Brookline homeowners face an average single-family property tax bill of $26,237 in fiscal year 2026, making the town's tax burden the second-highest in Massachusetts, just $76 behind Weston's $26,313.

The figures come from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services, published Tuesday, Aug. 18. A Patch analysis of the data shows the statewide average single-family tax bill is $8,113, meaning Brookline's is more than three times what a typical Massachusetts homeowner pays.

The gap comes down to home values. Brookline's average single-family property is assessed at more than $2.56 million for FY2026, higher even than Weston's $2.42 million average. Weston's slightly higher tax rate pushes its bill just above Brookline's despite lower assessed values.

What most homeowners actually pay

The DOR's $26,237 figure is a calculated average that multiplies the town's average assessed value by the residential tax rate. It does not account for Brookline's 20% residential exemption, which deducts $354,974 from an owner-occupant's assessed value, saving eligible homeowners roughly $3,635 per year.

For a more grounded comparison, the owner of a median-value Brookline single-family home, assessed at $2.04 million, saw their FY2026 bill rise $1,202 to $20,904 after the Select Board approved new tax rates in November 2025, according to Brookline.News.

What's driving the numbers

Brookline's total tax levy for FY2026 is $332.5 million, according to a presentation from Chief Assessor Ted Costigan at the November classification hearing. That includes a base 2.5% increase from the prior year and a $28.5 million jump from debt exclusions, the extra taxes voters approved for capital projects including the new Pierce School.

The Select Board voted unanimously to maintain the maximum shift of tax burden from residential to commercial properties and to keep the residential exemption at 20%.

Select Board member John VanScoyoc acknowledged the strain at that Nov. 21, 2025, hearing. "Our current approach to doing this is good in certain respects, and in other respects it does nothing to help the person who happens to be sitting on a high-value home that they've owned for decades and now finds themselves paying $20,000 or $30,000 a year in taxes," he said.

Statewide picture

All 10 of the state's highest average tax bills are in Greater Boston communities: Weston, Brookline, Lincoln ($20,738), Wellesley ($20,551), Concord ($20,517), Lexington ($20,394), Sherborn ($20,018), Belmont ($19,579), Dover ($19,088) and Winchester ($18,272).

Across the 346 communities included in DOR's analysis, assessed property values rose in 340. Total assessed value statewide climbed roughly 4.9% to more than $2 trillion, and the total property tax levy grew by about $1.2 billion to $24 billion.

The Select Board's next classification hearing to set FY2027 tax rates has not been scheduled but would typically occur in fall 2026.