Taxes & Insurance in Chatham
Chatham carries the lowest property tax rate of any Cape Cod town, Massachusetts's own statewide flat income tax and simple sales tax, and genuinely elevated homeowners- and flood-insurance costs tied to its real coastal-erosion exposure.
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Learn moreThe lowest property tax rate on Cape Cod, yet still a real, substantial bill
Chatham's FY2026 rate ($3.67/$1,000, ~0.37% effective) is the lowest residential rate of any town on Cape Cod, per the Town of Chatham's own certified tax-rate disclosure -- yet on the town's substantial average home value (~$1,346,917), the resulting bill still comes to a real, computed estimate of approximately $4,943/year.
Massachusetts's statewide flat income tax and surtax apply here as everywhere
Massachusetts's real flat 5% state income tax (with the additional 4% surtax on taxable income above $1,107,750) and uniform 6.25% sales tax apply in Chatham exactly as they do statewide -- see the state hub record for the full disclosure.
Genuinely elevated homeowners and flood insurance, with a real, active mitigation program
Cape Cod, Islands, and South Shore communities including Chatham pay the highest homeowners-insurance premiums statewide, running a real 29%-68% above the Massachusetts mean. Chatham's participation in FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System as a Class 7 community is a real, active mitigation effort earning residents a 15% flood-insurance discount, alongside the state's own ~$1,078/year statewide flood-insurance average.
Key takeaways
- Chatham's FY2026 effective property tax rate (~0.37%) is the lowest on Cape Cod, per the town's own certified rate.
- On Chatham's own average home value, the estimated bill still runs approximately $4,943/year given high underlying home values.
- Massachusetts's statewide flat 5% income tax (plus the 4% surtax above $1,107,750) and 6.25% sales tax apply here as everywhere in the state.
- Homeowners insurance runs genuinely elevated (29%-68% above the MA mean), partly offset by Chatham's real FEMA CRS Class 7 flood-insurance discount (15%).
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