South County Times

The City Council recently approved changes to city ordinance 4.08 of the Codified Ordinances of The City of Newport entitled, “Property Taxes”, to provide owner-occupied home owners with a break in their real estate taxes. This also includes property owners of three units or less that rent all their units for one year or more to year-round Newport residents.
 
Qualified taxpayers can file an application anytime between January 1, 2023 and March 15, 2023 for an owner-occupied residential tax rate, which may reduce the amount you pay in real estate taxes on an annual basis. 

Eligibility Qualifications include:

• Must be a Resident of Newport which means you must physically live at the property for more than seven (7) months of the year as your principal residence, and the property must be your place of domicile.
• Residential properties of three units or less may qualify if all the rental units are rented to tenants as their principal residence pursuant to a lease of one year or longer.  You must provide supporting documentation to support eligibility.
• The real property for which the owner-occupied residential tax rate is claimed must be legally titled in the name of the applicant, the Trustee of a Revocable or Irrevocable living trust with the applicant residing at the property, and paying the taxes, or in Applicant(s) as life tenants who have an obligation to pay the taxes and applicant resides at the subject property.
• Applications must be accompanied by acceptable proof of residency, which is as a registered voter in the City of Newport, or a valid Rhode Island Driver’s License/ID that lists the subject property as your address. 
• Owners applying for residential property of three units or less must include copies of leases for all units.
• Applications can be filed in person at 43 Broadway, by mail, or electronically through the City’s secure FTP site. Download the application here (pdf) or en espanol (pdf).

Please Note:  You must apply to receive the owner-occupied residential tax rate.  Otherwise, the non-owner occupied residential rate will be applied to your property automatically.

TO APPLY

►File an application between January 1, 2023-March 15, 2023. The application is available in our office or may be downloaded here (en espanol).

►Read it carefully and be prepared to provide an acceptable form of Proof of Residency

►ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE NOTARIZED PRIOR TO SUBMISSION.

► Once complete, please submit your application directly to the City's dedicated secure FTP site after January 1st, or by hand to the Tax Assessor's Office, located on the First Floor of City Hall at 43 Broadway, no later than March 15, 2023.

HELPFUL TIPS

The ONLY acceptable proof of residency is as a registered voter on the City of Newport Voter List maintained by the City Canvassing Authority (Voter Registration Card) OR a valid Rhode Island Driver’s License/ID which must have the principal residence address listed. (You must supply a copy of either item).  

You cannot receive any type of exemption in any other community in Rhode Island or any other state located in the United States, with the exception of certain rental properties that may qualify.

Original source can be found here.