The tax figure on a Manchester listing today rests on what the property was worth on October 1, 2021. Under the Town's revaluation schedule, owners should get a new proposed assessment in the mail in November 2026, and the first bills on those values are expected around mid-2027. If you're buying this winter, the tax line you budget against will be recalculated within months of your closing. If you're selling, your buyer's lender and attorney will eventually see that new number too.
Manchester's assessors stress that revaluation doesn't raise the town's total taxes, and they're right. Individual bills can still move. A revaluation decides who pays what share of a levy the town sets separately. In another Hartford County town that revalued for its 2025 grand list, the share shifted toward homeowners by a wide margin.
The Tax Figure on Today's Listings Dates to 2021
Connecticut requires every town to revalue all real estate on a rotating five-year schedule. Manchester's last revaluation was for the October 1, 2021 grand list. The current one is valued as of October 1, 2026. The Town hired Tyler Technologies for the work. Director of Assessment Tami Nomack leads the project, and Tyler's Senior Project Manager Drew Manlove manages it on the vendor side.
Here is the sequence a buyer or seller should keep on their calendar:
| Step | Timing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Data collection and market analysis | Early 2026 through September 2026 | Town revaluation overview |
| Valuation date | October 1, 2026 | Town revaluation overview |
| Proposed assessment notices mailed | November 2026 | Town revaluation presentation |
| Informal hearings with assessment staff | December 2026 | Town revaluation presentation |
| First bills on new values | Expected around June 2027, with installments due July 1, 2027 and January 1, 2028, if the Town keeps its 2025 schedule | Town 2025 tax notice |
The last row is a projection. In 2025, Manchester mailed bills for the October 1, 2024 grand list on June 20, with installments due July 1, 2025 and January 1, 2026, according to the Town's 2025 tax payment notice. The Town has not published a 2027 notice yet.
The current rates, adopted for the 2025 grand list, are 41.00 mills for the General Fund and 45.18 mills inside the Downtown Special Services District, which carries a 4.18-mill surcharge. Motor vehicles are taxed at 32.46 mills. Buyers who remember separate fire district rates from older bills will find they're gone. The Collector of Revenue notes that the Eighth Utilities District and South Fire merger ended separate fire district mill rates starting with the 2022 grand list.
Your Bill Tracks Your Value Against the Town Average
Connecticut assesses property at 70% of market value. Your bill is the assessment times the mill rate, divided by 1,000. At today's 41.00 General Fund rate, a home assessed at $210,000 carries $8,610 a year in town property tax. During a revaluation, every assessment in town changes at once, and the mill rate resets to match.
The Town's revaluation FAQ explains it with a simple case. If the town raises the same revenue as the year before and every assessment doubles, the mill rate is cut in half. It also says individual assessments rise or fall "depending on how a property value increased or decreased relative to the average change in assessment." The FAQ adds that market value may have grown faster for some neighborhoods and property types than for others.
So the gain in your home's value since 2021 is only half the comparison. What matters is your gain against the town's average gain across every property class, including apartments, offices, stores and industrial buildings. If your home's value rose about as much as the grand list as a whole, the lower mill rate roughly cancels the higher assessment. If it rose faster, your share of the levy grows.
Manchester has been through this before. The October 1, 2021 revaluation raised the town's grand list by 17.99% and lowered the General Fund mill rate by 14%, according to the Town's FY2022 annual report. That gap between the two percentages is how the system works. Rates fall when the base grows, and then each owner's position depends on where their property sits compared with the average.
Newington Has Already Shown How This Can Go
Newington's 2025 revaluation is the clearest nearby example of the burden shifting toward homes. The Hartford Courant reported in April 2026 that office building values there had stagnated and commercial values rose only slightly compared with home prices. The Courant quoted Town Manager Jonathan Altschul's budget message:
"Residential properties increased by 57.29%, compared to 35.92% for commercial properties. In other words, the 2025 Grand List shifts a relatively greater tax burden onto residential properties than commercial properties."
