made them uncomfortable: “It’s very uncomfortable to sit and pretend like you know something when you don’t.”
The shift represents a trade-off between local democratic oversight and professional expertise. Proponents argue that professional assessors provide continuity and are better equipped to defend the town’s valuations when large property owners appeal. Critics worry about losing a layer of direct accountability.
Looking further ahead, Act 68 also directed the creation of a working group to study Regional Assessment Districts—potentially consolidating assessment functions at the county level and removing them from town halls entirely.
What Happens Next
For homeowners:
• Properties will be inspected within the next few years in towns that haven’t recently completed a reappraisal. The six-year cycle is now mandatory.
• Assessments will likely increase significantly in towns that last reappraised before 2020, reflecting the pandemic-era market surge.
• Tax rates will drop when new values take effect, but property owners should compare individual bills to previous years. The rate drop doesn’t necessarily mean a bill drop.
• Property owners can appeal assessments if they believe they’re incorrect. Towns provide information about the appeals process, which typically begins with an informal meeting with the assessor.
• Vermont’s Homestead Property Tax Credit provides relief for income-eligible homeowners. Approximately 60% of Vermont households qualify for some level of credit that caps taxes based on household income.
For municipalities:
• Contract early to secure appraisal vendors. The vendor shortage is real, and towns that delay risk being pushed to the back of the queue.
• Budget for significant costs. A full town-wide reappraisal can cost from $100,000 to several hundred thousand dollars depending on town size and complexity.
• Communicate proactively with residents about what to expect, particularly the difference between changing tax rates and changing tax bills.
• Consider professional assessor positions if still relying on elected listers. The technical demands of compliance may exceed volunteer capacity.
For the state:
• The Regional Assessment District working group continues studying long-term consolidation of assessment functions.
• The Department of Taxes will continue monitoring the statewide adjustment factor and may refine the Act 183 formula as more towns complete reappraisals.
• Vermont faces at least a decade of continuous reappraisal activity as the new six-year cycle takes effect, with approximately 215 projects scheduled across the state.
The Bottom Line
Vermont’s property tax system is undergoing its most significant transformation in generations. The pandemic exposed fundamental weaknesses in how Vermont valued property, and the state has responded with sweeping mandates that will touch every municipality and every property owner.
For property owners, the key is to understand that change is coming—or may have already arrived. Reappraisals are designed to restore fairness to the tax system by ensuring everyone pays their proportional share based on current market values. But “fairness” at the aggregate level doesn’t guarantee individual bills will remain stable.
Property owners should stay informed about their town’s reappraisal timeline, participate in informational meetings, and review assessments carefully when received. While the tax rate may change dramatically, what matters most is how a property’s value compares to others in the community.
Additional Resources
Vermont Department of Taxes - Reappraisals
Vermont Department of Taxes - Education Property Tax Rates
Vermont Department of Taxes - Statewide Adjustment Explainer