Nobody hides the numbers on Nantucket. They're just scattered across three different offices, and half the figures floating around online are a year or two stale. Here's what buying here actually costs in 2026, with every number traced back to the town or the Land Bank.
Start with the number most people get wrong
If you've been researching Nantucket property taxes, you've probably seen $3.28 per $1,000 quoted somewhere confident-sounding. That was fiscal 2025. It's no longer the rate.
For fiscal year 2026, Nantucket's residential tax rate is $3.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, per the Town of Nantucket's official tax rate history. On a $3,000,000 assessment, that's $9,360 a year. An effective rate of roughly 0.31 percent.
That number surprises people, and it should. The island's assessed base is so large that it doesn't take much of a rate to fund the town. If you're coming from Westchester, Fairfield County, or the North Shore, your tax bill here will likely be a fraction of what you're used to on a comparable number.
One timing note: Nantucket's fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30, and the rate is set each December. The FY2027 rate won't exist until roughly December 2026, so $3.12 is the current published figure—and the first bills after a summer closing are preliminary estimates based on the prior year.
The residential exemption, and why most buyers never see a dollar of it
This is the part that gets misread constantly.
Nantucket offers a residential exemption set at 25 percent, which works out to $899,277 of assessed value for FY2026. Subtract that from your taxable value before the rate is applied, and it's worth $2,805.74 off your annual bill—the same dollar savings whether your house is assessed at $1 million or $10 million, because every qualified parcel gets the identical exemption amount.
Here's the catch, and it's the one that matters for most people reading this: it only applies to a primary residence. You have to own and occupy the property year-round, you have to have owned it as of January 1 before the fiscal year begins, and you have to file federal and Massachusetts income tax returns showing the Nantucket address as your primary residence. Then you apply to the Board of Assessors within three months of the tax bills being mailed—it isn't automatic.
If you're buying a summer house, a second home, or an investment property, you don't get it. Plan on the full rate.
What it actually looks like at $1M, $3M, and $5M
Annual property tax, using the FY2026 rate of $3.12 per $1,000:
| Assessed value | Second home (no exemption) | Primary residence (with exemption) |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000,000 | $3,120 | $314.26 |
| $3,000,000 | $9,360 | $6,554.26 |
| $5,000,000 | $15,600 | $12,794.26 |
That $1M primary-residence figure isn't a typo. A qualifying year-rounder in a modest house pays a few hundred dollars a year in property tax—one of the quiet realities of how this island is structured.
The Community Preservation surcharge
Small, but it's on your bill and nobody warns you about it. Nantucket adds a 3 percent Community Preservation Act surcharge, calculated on your adjusted annual tax after the first $100,000 of value is exempted (and after the residential exemption, if you qualify). Using the town's own worked formula, a second home assessed at $3,000,000 pays about $271 a year; at $5,000,000, about $459. It funds open space, historic preservation, and community housing.
The Land Bank fee: the one that actually moves your closing
This is the big one, and it's the line that catches nearly every off-island buyer off guard.
The Nantucket Islands Land Bank charges a 2 percent transfer fee, and the purchaser pays it. Not the seller. On the mainland, transfer taxes are customarily a seller cost, so buyers arrive with the wrong instinct baked in.
Two percent of the purchase price:
| Purchase price | Land Bank fee (buyer pays) |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000 | $20,000 |
| $3,000,000 | $60,000 |
| $5,000,000 | $100,000 |
On a $5M house, that's a six-figure line item due at closing that has nothing to do with your down payment, your lender, or your attorney. It's also not tax-deductible—the Land Bank is explicit that it's a fee, not a tax, per IRS guidance. Budget it in cash, early. The money does buy something real: a meaningful share of the open space you drive past on the way to 'Sconset exists because of it.
The first-time buyer exemption: if you have never owned real estate anywhere—not just on Nantucket—the first $1,400,000 of the purchase price is exempt as of January 2026. The Commission adjusts that ceiling annually and it has moved up more than once recently, so confirm the current figure when you go under agreement. It carries real strings: five years of occupancy, a lien recorded against the title, and if you break the terms the exempted amount comes due with 14 percent annual interest plus penalties. Worth the paperwork if you qualify—at a $1.4M purchase, it's $28,000 you keep.
