Bowdoinham property tax bills due week of Sept. 29, rate rises 5.29%

Bowdoinham property owners were set to see FY2026 tax bills in the mail the week of Sept. 29, giving households a firm date to build the fall budget around. The town set the fiscal-year-2026 mil rate at 22.11, a 5.29% increase from the prior year, for the tax year running July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

The new rate sits above Bowdoinham’s FY2025 level of 21.00 mils and continues a climb that was already visible in prior years, from 19.50 in FY2024, 18.09 in FY2023 and 16.97 in FY2022. The FY2026 tax commitment certified taxes on a total taxable valuation of $377,717,960, a figure that helps explain how the town is setting this year’s bill base for owners across Bowdoinham.

That matters most for households that plan around a fixed monthly budget. Retirees living on fixed incomes, new homeowners still learning the town’s tax cycle and residents with mortgages held in escrow all have reason to pay attention before the bills arrive. Direct payers need to make room for the fall installment, while escrow users should expect their lender to adjust monthly payments after the tax bill is processed.

The rate increase also landed against a budget picture that was not simply one-sided spending growth. Bowdoinham’s budget materials said the proposed FY2025 to FY2026 municipal budget showed a $484 decrease in the net budget, even as projected revenues shifted. Town documents projected an $83,500 drop in homestead reimbursement income because Bowdoinham’s certified ratio fell to 73%, and Finance Advisory Committee minutes from March 26, 2025 said municipal revenue sharing was expected to rise from $625,000 to $650,000.

Maine Revenue Services says state valuation numbers are used to allocate state education funding, state revenue sharing and county tax assessments, which is why Bowdoinham’s valuation and certified-ratio changes reach beyond one town line in Sagadahoc County. With a 2020 census population of 3,047, Bowdoinham is small enough that a rate change like this is likely to show up quickly in household budgets across town.