Rhode Island property tax by county

Property tax rate by county in Rhode Island

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103 and B25077.

Why county rates vary so much

Property tax is set locally, not by the state, so the rate depends on the county, city, school district, and special districts where a home sits, and on how those local budgets compare to local home values. A county with low home values can still have a high effective rate if its local budgets are large, and a wealthy county can have a low effective rate. The effective rate shown here is the median tax bill divided by the median home value, which is the standard way to compare places; your own bill depends on your assessment and any exemptions.

For Rhode Island's income and retirement taxes, see Rhode Island income tax and Rhode Island retirement taxes.

How does Rhode Island assess homes for property tax?

Rhode Island assesses homes at 100% of market value, the same in every county. Rhode Island taxes real property on its full and fair cash value, meaning ordinary open market value, measured as of December 31 of the year of the most recent revaluation. A city or town may assess at a uniform percentage of that instead, but the law caps that percentage at 100%, so an assessment can never legally exceed market value.

Every city and town must complete a full revaluation, including physical inspections, at least once every nine years, with statistical updates from sales data in the third and sixth years between. Values are always set as of December 31, so your bill can rest on a valuation date more than a year in the past, and communities are on staggered schedules, so two neighboring towns can be working from valuation dates several years apart.

Is there a homestead exemption in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island has no statewide homestead exemption. Every homestead exemption in the General Laws is written for one named city or town, and each community decides for itself whether to offer one. Where they exist the design varies enormously: some take a flat dollar amount or a credit off the bill, others take a percentage of assessed value ranging from roughly 5% to 45%. Some towns offer none at all. The only reliable answer comes from your own local tax assessor.

Other state relief for homeowners:

• Seniors and disabled owners: There is no statewide senior or disability exemption. State law lets each city or town council create exemptions for residents 65 and over and for people who are totally disabled, and it is the local ordinance that sets the amount, the income test if there is one, and how long you must have owned or lived in the home. Reported local benefits range from token flat amounts to tens of thousands of dollars off assessed value, and some communities give a credit or a valuation freeze instead. Separately, the state runs a property tax relief credit claimed on income tax Form RI-1040H, worth up to $700 for tax year 2025 if household income was $40,730 or less and you were 65 or older or disabled, but that is an income tax credit and does not reduce your assessment.
• Disabled veterans: This is the one exemption with a real statewide floor. Veterans who served in a qualifying conflict period and were honorably discharged, plus their unmarried surviving spouses, get at least $1,000 of assessed value exempted. That floor is small, and the same statute writes in higher figures for many named communities, with local maximums running from a few thousand dollars to over $40,000 of value, so most veterans will qualify for more than the baseline. Larger separate exemptions typically exist for service-connected disability, prisoner of war status, Gold Star parents and specially adapted housing, again at amounts your town sets.
• The state's property tax relief credit, claimed on Form RI-1040H, is worth up to $700 for tax year 2025 at household income of $40,730 or less, and it is open to renters as well as owners who are 65 or older or disabled. Most communities separately offer exemptions for visually impaired residents, deferral programs, and in some places a freeze on your valuation or rate. Every one of those amounts is set locally, so a figure published for one Rhode Island town tells you nothing about the town next door.

Rhode Island sets these rules and each county's property tax office applies them, which is where the application, the filing deadline and the form come from. Some counties add programs of their own; where we have checked a county, its page lists them.

When are property taxes due in Rhode Island?

State law requires every Rhode Island city and town to offer the option of paying in four equal quarterly installments, free of interest or penalty as long as each is paid on time. The actual due dates are not set statewide: each community fixes them in the resolution that orders the tax levy, usually tied to a fiscal year beginning July 1. A town may require a bill of $100 or less to be paid in one payment, and if you miss an installment it can charge interest or call the whole remaining balance due at once.

Rhode Island splits the bill into 4 installments. That is the state rule. Each county issues and collects its own bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How do you appeal a property assessment in Rhode Island?

You contest the assessed value with the your local tax assessor, then the local tax board of review, then Rhode Island Superior Court. The filing deadline is typically on or before November 15, and no sooner than 90 days after the first tax payment is due. You start with your own city or town assessor rather than a state board. The assessor has until December 31 to review the appeal and notify you. If you are still unhappy, you appeal to the local tax board of review within 30 days of that decision, or by January 31 if the assessor never issued one. The board must hear the case within 90 days of filing and decide within 45 days of the hearing, and from there you have 30 days to petition the Superior Court in your county.

Rhode Island property-tax rules from primary state sources (revenue department and statute), reviewed September 7, 2026. Exemption amounts and credits change; confirm the current figures with your county assessor. Sources: assessment, exemptions, due dates, appeals.