What you don't pay
Massachusetts deed excise stamps run $4.56 per $1,000, rounded up to the nearest $500—about $13,680 on a $3M sale. Customarily, the seller pays it. Buyers see it on the settlement sheet and panic. It isn't yours.
Recording is genuinely cheap: $155 to record a deed, $205 for a mortgage, per the Nantucket Registry of Deeds fee schedule, regardless of page count.
The line items I won't invent a number for
You'll also pay for a closing attorney, an owner's title insurance policy, and—if you're financing—lender fees, an appraisal, and prepaid taxes and insurance at closing.
I'm deliberately not giving you dollar ranges for those. They're quoted per transaction, they vary with deal complexity, and there's no published schedule I can point to and honestly call authoritative. Anyone quoting a confident island-wide number for attorney fees is guessing. Ask for a written estimate from your attorney and your lender once you're under agreement, and ask early—a complicated title, a septic issue, or a Historic District question can move them.
What I can tell you is that they're almost never why a buyer's cash-to-close comes in over budget. The Land Bank fee is.
Total cash to close: the verified floor
For a cash purchase of a second home, here's the part you can bank on before any professional fees:
| Purchase price | Land Bank (2%) | Deed recording | Verified subtotal | Annual tax after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000,000 | $20,000 | $155 | $20,155 | $3,120 |
| $3,000,000 | $60,000 | $155 | $60,155 | $9,360 |
| $5,000,000 | $100,000 | $155 | $100,155 | $15,600 |
Add attorney, title insurance, and lender costs on top. But the shape is clear: your closing costs here are essentially the Land Bank fee plus change, and your annual carrying cost is lower than you think. That's the opposite of most markets, where transfer costs are modest and the taxes grind at you forever. You pay more to walk in the door and less to stay.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Land Bank fee?
Two percent of the purchase price, paid by the buyer at closing. On a $3,000,000 purchase, that's $60,000. Qualifying first-time buyers are exempt on the first $1,400,000 as of January 2026.
Do Nantucket property taxes include the residential exemption?
Only if the property is your primary residence and you apply for it. The FY2026 exemption is $899,277 of assessed value—worth $2,805.74 a year—but it requires year-round ownership and occupancy, a January 1 qualification date, tax returns showing Nantucket as your primary residence, and an application to the Board of Assessors within three months of the tax bills going out. Second homes don't qualify.
What is the Nantucket property tax rate in 2026?
The FY2026 residential rate is $3.12 per $1,000 of assessed value. Many sites still quote $3.28, which was the FY2025 rate.
Who pays the Massachusetts deed excise tax on Nantucket?
Customarily the seller. It's $4.56 per $1,000 of the sale price, rounded up to the nearest $500.
Is the Land Bank fee tax deductible?
No. The Land Bank states it's treated as a fee rather than a tax, and isn't deductible under IRS guidelines. Confirm with your own accountant.
Where this leaves you
The numbers here aren't complicated. They're just specific, and local enough that most of the internet runs a year behind them. If you're doing your own math tonight, the two figures to hold onto are 2 percent at the closing table and $3.12 per $1,000 every year after.
If you want to know what a specific property would actually cost to buy and hold—assessed value, the exemption question, the Land Bank line, all of it—I'm glad to run the numbers with you long before you're near an offer. Even if you're a year out. You can reach me at sean@thekalmanco.com.
Worth reading next: the complete guide to buying a home on Nantucket — the long version, from first search to closing. If you're looking at the upper end, Nantucket luxury homes. And if you'd rather have the essentials as something you can print and mark up, the Nantucket Buyer's Brief is yours.
Sean Kalman is a sixth-generation Nantucket native and the founder of The Kalman Co., brokered by eXp Realty. He answers his own phone.
Figures current as of July 2026 and sourced from the Town of Nantucket and the Nantucket Islands Land Bank. Tax rates and exemption amounts are reset annually—confirm current figures before relying on them. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.