Tax Collector
Why haven’t you taken the
former owner’s name off my tax bill?
Information for tax bill comes from the Registry of Deeds
based on the information on record as of January 1st
of any given year. Therefore, any property sold after
January 1st is still considered the responsibility of the
registered or “assessed” owner.
I sold my house last month.
Why did I just get another bill?
Since our records must agree with
property registration, updates are not made to the system
until official notice is received from the Registry
of Deeds. Information for new owners may not be made
available to the Assessors for several weeks after a sale.
This could mean that the new bill will be mailed to the
owner currently on record.
I just bought my house and I
got a tax bill. Shouldn’t the former owner be paying this?
Real estate taxes due at the time of a sale are usually
calculated and collected by the closing attorneys.
Adjustments are made for past or upcoming taxes as they may
apply at the time. You may want to check with your attorney
to ask who is responsible for the payment.
How often will I get a real
estate tax bill?
Tax bills are issued quarterly
for the three month period surrounding the actual due date.
A bill due for August 1st would therefore cover
the quarter including July, August and September.
My tax bill says Fiscal Year
2008 and this is only 2007. Aren’t you getting ahead of
things?
Tax
bills are issued for the town’s fiscal year, which begins
July 1st of the previous calendar year. For example, the
first day of fiscal year 2008 is actually
Why aren’t my tax bills the
same amount for the whole year?
Because the Town’s financial or
“fiscal” year starts July 1st, you’re actually paying for
2 different tax years during the calendar year.
My taxes went up 18%! What
happened to Proposition 2 ½?!
Two of the key factors that have
an affect on your tax payments.
1- The fiscal year
begins July 1st.The fiscal year tax rate
is set based on the new budget which is usually an
increase over the previous year. But this calculation
doesn’t happen until after the Special Town Meeting, held in
late October or early November. By then, the first 2
quarterly tax payments, due August 1st and
November 1st, have already been issued. For this
reason, those first 2 “preliminary” payments
are based on the prior year’s tax. The balance of the
total fiscal year tax must then be billed and
collected with the last 2 quarterly payments, due
February 1st and May 1st. Obviously,
those second two “actual” payments will be more than
the first two payments. And because the difference between
the 2nd quarter (November) and 3rd
quarter (February) is actually one half of the additional
tax and not just one quarter, it gives the appearance of a
greater increase.
This cycle repeats itself
annually with the first two payments of the calendar
year higher than the last two payments.
2-Your property assessment may have gone up based on market values
When I bought my house, the
attorney said the next tax bill would be paid. You show that
I still owe it! Where did my money go?
There are 2 common reasons for a
bill to show a balance after you have provided for your
payment.
1 – The bills were calculated and
printed before your payment was received.
2 -- Some attorneys will forward
the payment from a closing at the end of one fiscal year,
before we’re able to post to the new fiscal year. For
example, a June closing may mean your payment is due for
August 1st. You’ll have a credit balance that
can’t be transferred until the new year is available for
posting.
My taxes are escrowed through
my mortgage company. Why don’t you send the bills to them? I
just throw them away.
I’m doing my income tax
return. How much did I pay in taxes last year?
Calendar
year taxes used for income tax filing are actually payments
made to 2 different fiscal years. They are easily
calculated by adding the checks issued for payments between
January 1st and December 31st of that
year. Mortgage companies supply a year end recap that shows
annual disbursements for real estate taxes.
How can I owe back taxes? My
bill only shows that I owe for the current year?
Tax bills are issued for only the
current fiscal year. Any taxes past due for the prior
fiscal year are not included in the figures shown. Demand
notices are sent to taxpayers when a balance is still due at
the end of a fiscal year. By marking the new bills “plus
past due” or “plus previous”, we are reminding them of that
overdue balance and hope that it will prompt a call to this
office.
There’s no way my car is worth
the value you have listed! How do I get this bill corrected?
All excise billing information is
provided to municipalities from the RMV. They calculate
value based on a decreasing pe
For more helpful excise
information including a full list of the assessment formula,
use the RMV link below.
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cisexc/excidx.htm
Overview
Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday 9:00am - 3:00pm
Or By Appointment
Phone:413-566-2151 x104
Fax:
413-566-3513
Eva Wiseman