Any property tax figure quoted for a Melrose home this week is a fiscal 2026 number. The bill that carries the fiscal 2027 rate is mailed by the end of December and due February 1. Between those two numbers, the city's total property tax collection grows by about $5.4 million. That increase comes without an override on the ballot, because a debt exclusion voters approved in 2023 has started coming due.

The 2025 override set a new baseline for Melrose tax bills. The public safety building program is now adding to that baseline year by year, which affects how Melrose compares with Wakefield, Stoneham and Reading.

The Tax Figure on a Melrose Listing Is Already Behind the Calendar

Melrose bills property tax quarterly. The City of Melrose FAQ sets out the cycle:

1. Preliminary bills for the August and November quarters are mailed together by the end of June.
2. The Assessor's Department sets the tax rate. Before that, the City Council votes on the residential factor at a classification hearing, which was held December 1, 2025 for fiscal 2026.
3. Actual third- and fourth-quarter bills, based on the new rate, are mailed together by the end of December and are due February 1 and May 1.

Melrose's fiscal 2027 began July 1, 2026, so this cycle produces a third-quarter bill mailed by the end of December 2026 and due February 1, 2027. A buyer who goes under agreement this month and closes in the new year is budgeting against one rate and paying under the next.

The Override Reset the Baseline

On November 4, 2025, Melrose voters approved a $13.5 million Proposition 2½ override, 6,056 to 5,086, according to the city's certified results. Before the vote, the city estimated it would add $1,374 a year on what was then the average single-family home, assessed at $817,630.

The fiscal 2026 numbers show what happened. Total real estate and personal property taxes rose from about $79.3 million in fiscal 2025 to about $95.8 million in fiscal 2026, an increase of nearly $16.5 million in one year. The residential rate went from $9.90 per $1,000 in fiscal 2025 to $11.47 in fiscal 2026.

That change moved Melrose's place among nearby towns. In fiscal 2025, Melrose's average single-family bill was below Wakefield's. In fiscal 2026, it is above it.

The fiscal 2025 figures come from Melrose's classification presentation. The fiscal 2026 figures come from the Massachusetts Division of Local Services Average Single-Family Tax Bill report, current as of November 9, 2026. Melrose's average single-family bill rose $1,692, about 21%, in one fiscal year. The average single-family assessment was $853,264.

Fiscal 2027 Grows on a Vote From 2023

Melrose's fiscal 2027 revenue document, dated May 18, 2026, shows how the next increase is built.

Inside the levy limit, growth follows the familiar Proposition 2½ pattern. The city adds a 2.5% increase of about $2.34 million, plus $500,000 in projected new growth, which is lower than the $780,859 that new construction added in fiscal 2026. The larger change is outside the limit. The Public Safety debt exclusion rises from $305,938 to $2,895,678, which covers nearly half of the year's $5.45 million increase in total taxes.

A debt exclusion lets a city raise taxes above the levy limit to repay borrowing for a specific project, and only for the life of that debt. The bill grows as borrowing happens, with no new vote each year. The city's document notes that Melrose has borrowed $57.5 million to date for Phase 1.

What the Borrowing Is Building

The question on the November 7, 2023 ballot named four buildings: a renovated Central Fire Station and new Highlands, East Side and Police stations, according to the city's public safety FAQ. The city's building committee estimated the full project at about $130 million.

Two of those buildings are now visible construction sites:

• The new police headquarters is being built on the former Beebe School site at 263 West Foster Street, replacing the station at 56 West Foster Street. Patch reported in April 2026 that demolition, site preparation and construction had begun.
• The new Engine 2 fire station had its structural steel up by July 2026. The project manager's July report listed substantial completion for September 8, 2027.

Patch put the full program's completion at 2031. That date matters for taxes. The $57.5 million borrowed so far is less than half of the roughly $130 million estimate. The city's FAQ projected the full program at about $1.19 per $1,000 of assessed value, which it put at about $875 a year for an average single-family home valued at $733,465 when the estimate was made. Later phases mean later borrowing.

One older exclusion is ending. The Middle School debt exclusion, voted in May 2003, makes its final payment in fiscal 2029. That removes about $1.9 million a year from the outside-the-limit total just as public safety borrowing continues.

Why the Commercial Tax Shift Cannot Absorb Much

Many Massachusetts cities lower residential bills by moving part of the levy onto commercial and industrial property. Melrose has little room to do that. In fiscal 2026, residential property made up 95% of the city's $8.0 billion taxable value. Commercial was 2.5%, personal property 2.1% and industrial 0.4%.

The assessors' presentation showed the effect. With no shift, the residential rate would have been $11.93. Even at the maximum shift the state allowed, it fell only to $11.46. As the assessors' classification presentation noted, a shift "does not raise more revenue, it simply changes the allocation of the tax burden among the classes." In Melrose, nearly all of the levy stays on homes.

Revaluation Decides Which Homes Carry the Increase

The total Melrose can raise is set by the levy limit, the override and the debt exclusions, and the rate is applied to each property's assessed value. A higher assessment does not raise the city's total. It changes how that total is divided among owners.

On October 16, 2026, Melrose's Board of Assessors posted preliminary fiscal 2027 value trends, based on market value as of January 1, 2026:

• Apartments: +12.5%
• Three-family homes: +8.3%
• Single-family homes: +5.8%
• Two-family homes: +3.8%
• Residential condos: +3.6%

Single-family homes make up most of Melrose's residential value. In fiscal 2026 they totaled about $5.46 billion of the $7.64 billion residential class. Their 5.8% gain therefore sets most of the residential average, while faster gains in apartments and three-families pull that average up. Condos and two-families gained less than any other residential type. On a buyer's comparison sheet, a Melrose condo and a Melrose single-family can show similar recent tax increases. After this revaluation, though, the condo's share of a larger levy is likely to grow more slowly. The assessors also note that individual parcels can move differently from these citywide trends.

Quick Answers

Is a new override on the ballot for fiscal 2027? No. The fiscal 2027 increase comes from the normal 2.5% growth, new construction and the 2023 Public Safety debt exclusion. The $126.7 million fiscal 2027 budget was approved unanimously by the City Council on June 15, 2026.

When does the new rate show up on a bill? On the third-quarter bill, which the city mails by the end of December. The third quarter is due February 1 and the fourth on May 1.

Where can an owner check a preliminary fiscal 2027 assessment? The Board of Assessors publishes a street listing of fiscal 2027 values on the Assessor's page. The office is at City Hall, 562 Main Street, 781-979-4104.

This post is general information about how Melrose's tax levy works, not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm the figures for any specific property with the Assessors' office or your own tax professional.

When the fiscal 2027 rate is set, the tax line on every Melrose listing changes with it. Sellers who price with the new number in mind will negotiate from firmer ground. The Nikki Martin Team can show you how your assessment, the new bill and recent Melrose sales fit together. Request a Free Home Valuation.