Boston Home Improvement Blog

40-50% of property tax appeals are successful

Let's talk about property taxes. Every few years, property taxes go up; if you coasted through a few years without being reassessed, you know the pain of seeing your assessment jump 20-30% (or more) at once, and the property tax bill as well.

Few people know that there are 7 basic ways to trim the property tax bill in Massachusetts towns and cities. According to the City of Boston, the following can qualify for "personal exemptions":

1. Surviving spouse (widow/widower), minor child of a deceased parent, elderly - clause 17d
2. Blind - clause 37A
3. Veteran - clause 22
4. Elderly - clause 41C
5. Hardship - clause 18
6. Tax Deferral - clause 41A

The personal exemption request can be filed with the city, and if approved, lightens your property tax bill. For more information on these exemptions, visit: Personal Property Tax Exemptions.

Many towns outside of Boston offer similar exemptions; contact your Town Clerk for more information.

7. Incorrect assessment. Housing prices are falling (as we hear repeatedly in the news), and while a home that was assessed at $400,000 in 2005 might be worth 10% less, property taxes could be based on an outdated, inflated value. What can Boston-area homeowners do?

File an appeal. According to the City of Boston, there are four reasons why property owners file for abatements:

1. Overvaluation - the assessed value is considered too high.

2. Disproportionate assessment - (pertains to entire property classes, not any individual unit or development)

3. Improper classification - for example, a property is classified as commercial when it is actually residential.

4. Statutory exemption - the property qualifies for exemption from taxation based on its ownership and use.

For information for the City of Boston on abatements, please click here: Property Tax Abatement Procedures.

For your specific town or city, contact the clerk's office and ask about "real estate property tax abatement procedures". You may need to spend some money to file an appeal; an appraisal by an independent house appraiser (see here for a list of active appraisers in the Boston area) may help to determine current market value vs. past value if your reason for appeal is an incorrect assessment amount.

Most basic town and city appeals for abatement do not require legal assistance; the process is designed to be used by the average person. However, should complications arise, it's best to consult an attorney to better understand the law.

If a request for property tax abatement is unsuccessful, your next recourse is the Appellate Tax Board, which handles property tax appeals beyond the town level. For more information, call the Appellate Tax Board at 617-727-3100.

Posted by Melanie Zoltan
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