Massachusetts Mortgage Calculator
Massachusetts limits how fast a town’s total tax collection can grow, but Boston and a few other cities also offer a residential exemption most buyers never hear about — pick your county below to see your real payment.
Loan & Property Details
Auto-fills from the county’s benchmark city; edit if you know your exact town’s residential rate, since Massachusetts sets rates town by town.
Your Estimated Monthly Payment
Choose a county and enter your details to see a plain-language read on your payment.
What If You Paid Extra Toward Principal?
Slide to test an extra monthly payment and see how many years and how much interest it saves.
What If Your Rate Changes?
Your 5-Year Equity Snapshot
Good to Know: What a Seller Pays (Deeds Excise Tax)
You won’t pay this as a buyer, but it’s worth understanding since you’ll be a seller someday.
| Statewide deeds excise tax rate | $4.56 per $1,000 of sale price (0.456%) |
| Who customarily pays | Seller, at closing |
| Example on a $650,000 sale | $650,000 ÷ $1,000 × $4.56 ≈ $2,964 |
| Note | Some Cape Cod and Islands towns add a local Community Preservation transfer surcharge |
Proposition 2½: Massachusetts’s Famous Cap Doesn’t Work the Way Most Buyers Assume
Ask most Massachusetts homeowners about their property tax and Proposition 2½ comes up fast, the 1980 ballot law that’s shaped every town budget since. Here’s the nuance that matters for a buyer: Prop 2½ caps the total amount a town’s total tax levy can grow year over year, generally 2.5% plus the value of genuinely new construction, unless voters approve an override or a debt exclusion at the ballot box. It is not a cap on any individual home’s bill. Because each town’s tax rate is simply that capped total levy divided by the town’s total assessed value, when a town’s overall property values rise faster than the levy is allowed to grow, the rate itself falls, even though your specific bill can still rise if your home appreciated faster than the town average.
Middlesex, Suffolk, Worcester, and Norfolk: how the four biggest counties compare
Middlesex County, covering Cambridge, Lowell, and dozens of Boston’s northern and western suburbs, posts the highest median dollar tax bills in the state on some of its highest home values. Suffolk County, essentially the city of Boston plus a couple of neighbors, runs the lowest effective rate of the four, both because Boston shifts a larger share of its tax burden onto commercial property under Massachusetts’s classified rate system and because many owner-occupants there benefit from the city’s Residential Exemption. Worcester County, central Massachusetts’s mill-town belt, runs the highest effective rate of the four on considerably lower home values. Norfolk County, home to Brookline, Quincy, and Dedham, sits closer to the state median. Switching counties above resets both price and rate defaults to a benchmark city in that county.
| Boston FY2026 residential rate (per $1,000) | $12.40 |
| Boston FY2026 commercial/industrial rate (per $1,000) | $26.96 |
| What this means for a homeowner | Boston deliberately taxes commercial property more than double the residential rate |
That split rate, allowed under state law within limits, is a big part of why Suffolk County’s effective residential rate looks so mild compared to Massachusetts’s reputation as a high-tax state; the commercial tax base is absorbing a disproportionate share of the burden.
The Residential Exemption: real relief, but only in cities that choose to offer it
Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and a handful of other Massachusetts municipalities have adopted a local-option Residential Exemption, which shields up to 35% of a city’s average residential assessed value from taxation for owner-occupants who file for it. It’s a meaningful benefit where it exists, but most Massachusetts towns, including the vast majority of Middlesex, Worcester, and Norfolk county communities, don’t offer it at all. Check with your specific city or town before assuming it applies; the toggle above models it as an optional $40,000 taxable-value reduction, a reasonable approximation of Boston’s typical exemption amount, since the exact dollar figure moves with the city’s average assessed value each year.
Senior relief: a local exemption and a separate state tax credit
Many Massachusetts towns offer a local Senior Exemption, commonly $1,000 off the bill and sometimes as much as $2,000 in towns that have adopted the higher local option, for owners 65 and older who’ve owned and occupied their home for at least ten years and meet income and asset limits. Separately, the state’s Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit is a refundable Massachusetts income tax credit, not a property tax bill reduction, based on how much your property tax exceeds a set share of your income. It’s claimed when you file your state income tax return, similar in spirit to relief programs in several other New England states in this calculator series.
Common Mistakes Massachusetts Buyers Make With the Numbers
- Assuming Prop 2½ caps an individual bill. It caps a town’s total levy growth; your own bill can still rise faster if your home outpaces the town average.
