1. What is the deadline for taxpayers to apply for personal exemptions from taxes assessed on their domiciles?
Beginning with this fiscal year, FY2017, taxpayers have until April 1 to apply to the assessors for personal exemptions whenever the actual tax bills are mailed on or before January 1. If the bills for any year are mailed after January 1, however, taxpayers will have three months from the date of mailing to apply for that year.
This deadline applies regardless of the billing system the city or town uses, i.e., semi-annual or quarterly, and applies to:
1. Personal property tax exemptions for veterans, blind persons, seniors, surviving spouses and other individuals (MGL c. 59, sec. 5, Clauses 17, 17C, 17C½, 17D, 18, 22, 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D, 22E, 22F, 37, 37A, 41, 41B, 41C, 41C½, 42, 43, 52, 53, 56 and 57);
2. Deferrals of property taxes for seniors or individuals experiencing hardships (MGL c.59, sec. 5, Clauses 18A and 41A); 3. Residential exemptions adopted as part of annual tax classification decisions, unless the city or town has a special act setting a different deadline (MGL c. 59, sec. 5C);
4. Small commercial exemptions adopted as part of annual tax classification decisions (MGL c. 59, sec. 5I);
5. Community preservation surcharge exemptions (MGL c. 44B, sec. 3); and
6. Municipal water infrastructure surcharge exemptions (MGL c. 40, sec. 39M).