Northeast Harbor Property Tax: One Shared Town-Wide Rate
Northeast Harbor has no property tax rate of its own. Because it is a village inside the Town of Mount Desert rather than a separately incorporated town, every Northeast Harbor property owner pays the same mil rate as owners in Seal Harbor, Somesville, Otter Creek, Hall Quarry, and Pretty Marsh. This page walks through the town-wide rate, what's driving it, and where a buyer still needs to verify details directly.
The FY2024-2025 Rate: $9.30 per $1,000, Up 6.7%
Per mdislander.com's own reporting, the Town of Mount Desert set its FY2024-2025 mil rate at $9.30 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the prior year's $8.72 -- a 0.58-point, roughly 6.7% increase. That funded a total approved budget of $25,642,515 (up 9.5% year-over-year) against townwide assessed-value growth of $129,157,070 (+5.4%), with $23,133,851 needing to be raised through property taxes to cover municipal, education, and county services. The municipal-budget portion alone -- 60% of the total -- rose 8% year-over-year, driven by wage increases to attract and retain staff, expanded 24/7 EMS service, and capital planning for equipment replacement including ambulances.
Bar Harbor Story's own reporting on the same budget cycle attributes roughly 77% of that year's total budget increase to three specific, largely uncontrollable drivers: a roughly $200,000 Hancock County assessment increase, a roughly $660,000 increase in the shared elementary-school budget (the same Mt. Desert Elementary School physically located in Northeast Harbor village), and a roughly $240,000 increase in the shared regional high-school budget. This research could not confirm a finalized FY2025-2026 rate more current than $9.30 -- confirm the current rate directly with the Town of Mount Desert before relying on this figure.
A Real Revaluation, and a Real Hardship for Some Seniors
The same reporting cycle documented a genuinely sharp reassessment: the town's own assessor, Kyle Avila, described "close to 30% appreciation in the last handful of years" townwide, against a typical 1-2% annual pace he says was normal during his 15-year tenure before that. The revaluation affected roughly 1,300 parcels town-wide, with land-value adjustments of 10-20% varying by village -- meaning Northeast Harbor's own adjustment could plausibly differ from Seal Harbor's or Somesville's, though this research did not find a village-specific breakdown. Separately, a real and specific hardship emerged the same cycle: the state-level elimination of Maine's senior property-tax freeze program reportedly affected 160 Mount Desert seniors whose previously frozen tax accounts saw sudden increases as a result -- a genuine, documented consequence worth knowing about for anyone buying with an eye toward aging in place.
What This Means on Northeast Harbor's Own Numbers
One reasonably well-sourced figure this research found is HomeTownLocator's ACS-vintage median home value of $729,700 for the Northeast Harbor CDP specifically -- a survey-based figure, not a live transaction median. Running that figure against the $9.30 rate works out to roughly $6,786 a year in town tax, though that is an illustrative calculation only, not a real bill for any specific parcel. This research did not confirm a current Redfin median sale price for the 04662 ZIP code or a Zillow figure specific to Northeast Harbor; a build agent should re-fetch those sources directly before publishing a live-transaction-based tax estimate. The only number that matters for an actual purchase is the assessed value the Town of Mount Desert's own assessing office has on file for that specific parcel, multiplied by the current, confirmed rate.
What This Page Could Not Confirm
This page does not know Northeast Harbor's own village-specific land-value adjustment from the recent revaluation, a finalized FY2025-2026 mil rate, or a current live-transaction median sale price for the 04662 ZIP code -- all are disclosed as gaps rather than filled with invented figures. A reader consulting this page after the Town of Mount Desert's most recent budget cycle should re-verify directly with the town that the rate has not changed again before relying on it. Consult the Town of Mount Desert's assessing office, Maine Revenue Services, or a Maine-licensed tax professional before making a purchase decision based on property tax exposure.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. The Town of Mount Desert's FY2024-2025 mil rate of $9.30 per $1,000, up from $8.72, the $25.6 million budget, and the assessed-value growth figures are drawn from mdislander.com's own reporting ("Mount Desert sets tax rate"). The revaluation detail, the assessor's "close to 30% appreciation" quote, the 1,300-parcel scope, and the senior property-tax-freeze elimination detail are drawn from Bar Harbor Story's own reporting ("Radical Shift in Real Estate Market Big Player in Mount Desert Tax Bills"). The $729,700 median home value figure is drawn from HomeTownLocator's Northeast Harbor, ME profile, an ACS-vintage estimate rather than a live transaction figure. No current Redfin or Zillow figure specific to Northeast Harbor was confirmed this pass. The dollar figure shown against the $729,700 median is a simple illustrative multiplication against the $9.30 rate, not a real tax bill for any specific parcel. Nothing on this page is tax or legal advice; verify the current rate and a specific parcel's assessed value directly with the Town of Mount Desert's assessing office, Maine Revenue Services, and Redfin or Zillow, and consult a Maine-licensed tax professional or real estate attorney before making a purchase decision based on property tax exposure.