Author: Municipal Finance Training & Resource Center
After tax bills have been mailed, local taxpayers may reach out to learn about the property tax abatement process in your community. Each local board of assessors has the authority to grant property tax abatements to taxpayers. An abatement request is filed when a taxpayer feels the assessed value of his or her property is too high or disproportionately assessed. The statutory abatement procedure is the only remedy available for a taxpayer to contest and reduce an assessed tax liability. Part of the assessors' role is to carefully document the receipt and processing of all abatement applications to preserve the municipality’s rights for any future legal actions. Mishandling and delayed review of documents and information can have significant repercussions. A taxpayer must timely file an abatement application. If not, they lose the right to any abatement since assessors lack jurisdiction and authority to grant an abatement if the abatement is not filed within the appropriate timeframe.
Assessors have three months from the date they receive an abatement application to grant or deny an abatement. The three-month action period can be extended by written consent of the taxpayer. The application is deemed denied if the assessors do not act within the three months, or extended, action period. Abatement certificates and denial notices must be sent within 10 days of the date the assessors act on the application, or the application is deemed denied. The abatement book is a public record and is open to mandatory disclosure under the public records law. A taxpayer dissatisfied with the local board of assessors’ decision has the right of appeal with the Appellate Tax Board (ATB), a state administrative board that hears taxpayer appeals on local and state tax matters. It consists of five members appointed by the Governor for staggered six-year terms. A taxpayer must file an appeal with the ATB within three months of the date the assessors granted or denied the abatement, or the date the application was deemed denied if they did not act.
DLS has several resources in the Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center detailing the abatement process, including an abatement video playlist on the DLS YouTube Channel that provides an overview of abatements, assessors’ powers to abate property taxes, and the role of the Appellate Tax Board. The abatement process is also covered in Chapter 6 of Course 101 and in the division’s Foundations in Municipal Finance - Winter Module in the financial procedures section under billing adjustments. Additionally, forms used by assessors for abatement application dispositions can be found on our Forms Used by Assessors, Collectors and Treasurers webpage.
Be sure to bookmark the Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center page and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay updated on new items added. Is there something you would like to see added? Please email DLSTraining@dor.state.ma.us. We would love to hear from you!
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Editor: Dan Bertrand
Editorial Board: Marcia Bohinc, Linda Bradley, Sean Cronin, Emily Izzo and Tony Rassias
| Date published: | January 4, 2024 |
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