- Assuming every Massachusetts city offers the Residential Exemption. Only a handful of cities, including Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, have adopted it; most towns haven’t.
- Applying a single statewide rate. Massachusetts sets rates town by town, and many towns split residential from commercial rates, which changes the real burden on homeowners.
- Confusing the local Senior Exemption with the state Circuit Breaker credit. One reduces the property tax bill directly; the other is a separate income tax credit claimed on your state return.
- Reading “Suffolk County’s low rate” as “Boston is a low-tax city.” The low effective rate partly reflects a heavier commercial tax burden and the Residential Exemption, not simply a smaller total bill for every home.
Tips for Lowering Your Massachusetts Mortgage Payment
- Check whether your specific city or town has adopted the Residential Exemption before assuming you don’t qualify; it isn’t limited to Boston alone.
- If a borrower on title is 65 or older with ten years in the home, ask your town assessor about the local Senior Exemption amount, since it varies by town.
- File for the state Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit every year on your Massachusetts income tax return if eligible; it’s easy to overlook since it isn’t on the property tax bill.
- Compare actual town rates, not just county averages, especially across Middlesex County’s many separate municipalities.
- Use the extra-payment scenario above; even a modest additional principal payment compounds meaningfully over a 30-year Massachusetts loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Proposition 2½ in Massachusetts?
A 1980 law limiting how much a town’s total property tax levy can grow each year, generally 2.5% plus new construction, unless voters approve an override or debt exclusion. It caps total town revenue, not any individual homeowner’s bill.
How much is property tax in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts’s statewide effective property tax rate runs above the national average, though Suffolk County (Boston) posts one of the lowest effective rates among the state’s major counties, while Worcester County runs one of the highest.
What is the Massachusetts Residential Exemption?
A local-option exemption, adopted by cities including Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, that shields up to 35% of a city’s average residential assessed value from taxation for owner-occupants. Most Massachusetts towns don’t offer it.
Why does Boston tax commercial property more than residential?
Massachusetts law lets communities adopt a classified, or split, tax rate, taxing commercial and industrial property at a higher rate than residential property, within state limits. Boston uses one of the widest splits in the state.
What is the Massachusetts Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit?
A refundable state income tax credit for homeowners and renters 65 and older, based on how much property tax (or a share of rent) exceeds a set percentage of income. It’s claimed on the state income tax return, not applied to the property tax bill directly.
Does Massachusetts have a real estate transfer tax?
Yes, a statewide deeds excise tax of $4.56 per $1,000 of sale price, about 0.456%, customarily paid by the seller.
Which Massachusetts county has the lowest property tax rate?
Among the state’s larger counties, Suffolk generally posts the lowest effective rate, partly due to Boston’s split commercial/residential rate structure and Residential Exemption.
What down payment do I need to buy a home in Massachusetts?
Conventional loans often start around 5% down, FHA loans typically require 3.5%, and VA loans can allow 0% down for eligible veterans.
When can I remove PMI on a Massachusetts home loan?
Federal law allows requesting PMI removal at 20% equity, with automatic lender cancellation at 22% equity based on the original amortization schedule.
Does this calculator include closing costs?
No, this tool estimates the ongoing monthly payment only. Massachusetts closing costs, including the deeds excise tax for sellers, typically add a modest percentage of the purchase price.
References
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services, Proposition 2½, tax rate, and exemption guidance – mass.gov/orgs/division-of-local-services
- Middlesex, Suffolk, Worcester, and Norfolk County municipal assessor offices, certified FY2026 tax rates – town and city government sites
- Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59 (property tax) and Chapter 64D (deeds excise tax)
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, weekly national rate averages – freddiemac.com/pmms
Related DexoCalc Tools
This Massachusetts mortgage calculator is part of the Mortgage Calculators cluster I am building out on DexoCalc. Start with the national Mortgage Calculator to compare Massachusetts against any other state, see another New England state taxing entirely at the local level in the Maine Mortgage Calculator, compare a very different levy-limiting mechanism in the Kentucky Mortgage Calculator, or check a state at the opposite tax extreme in the New Jersey Mortgage Calculator. Browse every state-specific tool as new ones publish on the full Mortgage Calculators hub.
This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and is not a loan offer, pre-approval, or substitute for advice from a licensed Massachusetts mortgage professional or tax advisor. Property tax, exemption, and transfer tax figures are approximations that vary by town and individual circumstances; confirm exact figures with your town assessor. Sources: Massachusetts Division of Local Services, town assessor offices, Freddie Mac.