The same Courant article reported that the average Newington home's assessment went from $162,702 to $252,514. The town council dropped the idea of phasing in the new values after residents argued a phase-in would just postpone the increase. After cutting $8.4 million from the proposed budget, the council set the rate at 29.41 mills, which still meant a 14.3% tax increase.
Newington's numbers say nothing about how Manchester's will come out, and Manchester has not released preliminary figures. They do show how the outcome depends on the mix of property in town and on the choices a town board makes once the values come in.
Manchester Has Two Options and Hasn't Chosen Yet
At a Board of Directors meeting summarized by Citizen Portal on August 31, 2026, Director of Finance Kim Lord and the assessor told the board that the revaluation will redistribute the tax burden even if total revenue stays the same. They presented two ways to soften it, a phase-in of assessment changes and a municipal homestead exemption.
A phase-in spreads assessment changes over several years. According to Citizen Portal's meeting summary, staff noted it adds administrative complexity and could confuse taxpayers.
A homestead exemption reduces the assessed value of owner-occupied homes. State law lets towns exempt between 5% and 35% of the assessed value of owner-occupied single-family homes and duplexes, including condominiums and common interest community units of up to two units. Towns may also set residency-length requirements and an assessed-value cap, according to a January 2026 Office of Legislative Research report on CGS § 12-81oo as amended by Public Act 25-168. The meeting summary lists a $50,000 flat exemption among the forms discussed. It also says an exemption would shift costs to the remaining taxable properties, likely apartment and commercial owners.
Manchester's housing mix makes this choice bigger than it sounds. Staff used an owner-occupancy rate of about 52% in their examples. In a town where roughly half the housing is owner-occupied, an exemption for those owners moves a meaningful share of the levy onto the other half of the housing stock and onto business property.
The board took no vote. Staff will wait for final revaluation numbers before proposing any change, and the board may form a subcommittee to study the options. As of this writing, the method that will apply to the 2027 bills hasn't been decided.
What This Means If You're Buying or Selling This Winter
Manchester owners and buyers will be weighing tax figures this season that are about to change, with the policy that shapes the change still open. A few practical steps follow from the Town's own process:
- Sellers should check their property record before the notice arrives. The yellow data mailer in a window envelope asks owners to confirm bedrooms, bathrooms, finished basement area, heating and cooling type, and heat source. It now also asks for water and sewer providers, a new field that adds no value to the assessment. Record cards are available in the Vision Appraisal online database or at the Assessor's Office at Town Hall, 41 Main St.
- Buyers comparing towns should treat Manchester's current tax line as a starting point. It reflects 2021 values and the 2025 grand list rate. The town-to-town comparison that matters comes once Manchester sets its new mill rate. Our South Windsor mill rate explainer covers how the same formula works next door.
- Anyone under contract around the November mailing should ask for the proposed assessment. The December informal hearings are the first chance to question a value with assessment staff. The Town's revaluation FAQ lists February 20 as the Board of Assessment Appeals filing deadline.
- Keep an eye on the board's next steps. A phase-in, a homestead exemption, or neither will decide how much of any shift lands on owner-occupied homes in the 2027 bills.
Quick Answers
Will the revaluation raise my taxes? Not automatically. The Town says the revaluation itself doesn't change the total levy. Your bill depends on how your property's value changed compared with the town average and on the budget the town adopts.
Who might knock on my door? Tyler Technologies data collectors visit a share of properties, especially recent sales and homes with permitted work. The Town posts their photos so owners can confirm who they are. Details are on Tyler's Manchester revaluation page.
Is a homestead exemption already in place? No. The board discussed it in late summer 2026 and took no action.
This post is general information about how Manchester's revaluation works. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice, so please confirm your own situation with the assessor's office, a tax professional or your attorney.
If a Manchester sale or purchase is on your calendar this winter, Danais & Gordon Team can help you price around a tax number that's about to change. Start with a free home valuation and selling plan, and we'll walk you through the 2021 assessment, the November notice and what each means for your sale. You can also find more on the town in our Manchester neighborhood guide.
