South Kingstown homeowners a step away from getting a full homestead tax break

Will Charlestown be next? 

The House of Representatives passed legislation (2025-H 5030) introduced by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee that grants the South Kingstown Town Council with the authority to enact a homestead exemption ordinance, similar to those that have already been adopted in several other communities in the state.

“South Kingstown’s housing market is pricing out our current and future homeowners.  Out-of-state buyers and corporations are driving up the cost of home ownership by buying up properties and turning them into rentals, and our residents are then being squeezed with rising home evaluations.  The year-round residents of South Kingstown have been asking for a homestead exemption for quite some time and this legislation will finally grant our hard-working year-round residents the tax relief that they deserve and that will help keep them in their homes,” said Representative McEntee.

The exemption would apply to home-owning taxpayers who actually reside at the taxable property. The bill would cap any exemption adopted by the Town Council at 10 percent. The council would be responsible for enacting any rules and regulations to govern the exemption.

The legislation, which was approved by the House on March 11, now heads to the Senate for consideration, where Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, South Kingstown) has introduced the bill (2025-S 0044).