An abatement is an appeal to your assessment, not your taxes. You must pay your taxes pending your appeal.

The application for an abatement must be received by the Board of Assessors no later than February 1.

If it is approved, you will receive a certificate indicating the amount of the abatement. If your tax bill has a balance to be paid, the abatement will be credited to your next payment. If your tax bill is paid in full, you will be sent a refund check. 

If your application is denied, you will receive a notice of denial. You may appeal to the State Appellate Tax Board (ATB) within three months of the date of the Assessors decision. They are located at 100 Cambridge St.: 2nd floor; Suite 200; Boston, MA 02114-2509. The telephone number is 617-727-3100.

The Assessors have three months to take action on your abatement application. 

 Assessed values in Massachusetts are based on "full and fair cash value", or 100 percent of fair market value.

If your opinion of the value of your property differs from the assessed value, by all means go to the Assessor’s office and collect pertinent data to support your opinion. The Board of Assessors will be glad to answer your questions about the reassessment procedures. When questioning the assessed value, ask yourself these questions:

Is my data correct?
Is my value in line with others on the street?
Is my value in line with recent sale prices in my neighborhood?
 
Keep in mind what’s important: recent sale prices, condition, neighborhood, building area and lot area are the most critical factors in the valuation process. There is a variety of information available to help you determine whether your assessment is fair and equitable. The Assessors and their staff will be happy to assist you. If after discussing the matter with the Assessors or their staff, and researching the assessments of comparable properties within your area, a difference of opinion still exists, you may appeal your assessment to the Board of Assessors by filing an abatement application.

The property is legally assessed to the owner as of January 1, but make sure you get a bill! You may be entitled to file an application for abatement (see abatement FAQ's)  if you dispute your value. Or, as the owner of property July 1, you may be entitled to file an application for one of the statutory exemptions that are available.

Yes. The tax must be paid. However, while she is on active duty, no penalty fees are imposed for late payment, she cannot be marked for non-renewal at the Registry of Deeds and the interest on the unpaid amount is half the statutory rate.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles values automobiles according to a fixed schedule of depreciation. The schedule lowers the value by a set percentage in each of the first five years and then fixes the value for the rest of the life of the car. Therefore, after the fifth year, the excise tax stays the same, year after year.

If you buy a motor vehicle in the second half of the calendar year, the first excise valuation will be pro rated on the partial year. The next excise valuation will reflect a full year and, even after the mandatory depreciation, may still be higher than the prior year.

Notices of unpaid motor vehicle excise bills are mailed twice (once as a “demand” and again as a “warrant”) and then delivered to the door (as a “final warrant”). If an excise bill remains unpaid after the final warrant, it is liable to be reported to the Registry. The Registry then “flags” or “marks” the owner of the car and the registration. A flag at the Registry means that the owner cannot renew his or her license or registration until the excise and all fees and interest have been paid. After a stop on a public way, the police may also remove a flagged driver from the vehicle and tow the vehicle.
 
To renew after flagging, you must pay ALL outstanding excise bills in your name or with the same registration number. Payments may be made at Town Hall or at our Deputy Collector in Reading MA. Payment must be in cash, money order or bank check. Once paid, the flag is removed within minutes through an electronic notice to the Registry.

Motor Vehicle Excise Information:
 
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cispdf/Motor_Vehicle_Excise.pdf

Each time a car is registered or re-registered, the Registry of Motor Vehicles prepares a new excise bill. So when you buy a car, you will get another bill. However, you can apply to the local Board of Assessors for abatement of the tax on the original bill for the rest of the year. So if you register your new car in March, you will get a new bill for March through December on the new car but you are due an abatement and a refund for April through December on the old car (the tax is figured in whole months only).
 

It’s the law. We are mandated by state law to charge interest at the rate of fourteen percent per year on overdue real estate and personal property amounts and twelve percent per year on overdue excise bills. Town meeting mandated interest on overdue sewer amounts at the rate of fourteen percent.

If your opinion of the value of your property differs from the assessed value, by all means go to the Assessor’s office and collect pertinent data to support your opinion. The Board of Assessors will be glad to answer your questions about the reassessment procedures. When questioning the assessed value, ask yourself these questions:

Is my data correct?
Is my value in line with others on the street?
Is my value in line with recent sale prices in my neighborhood?
 
Keep in mind what’s important: recent sale prices, condition, neighborhood, building area and lot area are the most critical factors in the valuation process. There is a variety of information available to help you determine whether your assessment is fair and equitable. The Assessors and their staff will be happy to assist you. If after discussing the matter with the Assessors or their staff, and researching the assessments of comparable properties within your area, a difference of opinion still exists, you may appeal your assessment to the Board of Assessors by filing an abatement application.

Personal property tax is a tax on the business equipment of an unincorporated business enterprise. The tax is based on the value of the equipment as reported to the Board of Assessors on what is called the “form of list”. The tax rate is the same as that for commercial and industrial property.

It’s the law. We are mandated by state law to charge interest at the rate of fourteen percent per year on overdue real estate and personal property amounts and twelve percent per year on overdue excise bills. Town meeting mandated interest on overdue sewer amounts at the rate of fourteen percent.