Yarmouth Property Tax: The FY2025/26 Rate and the Missing Exemption
Yarmouth's property tax picture is simpler than several of its Cape Cod neighbors in one respect and less generous in another. The FY2025/26 rate is $7.08 per $1,000 of assessed value, and unlike Barnstable, Yarmouth doesn't layer separate fire-district rates or a split commercial/industrial rate on top - it's a single, town-wide number that applies uniformly. What Yarmouth doesn't have is a residential exemption, the local-option program several Cape towns use to shield a slice of an owner-occupied home's value from taxation. That absence matters for anyone comparing Yarmouth to Barnstable or Mashpee, both of which do offer one. This guide covers the current rate, the exemption gap, the Proposition 2½ framework behind all of it, and how Yarmouth's number sits among its Mid Cape and Upper Cape neighbors.
The FY2025/26 Rate: $7.08 Per $1,000, No Split
Yarmouth's tax rate for FY2025/26 is $7.08 per $1,000 of assessed value, confirmed across two independent sources tracking Cape Cod tax rates. That figure applies as a single rate rather than the split residential-versus-commercial/industrial structure some Cape towns use: Yarmouth taxes a year-round home in Yarmouth Port, a Route 28 motel property, and a retail building in South Yarmouth's commercial core at the same rate per $1,000 of assessed value, with the tax bill itself set by that rate multiplied by the property's assessed value.
That single-rate simplicity is a real point of contrast with Barnstable next door, which layers a separate fire-district tax on top of its own town rate depending on which of five districts a property sits in. A Yarmouth property owner doesn't need to track a village-specific overlay the way a Barnstable owner does - the $7.08 figure, applied to a property's assessed value, is the whole calculation before any exemptions or credits (of which, as covered next, Yarmouth currently offers none aimed specifically at owner-occupants).
No Residential Exemption: A Real Difference From Barnstable and Mashpee
Several Cape Cod towns have adopted a residential exemption, a local-option program under Massachusetts law that shields a percentage of an owner-occupied home's assessed value from taxation, shifting more of the tax burden onto second homes, rentals, and non-owner-occupied property. Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Mashpee, and Barnstable have all adopted one, with Barnstable's currently running as high as 30% of the town's average assessed residential value. Yarmouth has not adopted a residential exemption. It's absent from the list of Cape towns offering one, confirmed by the same research that verified the exemption percentages at those other towns.
That's worth stating plainly rather than glossing over, especially for anyone comparing Yarmouth to this site's own Barnstable or Mashpee property tax pages: a year-round, owner-occupied home in Yarmouth gets no automatic reduction in assessed value the way a comparable owner-occupied home in Barnstable or Mashpee might. It doesn't mean Yarmouth's total tax burden is automatically higher - the base rate itself matters at least as much, and Yarmouth's $7.08 sits below some towns that do offer an exemption - but it does mean the exemption math those other towns' owner-occupants can use to lower their effective bill simply isn't available in Yarmouth under current policy. Whether Yarmouth adopts a residential exemption in a future year is a decision for town meeting, not something this page can predict.
Proposition 2½: The Statewide Cap Behind the Rate
Yarmouth's rate, like every Massachusetts municipality's, operates inside Proposition 2½, the 1980 statewide ballot law that limits how fast a town's total property tax levy can grow. It works through two caps: a levy ceiling that limits the total levy to 2.5% of the town's total assessed value, and a levy limit that caps year-over-year levy growth at 2.5% regardless of how much individual assessed values rise in a given year. New construction is excluded from that annual growth cap, so newly built property in Yarmouth adds tax revenue without counting against the limit, and the town can exceed the normal growth cap only through a voter-approved override or a debt exclusion tied to specific borrowing.
Proposition 2½ slows the pace at which Yarmouth's levy can grow, but it doesn't freeze rates or bills in place - reassessments still catch up to rising property values over time, and Massachusetts property taxes have nearly doubled in real terms statewide since 1984 despite the cap. It's a statewide mechanic, not a Yarmouth-specific one, so it explains why the town's rate moves gradually year to year rather than why this particular year's figure lands at $7.08.
How Yarmouth Compares to Its Cape Cod Neighbors
Set against a handful of other FY2026 Cape Cod rates from the same research, Yarmouth's $7.08 lands roughly in the middle: Dennis is lower at $4.29, Falmouth is lower at $5.87, Barnstable is somewhat lower at $6.80, and Sandwich is well above all of them at $10.19. Yarmouth isn't the Cape's cheapest town to own in by rate, and it isn't the priciest - it sits mid-pack among this comparison set, closer to Barnstable's figure than to either Dennis's low end or Sandwich's high end.
As with any town-by-town rate comparison, the bare per-$1,000 number doesn't capture everything that determines an actual bill. Barnstable's lower headline rate comes with a residential exemption Yarmouth doesn't have, and in most of Barnstable's villages, an added fire-district tax Yarmouth also doesn't have - two adjustments that can push a comparison in either direction depending on a specific property and owner-occupancy status. A reliable side-by-side comparison has to account for assessed value, exemption eligibility, and any add-on district rates, not just the two towns' base numbers.
Confirming Current Figures Before You Rely on Them
Tax rates are set annually and can change from one fiscal year to the next, and Yarmouth's decision on whether to adopt a residential exemption is likewise a policy choice that could shift at a future town meeting. The $7.08 rate and the current absence of a residential exemption reflect the most recent figures found in research behind this page, not a permanent state of affairs.
Before using any figure on this page in a purchase decision, a rental pro forma, or a household budget, confirm the current rate, your property's assessed value, and current exemption policy directly with the Yarmouth Assessor's office. This page is independent research, not tax or legal advice, and a licensed tax professional should be consulted for guidance specific to your situation.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Yarmouth's FY2025/26 property tax rate of $7.08 per $1,000 of assessed value, applied as a single non-split rate with no separate commercial/industrial classification, is confirmed across two independent sources: the Cape Cod Bliss tax-rate roundup and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. The confirmed absence of a Yarmouth residential exemption - in contrast to Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Mashpee, and Barnstable, all of which have adopted one - is drawn from the same research pass. Comparative FY2026 rates for Barnstable ($6.80), Dennis ($4.29), Sandwich ($10.19), and Falmouth ($5.87) come from the same source set. Massachusetts' Proposition 2½ mechanics (the levy ceiling and levy limit, the new-construction exclusion, override and debt-exclusion provisions, and the statewide near-doubling of real property tax levels since 1984 despite the cap) are drawn from this site's Cape Cod regional research. Tax rates and exemption policy change annually and are set independently by each town - confirm all current figures directly with the Yarmouth Assessor's office before making any purchase, rental, or financial decision. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.