Key Takeaways
•The direct answer: Cambridge sets your tax in three steps. Take the city's assessed value (its own estimate of the home's worth, not your price). Subtract the $510,208 owner-occupant exemption if you qualify. Then multiply by $6.67 per $1,000. Both figures come from the City of Cambridge FY26 Property Tax Update.
•The myth: The rate is not "6.67%." It is $6.67 for every $1,000 of assessed value.
•The first-year trap: The exemption depends on who owns and lives in the home on January 1. If you close after that date, plan on a first bill without it.
•The bottom line: Run the math with and without the exemption. The total levy rose 8% in FY26, so plan for your bill to rise even if the rate stays flat or dips.
Why Does Cambridge's Tax Rate Matter to Your Offer?
The rate sits at $6.67 per $1,000 of assessed value, up $0.32, or 5%, from the prior year, according to the City of Cambridge FY26 Property Tax Update. Cambridge recalculates this every fall, so pull the current certified rate from the city's website before you close.
The formula breaks into three steps:
1. Find the assessed value. This is the city's number, not your offer price.
2. Subtract the $510,208 residential exemption if you qualify.
3. Divide by 1,000, then multiply by $6.67.
Step two carries the most weight. Skip it in your planning, and your monthly budget can be off by hundreds of dollars.
What Does the Math Look Like on a Cambridge Condo?
The median condo assessed value in Cambridge is $798,900, per the City's FY26 Property Tax Information.
•With the exemption: $798,900 − $510,208 = $288,692, which comes to $1,926 a year, or $160 a month.
•Without it: $5,329 a year, or $444 a month.
That's a $284 monthly swing. Because the exemption is a flat dollar amount, it wipes out most of a median condo's taxable value but only a sliver of a pricier single-family home's.
Median bills climbed across every residential category from FY25 to FY26. The FY26 median single-family bill reached $8,876; the three-family median hit $9,395.
FY25 to FY26 Median Residential Tax Bills by Property Type
Compares median FY25 and FY26 tax bills across Cambridge residential property classes, including the residential exemption.
FY25 Tax Bill
FY26 Tax Bill
| Series | Label | Value |
|---|---|---|
| FY25 Tax Bill | Single Family | $8,055 |
| FY26 Tax Bill | Single Family | $8,876 |
| FY25 Tax Bill | Two Family | $6,956 |
| FY26 Tax Bill | Two Family | $7,594 |
| FY25 Tax Bill | Three Family | $8,625 |
| FY26 Tax Bill | Three Family | $9,395 |
| FY25 Tax Bill | Condominium | $1,702 |
| FY26 Tax Bill | Condominium | $1,926 |
Source:October 6, 2025
Keep in mind that assessed value isn't market value. MLS Pinergy puts the median condo sale price for 2026 through August at $975,000. FY26 assessments are built on earlier sales data, so they often trail the current market.
Before writing an offer, look up the exact property in the Cambridge Property Database at cambridgema.gov/PropertyDatabase. Budget too for the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge, which funds open space and affordable housing — you'll see it itemized on the city's sample bill.
Why Might Your First Bill Skip the Residential Exemption?
Qualifying requires owning and living in the home as your primary residence on January 1, 2025, per the city's FY26 guide. Exemption savings run $3,403 a year — the same roughly $284 a month you'd lose without it.
Cambridge Residential Exemption Savings, FY2024–FY2026
Shows how the Cambridge residential exemption’s tax savings changed over the last three fiscal years.
| Series | Label | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Savings | FY2024 | $2,919 |
| Tax Savings | FY2025 | $3,170 |
| Tax Savings | FY2026 | $3,403 |
Source:October 6, 2025
Close after that cutoff, and your first bill will likely arrive without the exemption, no matter what your lender's escrow estimate assumes. (Escrow is simply the account your lender uses to pay your taxes on your behalf.) Deadlines, renewal rules, and residency proof requirements shift from year to year, so confirm specifics with Cambridge Assessing before closing.
Two more first-year wrinkles worth watching:
•Early bills may still carry the seller's name. Ask your closing attorney how taxes were split at closing and who's responsible for the next bill. Confirm due dates and the late-payment interest rate with the city's Finance Department.
•New condo buildings can be billed differently. Ask your attorney and Cambridge Assessing how charges split by unit — your common-interest percentage, listed in your condo documents, determines your share.
What Are the Strongest Arguments Against This Math?
"Purchase price math can mislead me."
Fair point — that's exactly why you start with assessed value. The median condo is assessed at $798,900 against a $975,000 median sale price. Working from the sale price would inflate the no-exemption bill by about $1,175 a year.
"FY26 numbers may be stale."
Also fair. The formula doesn't change, but the rate, exemption, and assessed values do, year over year. Cambridge's total tax levy — the total amount the city raises through property taxes — rose 8% in FY26.
Cambridge FY26 Property Tax Snapshot
High-level FY26 tax figures for Cambridge, including approved tax rates and the overall levy increase.
Tax rates
Residential tax rate$6.67
Commercial tax rate$14.07
Tax levy
Property Tax Levy (FY26)$678.9 million
Change from FY258%
Source:FY26 Property Tax Information; FY26 Property Tax Update
Treat FY26 as a floor, not a ceiling, and expect your bill to climb alongside the levy.
"Taxes are small compared with the mortgage."
They're smaller, sure, but they still add up fast. The FY26 median single-family bill works out to about $740 a month. Losing the exemption on a median condo tacks on that $284 monthly gap. Lenders factor this into what they'll let you borrow.
What Should First-Time Buyers Do Before Making an Offer?
Run the numbers twice — once with the residential exemption, once without. Add the CPA surcharge, then leave room for future increases.
Think an assessment is too high? You can request an abatement — essentially a formal ask to lower your bill. Check with Assessing for the current filing deadline.
To check a specific property, start with its assessed value, then reach out to the Assessing and Finance departments through their pages on cambridgema.gov.
