Sheet RI · 2026 rules
Rhode Island Property Tax Calculator
Rhode Island assesses property as of December 31 at full and fair cash value from the last revaluation or update, so assessments do not follow the market between revaluations. Towns revalue fully every nine years with statistical updates every three, and the 4% cap limits the town levy, not your bill.
Rules verified 11 primary sources Editorial policy
Estimate your 2026 Rhode Island bill
- Tax — Local ad valorem levies —
- Credits subtracted —
- Fixed charges added —
How Rhode Island turns value into a tax bill
| Step | Rhode Island rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Enter the current approved residential assessment, excluding any additional exemption you apply below. It need not equal an advertised home price. | [3] |
| Assessment | 100% of approved residential assessment | [3] |
| Annual limit | No automatic parcel bill cap is inferred from a limit on a jurisdiction’s total levy. | |
| Exemptions | Other relief is applied only from a recorded approval; the calculator does not decide qualification. | |
| Rate | Local ad valorem levies: local rate — you enter it.Local ad valorem levies from the applicable taxing authority. The rate is not a Census ratio. |
How Rhode Island values, revalues, bills and hears appeals
Rhode Island fixes the assessment date at December 31 each year at 12:00 A.M. midnight.2 Property is assessed at full and fair cash value as of December 31 of the year of the last revaluation, statistical revaluation or update, or at a uniform percentage of that value not exceeding 100%.3 Between revaluations, market increases or decreases do not change an assessment,3 and a city or town may not reassess a property based on its sale price outside the revaluation or update schedule, except for completed new construction.4
Each city and town must do a full revaluation within nine years of the prior one, with a statistical update of real property every three years from the last revaluation.4 Each update must be followed by a hearing or appeal process for anyone aggrieved by it.4
To appeal an assessment, first file with the local tax assessor on or before November 15, but not less than 90 days after the first tax payment is due.5 This timing reflects the 2025 amendment to §44-5-26.5 The assessor has until December 31 to decide.5 Next, appeal to the local tax board of review within 30 days of the assessor's decision, or by January 31 if the assessor issues none.5 Within 30 days of the board's written decision, you can petition the superior court.5
The 4% levy cap applies to the municipality's total levy each fiscal year, not to an individual bill.1 Towns that classify property cannot set the effective rate for one class more than 50% above any other class, except in Providence, Glocester and East Greenwich.7 There is no statewide homestead exemption amount. A town may adopt a homestead exemption or, instead, a separate owner-occupied rate.7
Every city and town must let you pay in equal quarterly installments with no charges, interest or penalties. The town sets the installment amounts and dates.6
Homeowners and renters who are 65 or older or disabled can claim a state property tax relief credit on Form RI-1040H.8 The credit is the amount by which property tax exceeds a percentage of household income.9 For 2025, that percentage is 6% for household income of $17,461 to $40,730,10 income must be $40,730 or less,10 and the credit is capped at $700.00.10 Both limits are indexed to CPI.9 The claim must be filed by April 15.11
Worked example
Illustrative $425,000 assessment at $15.00 per $1,000 = $6,375.00, payable as four $1,593.75 quarterly installments. A 67-year-old owner with $30,000 of household income would compute a 2025 RI-1040H credit of $6,375.00 − 6% × $30,000 = $4,575.00, capped at $700.00 and paid by the Division of Taxation, not taken off the town bill.
| Line | Taxable value | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Local ad valorem levies at 15 mills | $425,000.00 | $6,375.00 |
| Annual total | $6,375.00 |
Left to your local bill
- Local homestead exemptions, or a separate owner-occupied rate, adopted by individual cities and towns under §44-5-11.8.
- Class rates for commercial, industrial and tangible personal property, including the 50% class-spread limit.
- The RI-1040H property tax relief credit, claimed with the Division of Taxation rather than on the municipal bill.
- Local elderly, veteran and disability exemptions, which vary by municipality.
- Installment dates and amounts, which each town sets in its tax resolution.
- Timing of revaluations and statistical updates, including statutory extensions granted to individual towns.
Census context, not a rate
American Community Survey 2020–2024: median owner-occupied value $404,200 (±$4,032), median real-estate taxes $4,900 (±$36). Dividing one by the other gives 1.21% for Rhode Island. Tables B25077 and B25103; why it is only context.
Sources
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-2, read .
“In its fiscal year 2013 and in each fiscal year thereafter, a city or town may levy a tax in an amount not more than four percent (4%) in excess of the total amount levied and certified by that city or town for its previous fiscal year.”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-1, read .
“as of December 31 in each year at 12:00 A.M. midnight, the date being known as the date of assessment of city or town valuations.”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-12(a), read .
“All real property subject to taxation shall be assessed at its full and fair cash value, as of December 31 in the year of the last revaluation, statistical revaluation or update thereto, or at a uniform percentage thereof, not to exceed one hundred percent (100%) … There shall be no adjustment to an assessment because of an increase or decrease in such value as a result of market forces in years when there is no revaluation, statistical revaluation, or update thereto.”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-11.6(a)(2)(ii), read .
“each city and town shall conduct a revaluation within nine (9) years of the date of the prior revaluation and shall conduct an update of real property every three (3) years from the last revaluation. … shall not change the assessment of any property based on the purchase price of the property after a transfer occurs except in accordance with a townwide or citywide revaluation or update schedule; provided that, this prohibition shall not apply to completed new real estate construction.”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-26(a), read .
“may, on or before November 15 of each year, but not less than ninety (90) days after the first tax payment is due, file an appeal in the local office of tax assessment … The assessor has until December 31 of that year to review appeals, render decisions, and notify taxpayers of the decisions.”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-7(a)(1), read .
“an option permitting persons assessed to pay their taxes in equal quarterly installments if they so desire, free of any charges, interest, penalties, or other assessments, the amounts and dates for payment of the installments to be specified in the resolution”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-5-11.8(a)(2), read .
“The effective tax rate applicable to any class, excluding class 4, shall not exceed by fifty percent (50%) the rate applicable to any other class, except in the city of Providence and the town of Glocester and the town of East Greenwich … In lieu of a homestead exemption, any city or town may divide this class into non-owner and owner-occupied property and adopt separate tax rates in compliance with the within tax rate restrictions”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-33-3(1), read .
““Claimant” means a homeowner or renter, sixty-five (65) years of age or older, and/or disabled, who has filed a claim under this chapter and was domiciled in this state for the entire calendar year”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-33-9(1), read .
“a claimant is entitled to a credit against his or her tax liability equal to the amount by which the property taxes accrued or rent constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant’s homestead for the taxable year exceeds a certain percentage of the claimant’s total household income … For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, the income range provided pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and the maximum credit granted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be adjusted by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index”
- tax.ri.govRI Division of Taxation, 2025 Form RI-1040H, line 6, read .
“PROPERTY TAX RELIEF. Line 5 or $700.00, whichever is LESS … Was your 2025 total household income from page 2, line 32 $40,730 or less?”
- webserver.rilegislature.govRhode Island General Laws §44-33-6, read .
“actually filed with and in the possession of the division of taxation on or before April 15 of the year in which the credit is applied”
Bordering jurisdictions
Elsewhere in the region:
Rules verified by the Property Tax Calculator Editorial Team. Report a correction