Assessor

No, under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59 Section 60, applications for personal exemption cannot be disclosed to the general public. Access to applications is strictly limited to the Assessors and their staff, the Department of Revenue, other state and local officials in the performance of official duties, and designated private auditors. The taxpayer may also have access to or a copy of the applications he/she submitted. The application includes any supporting documentation submitted to substantiate the claim.

However, the exemption record book, which identifies taxpayers granted exemptions and the exemption amounts is a public record and is open to mandatory disclosure under the public records law.

Taxpayers who are eligible for the tax credit can claim the credit by submitting a completed Schedule CB, Circuit Breaker Credit, with their state income tax returns.

Taxpayers who qualified for the tax credit in a prior year but did not file a Schedule CB with their original state income tax return should file an application for abatement, available on the Department of Revenue site. Also, taxpayers who qualified for the tax credit in a prior year and did not file a tax return should file a state income tax return with schedule CB. Either option must be completed within 3 years from the last date for filing the return, without regard to any extension of time to file.

Department of Revenue

The taxpayer must file an application for exemption with the Board of Assessors of the community where the property is located for each year an exemption is claimed. The application deadline for all personal exemptions is December 15 or 3 months after the actual (3rd quarter bill) bills are mailed for the fiscal year, whichever is later. Applications must be received by the Assessor’s Department on or before the deadline, or mailed to the Assessor’s Department correct mailing address by the deadline, as shown by a U.S. Post Office postmark. Filing on time is required. The Assessors cannot waive the filing date. Residential Exemption (PDF)

To arrive at “full and fair cash value” the Assessors must know what “willing sellers” and “willing buyers” will pay/receive for property. This is done by collecting, recording and analyzing a great deal of information about property and market characteristics in order to estimate the fair market value. This includes knowing the current cost of construction in the area and any changes in zoning, financing and economic conditions that may affect property values. The object is to estimate “full and fair cash value” as of January 1 (known as the “assessment date”) prior to the fiscal year that starts July 1.

For example, the assessment date for Fiscal Year 2016 is January 1, 2015 and Fiscal Year 2016 goes from July 1, 2015 through to June 30, 2016.

Yes, a life tenant is the owner of the property during his or her lifetime. An example of a legal life estate is where parents convey their home to their children but reserve the right to live there for the remainder of their lives. The parents are the life tenants. During their lives, they have possession, use and enjoyment of the property, are assessed the property taxes and have an obligation to pay them. Therefore, they may receive personal exemptions if they are otherwise eligible. The children are the remainder-men and become the owners and take possession of the property after both parents have died.

Sometimes. The person must hold both recorded legal title by being a trustee or co-trustee and a sufficient beneficial interest in the domicile through the trust to be considered an owner for exemption purposes. A person who is not a trustee does not have legal title and does not qualify for a personal exemption.

A trustee or co-trustee has the necessary beneficial interest if he/she is a named beneficiary in a recorded certificate of trust, declaration of trust or trust schedule of beneficiaries, has an express right to occupy the property under the trust or is in fact occupying it as his/her domicile, or has rights under the trust that indicate he/she can occupy the property and no one else has a beneficial interest that is exclusive or inconsistent with that occupancy. For instance to direct the trustee to turn over the title or use of the property, to receive proceeds from the sale or rental of the property or to use, apply, or spend any trust assets during his/her lifetime.

The law requires that property be valued from an actual view or the best information available. We will be reviewing your assessment based on the existing records and sales of properties similar to yours. In addition we are currently updating our cyclical inspection (the law requires we inspect each property every 9 years). It is an ongoing project of re-measuring and relisting all the properties, which includes interior inspections.

Tax credits received by eligible taxpayers are not considered income for the purpose of obtaining eligibility or benefits under other means-tested assistance programs including food, medical, housing, energy and educational assistance programs.

If your opinion of the value of your property differs from the assessed value, go to the Assessor’s Department and collect pertinent data to support your opinion. For information on this, please visit the Abatement page.

As with all claimed tax credits and deductions, the taxpayer must keep all pertinent records, receipts, and other documentation supporting the claim for the credit.

Schedule CB and further information is available on the Department of Revenue website or by contacting the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s customer Service Bureau at 617-877-6367 or toll free in Massachusetts at 800-392-6089. Department of Revenue

Assessors are required by Massachusetts General Laws to value all real and personal property. The valuations are subject to taxation (referred to as Ad Valorem Tax). Ad Valorem tax means that property is taxed according to value. Property in Massachusetts is assessed/valued at 100% fair market value.

It is required by Department of Revenue that the values are submitted to them for certification every 5 years. Everett’s schedule is 2020, 2025 etc. The Assessing Department is also required to do interim adjustments in the 4 off years. This is accomplished by actual sales studies – comparing the assessment of the property to its selling price. This is done so that the property taxpayer pays his or her fair share of the cost of local government, in proportion to the amount of money the property is worth.

The Assessor does not raise or lower taxes. The Assessor does not make the laws which affect property owners. The Massachusetts Constitution requires that direct taxes on persons be proportionately and reasonably imposed. In addition, the Declaration of Rights, Part I, Article 10, requires each individual to bear his fair share of public expenses.

The Assessor’s Department has nothing to do with the total amount of tax collected. The Assessor’s responsibility is to find the fair cash value of your property, so that you may pay only your fair share of the taxes. The tax rate is determined by all the taxing agencies within the City, and is the basis for the budget needed to provide services, such as schools, roads, fire, law enforcement, etc. The tax rates are simply those rates which will provide funds to pay for those services.

An eligible taxpayer who does not normally file a state income tax return may obtain a refund by filing a return with a schedule CB.

As stated from the Department of Revenue’s Newsletter City/Town July 2013, an exemption is a privilege established by the Legislature that releases or discharges a taxpayer from the obligation to pay all or a portion of a tax.

Property tax exemptions are found in various clauses of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59 Section 5. Generally, personal exemptions refer to those property tax exemptions available under state law to taxpayers based on their personal circumstances.

They include, for example, exemptions available to persons who are legally blind, disabled veterans, surviving spouses, minors with a deceased parent or senior citizens. Some eligibility requirements are common to all personal exemptions, for example, taxpayers must own and occupy the property as their domicile to qualify. Other requirements apply to particular exemptions. Some exemptions or qualifications apply only in communities that adopt them.

Exempt status is determined as of July 1, which is the 1st day of the fiscal year. To qualify for an exemption from the taxes assessed for that fiscal year, the taxpayer must meet all eligibility criteria as of that date.

The next Revaluation will begin in 2023 to be completed by October 2024.The resulting values will be effective as of January 1, 2024 for Fiscal Year 2025. These assessments will be the basis for the 3rd (or actual) tax bill, which will be mailed in December 2024.

All personal exemptions require the taxpayer to own the property. The taxpayer can be the sole owner or own the property with others. If there are multiple owners, some exemptions establish a minimum value that the applicant’s ownership interest must meet to qualify, which is easily satisfied. Some exemptions also require the taxpayer to have owned the property, or other property in Massachusetts for a period of time.

Most likely, yes. However, not all property values will change at the same rate. Market values will have increased more for some neighborhoods and property types than for others. Some neighborhoods and property types may have decreased in value and others may have remained the same. One purpose of a revaluation is to make sure that the assessed values reflect the changes that have occurred in market/property values.