Where We Stand

East Hampton Town Tax Rate

East Hampton continues to enjoy the second lowest tax rate on Long Island.

It seems as though the Town Board’s critics and the media have succeeded in burying one of the most important facts about East Hampton’s taxes today, namely, that the town still enjoys the second lowest tax rate on Long Island.

Like most municipalities these days, East Hampton is dealing with a difficult financial situation. Some of the problems were self-inflicted over the past few administrations. Town Boards were reluctant to raise taxes to keep pace with the town’s growing expenses.

When the growing discrepancy between the town’s expenses and revenues finally came home to roost in the sitting administration, the Town Board confronted reality and raised taxes to meet expenses. Tax increases should have occurred gradually over the last three administrations. Since they didn’t, the recent tax increase had to make up for years of lost revenue.

The town tax is only a small portion of your overall local tax. The major portion is the school tax. The town has nothing to do with school districts or their taxes. The town portion of your local tax bill is approximately 20% for those living outside the Village of East Hampton and up to approximately 35% for residents in the village. The town’s recent tax increase applies only to these percentages of your tax bill.