On Tuesday, September 15, the Ogunquit Select Board voted 5–0 to set the tax rate for FY 2026–27 at $6.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Last year's rate was $6.73, so this year's is 23 cents, or 3.4%, lower. Assessor Michelle McDonald reported that the town's total valuation rose about 1.37% from last year.
The town's Ogunquit This Week newsletter for September 18 printed a second figure in the same headline box: a state-certified assessment ratio of 79%. If you're comparing coastal towns by mill rate, that ratio matters more than the rate. It tells you Ogunquit's assessments have drifted well below what the market says the town is worth. A drop in the rate during a stretch like that says more about the town's books than about what it costs to own here.
Where the 79% came from
The certified ratio compares a town's assessed values with "just value," which is the state's term for market value. Maine Revenue Services explains in Property Tax Bulletin No. 35 that a ratio of 100% means assessed values average out to just value. A ratio of 79% means Ogunquit's assessments now average about four-fifths of market value.
Not long ago Ogunquit was at 100%. The state's 2023 Municipal Valuation Return summary lists the town at 100%. The 2024 summary also lists 100%, with a tax rate of $6.46 per $1,000. The 2024 return lists Ogunquit's most recent revaluation as April 1, 2022, with Municipal Resources, Inc. as the firm.
Then the market kept rising. The state's own estimates of Ogunquit's total value climbed steadily:
| State valuation year | Ogunquit state valuation |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $1,686,350,000 |
| 2022 | $1,797,700,000 |
| 2023 | $2,025,250,000 |
| 2024 | $2,164,300,000 |
| 2025 | $2,499,800,000 |
That works out to roughly 15.5% growth from 2024 to 2025, and about 48% over the five years in the table. Over that same time, Ogunquit's taxable valuation stood at about $2.07 billion in the 2024 return. This year's local roll grew by only about 1.37%. Maine Revenue Services notes that the state valuation trails actual market values and municipal assessments by nearly two years. So even the newest figure in that table describes a market from a while back.
There is a floor. Under 36 M.R.S. §327, Maine municipalities must keep "a 70% minimum assessment ratio." At 79%, Ogunquit is above that line. The trend over the past two years has been heading toward it.
What the rate means once you convert it to market value
A tax rate applies to assessed value. If assessments average 79% of market, the rate measured against market value is lower than the posted number.
- The posted FY 2026–27 rate is $6.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.
- At a 79% average ratio, $1,000 of market value carries about $790 of assessed value.
- Tax on that $790 is about $5.14, so the rate equals roughly $5.14 per $1,000 of market value, on average.
Compare that with 2024. Ogunquit's $6.46 rate was charged at a 100% ratio, so it already matched market value. Wells, next door, was also at 100% in its 2024 return, with a $6.08 rate. When a buyer lines up Ogunquit's 2026 rate against another town's, the two numbers only compare fairly if both towns have similar ratios. If they don't, a gap that looks like cheaper government is really a gap in how current each town's assessments are.
The 79% is an average for the whole town, though. One house can be assessed close to its market value while the cottage next door sits much lower. The rate tells you nothing about a specific property. Its assessed value on the town's records does.
The town's sample bills, and an exemption that follows the ratio
The newsletter ran the rate change on several assessed values. Each figure keeps the same assessment in both years and is calculated before any exemptions:
| Assessed value | At $6.73 | At $6.50 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $2,019 | $1,950 | −$69 |
| $400,000 | $2,692 | $2,600 | −$92 |
| $500,000 | $3,365 | $3,250 | −$115 |
| $600,000 | $4,038 | $3,900 | −$138 |
The newsletter also pointed out that, because of the 79% ratio, "state-reimbursed exemptions such as the homestead are adjusted downward this year, slightly reducing that benefit. For a typical home, the changes roughly offset."
Bulletin 35 spells out how this works. Maine's Homestead Exemption reduces just value by up to $25,000. The cut to assessed value is that $25,000 multiplied by the town's certified ratio. At 79%, the exemption takes $19,750 off assessed value. At $6.50 that's about $128 off the bill. The bulletin adds that a smaller exemption in a low-ratio town "is equal to a $25,000 exemption at a 100% certified ratio," because the assessment it comes off is lower too.
In Ogunquit, this affects relatively few accounts. The 2024 state return counted 367 homestead exemptions in Ogunquit and 3,233 in Wells. Most of Ogunquit's tax base is property with no homestead exemption. For those owners, the rate times the assessment is the entire bill.
Parking money helps keep projects off the rate
The low rate also has a source that has nothing to do with property. On November 3, Ogunquit voters will decide a Special Town Meeting warrant that includes a $100,000 question to restore the tennis and pickleball courts at Agamenticus Park. The September 11 issue of Ogunquit This Week reported that the courts have deep cracks. The amount rose from $50,000 to $100,000 after the Marginal Way Preservation Fund donated money for lead-paint removal at the Heritage Museum, so that work no longer needed its own warrant article. Select Board liaison Heath Ouellette said the funds would come from the town's reserve account, "built largely from parking revenue, rather than from a tax increase."
Visitors pay a real share of that reserve. The town's 2025 fee schedule lists Main Beach parking at $45 a day or $8 an hour, and Perkins Cove at $6 an hour. The courts aren't covered by the tax rate. If voters approve, the summer's parking lots pay for them.
The exemption gets a new legal home in April 2027
There's one more change on the calendar for anyone planning to make an Ogunquit house their primary residence. Public Law 2025, chapter 650, from LD 2212, was approved on April 10, 2026. It ends the current homestead exemption under 36 M.R.S. §683 for tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2027. In its place, the law creates a single homestead exemption under new §683-A, which also takes in the veteran and blind exemptions. The base amount is still up to $25,000 of just value. The assessor still multiplies it by the town's certified ratio. The ratio shapes the exemption under the new law exactly as it does now.
According to the Maine Revenue Services 2026 summary of enacted legislation, homeowners who got an affected exemption for the tax year starting April 1, 2026 "will generally not need to reapply," and MRS is to publish guidance on what counts as an equivalent exemption. First-time applicants still face the familiar requirements. Bulletin 35 requires ownership of a Maine homestead for the 12 months before April 1, permanent Maine residency, and an application filed with the assessor on or before April 1. Applications that arrive later apply to the following tax year.
Questions to ask about a specific Ogunquit property
The rate is identical for every property in town. What differs is each property's assessed value. Before you put a tax figure into a carrying-cost estimate:
- What is the current assessed value on the town's records? The bill is that figure times $6.50 per $1,000, before exemptions.
- How does that assessment compare with what you'd actually pay? Measure it against the townwide 79% average. A property assessed well below or well above that line will carry a bill out of step with its price.
- Does the seller's bill include a homestead exemption? If you're buying a second home, that roughly $128 reduction won't carry over to you.
- How would a future revaluation affect this property? Revaluation resets assessments toward market value. Each owner's share of the levy then shifts based on how far their own assessment had fallen behind.
This post is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm the figures and any exemption for your own situation with the Ogunquit assessor's office or a qualified tax professional.
If you're weighing an Ogunquit property and want to see how its assessment compares with the town average before you commit to a number, Brooke Peterson can walk you through it as part of your offer prep. Sellers who want to know how their assessment stacks up against today's market can start with a quick Instant Home Valuation.
