Westport's mill rate for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2026 is 13.2, down from 18.86. That is a 30.1% cut. Under the old figures, the average Westport house paid $18,835 a year in property tax. Under the new ones it pays $20,562, according to former Board of Finance chairman Brian Stern's budget explainer in Westport Journal. The rate went down a lot and the average bill went up about 9%.
If you're comparing Westport with neighboring towns, this matters before you make an offer. A tax figure for any Westport home from before July 2026 came from an assessment and a mill rate that no longer apply. Applying the new, lower rate to last year's assessment gives a number that's too low. What a home actually costs to carry now depends on how much its assessment rose compared with the rest of town.
Two inputs changed at once
Connecticut requires every town to revalue property every five years. Westport's last revaluation was in October 2020. The new one sets values as of October 1, 2025, and assessed value is 70% of fair market value. The town's revaluation summary says the first bills under the new values are those due starting July 2026.
The average residential assessment went from $998,697 to $1,557,757, a 55% increase. The total Grand List climbed from $11,616,471,195 for 2024 to $17,497,161,570 for October 1, 2025. The town says most of that growth came from the revaluation.
When the Grand List grows that much, the mill rate has to fall, because the rate is the amount the town needs to raise divided by the total taxable value. For FY2027, that meant $226.7 million to be raised from taxpayers, spread across the net Grand List, which comes out to 13.2 mills. The lower rate isn't a tax cut. It's the same calculation run over a much bigger base.
Homes took on a larger share of the levy
If every property had gained value at the same pace, the lower rate would have mostly canceled out the higher assessments. They didn't. The Town of Westport reported residential assessments up about 60% and commercial assessments up about 16%. First Selectman Kevin Christie's December 2025 statement rounded those to 61% and 17%.
Before the revaluation, homes already carried most of the load. Stern's December 2025 finance primer in Westport Journal put the property tax mix at 81% residences, 12% commercial property, 4% motor vehicles and 3% other property. When residential values rose almost four times as fast as commercial values, more of the town's budget moved onto homes. The 06880 blog used Bridgewater Associates' Nyala Farm headquarters as an example of commercial property that gained far less than homes did. It estimated commercial property taxes could fall more than 20%.
The 43% line
This is the number that matters for any particular house. The new rate is about 0.70 times the old one, since 13.2 divided by 18.86 is roughly 0.70. A home's FY2027 bill matches its FY2026 bill only if its assessment rose by about 43%. Below that, the bill went down. Above it, the bill went up.
The table below runs that math on the averages the town and local reporting published. It covers the tax rate change only and assumes nothing else about a property changed.
| Assessment change since the 2020 revaluation | Approximate change in annual bill at 13.2 vs. 18.86 mills |
|---|---|
| +30% | about 9% lower |
| +43% | about flat |
| +55%, the townwide average residential assessment | about 9% higher |
| +57%, average south of I-95 | about 10% higher |
| +61%, the town's residential estimate | about 13% higher |
| +66%, average north of I-95 | about 16% higher |
The 55% row matches the published average bills: $998,697 at 18.86 mills is $18,835, and $1,557,757 at 13.2 mills is $20,562. The 61% row is a little higher than 06880's February estimate of about 11%. That's because the blog assumed a 13.02 rate before the budget was final, and the adopted rate is 13.2.
A 43% gain since late 2020 is below every average in that table. In a town where residential values rose about 61% on average, most homes cleared the line.
Where a house sits now affects the bill more than the rate does
The averages varied across town. Town assessor Paul Friia's figures, as reported by Westport Journal and summarized by 06880, showed home values up about 66% north of I-95 and 57% south of it. In the table, that's roughly the difference between a 10% increase and a 16% increase for two homes that each tracked their area's average.
That changes how two listings compare. Picture a house north of the highway and one south of it with similar asking prices and similar FY2026 tax bills. If each one followed its area's average, the northern house had the bigger revaluation gain, and its bill went up more under the new rate. The old bills looked the same. The new ones don't.
These are still averages. Westport Journal's explainer points out that properties weren't revalued uniformly. A house assessed at the town average last year could land above or below the average now. That's why the only reliable figure for a specific house is its own current assessment.
Appeals moved some homes after the notices went out
Owners had until February 20, 2026 to file with the Board of Assessment Appeals. According to CT Insider, there were 305 residential and 66 commercial appeals, and assessments were cut by $16,483,057 in total. The board lowered 136 of the 305 residential assessments. Two appeals ended with assessments going up, by $187,900 combined.
Some of the individual residential reductions CT Insider reported ran past $1 million in assessed value. At 13.2 mills, every $1 million taken off an assessment removes $13,200 from a year's bill. That's why the number to use is the assessment as it stands today. The notice mailed in December 2025 may no longer be accurate.
Running the figure yourself before an offer
The math is short, and the town publishes every input.
- Look up the property on Westport's assessment database by street, then house number, and find the "Total Assessment."
- Divide it by 1,000 and multiply by 13.2. Westport Journal's mill rate explainer walks through one example: a $1,197,400 assessment comes to about $15,806 a year.
- Spread that over the town's payment schedule. Westport issues one bill a year, and real estate taxes come due in quarterly installments. The FY2027 first installment was due July 1, 2026, and the town accepted it without penalty through August 3. Sewer use bills are due on the same July, October, January and April dates.
At closing, property taxes are typically split between buyer and seller as of the closing date. That's how the New Haven County Bar Association's published closing customs describe it for most towns in that county: taxes are adjusted based on the town's fiscal year unless the parties agree otherwise. Fairfield County customs can differ, so treat that only as a general Connecticut example. For a Westport closing this fall, the FY2027 bill is the one being divided. Your purchase contract and closing statement control the actual adjustment, and your closing attorney is the one to confirm how it's calculated.
What could still move the number
Next year's rate depends on next year's budget. The FY2027 budget of $266 million was a 5.36% increase in spending. Before the budget was adopted, 06880 estimated that each 1% increase in town spending adds roughly 0.125 to the mill rate. In the other direction, Stern noted that the Grand List has been growing as older houses are replaced with new homes carrying higher assessments, which spreads the levy over more value.
The split between residential and commercial won't reset until the next revaluation. Through FY2027, homes carry the larger share created by the October 2025 values.
A few questions buyers ask
Is a lower mill rate a sign that taxes are falling in Westport? No. The rate fell because total taxable value jumped about 50%. Whether a particular bill went up or down depends on how that home's assessment changed compared with the 43% break-even.
Why might a FY2026 tax figure for a home be misleading now? It was calculated on the October 2020 assessment at 18.86 mills. Both of those numbers were replaced for bills due starting July 2026.
Can the assessment on a home change after the revaluation notice? Yes. In this cycle, CT Insider reported that 136 residential assessments were lowered on appeal, and two appeals ended with increases. The current figure in the town database is the one to use.
If you're weighing a Westport home and want its FY2027 carrying cost set next to a comparable house in a neighboring town, Linda Dunsmore can work through the assessment, the 13.2 mill math and the installment schedule with you before you make an offer. Schedule a personalized consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
