*Attention Lincoln Tax Payers* The Town of Lincoln will be re-issuing Tax bills for the 2025-2026 tax year. The new tax bills will be mailed at the end of July, and the first quarter deadline has been extended to August 29th . The new adjusted tax bills will reflect a decrease to the residential rate and a modest increase to the commercial tax rate. The new tax rate will be: Residential $13.523 per $1,000 of assessed value Commercial $23.987 per $1,000 of assessed value Why is the Town issuing new tax bills? When the Town of Lincoln first submitted the proposed tax rates to the Department of Revenue we received direction that categorical tax rates could only be adjusted uniformly under RI General Law § 44-5-11.8. Unfortunately by doing a uniform adjustment we saw a significant shift in tax burden from commercial property to residential property. This was caused by the drastic difference in this past year’s statistical valuation. Residential valuations went up an average of 31% while commercial values only rose 10%. Upon learning of the some of the significant residential increases the Town Finance Department looked to take corrective action. Upon further investigation, we learned that the original guidance we received was not binding and that the Town had the authority to make separate adjustments to tax categories under RI General Law § 44-5-20.29. While we regret that this issue was not addressed earlier, we think it is important to make this correction. Although our tax levy increase for the upcoming year was very modest at a 2.7% increase, particularly when compared to other Rhode Island Communities, it is important that the tax burden is fairly distributed between our residents and business community. What do I need to do? • If you haven’t paid your tax bill yet, wait until you receive your new tax bill. The new first quarter tax bill deadline is August 29th • If you have already paid the first quarter, or the entire year, payments will be applied to the new tax bills • In cases where you may have paid in full and you have overpaid you will be issued a refund. • As a normal course of procedure new tax bills will be sent to you. You should notify your mortgage company of the updated amounts to ensure that they make the proper changes. We appreciate your patience and understanding and apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may cause but we feel that this is a necessary course of action for interest for all of our Lincoln residents
