I think the real estate taxes on my house are too high. Is there anything I can do about it?

To begin with, if it is your primary residence you should be sure that you are getting the owner occupied residential exemption if that applies in your city or town. Otherwise the law does provide you with an opportunity to apply for an abatement ( a refund) of the real estate tax if the evaluation put on your property is in excess of the fair cash value, or for if it is proportionately higher than other properties of similar value or if the property is improperly classified. However in order to apply for an abatement you must strictly follow the statutory requirements. To begin with, you must pay your taxes and you must pay them on time so that no interest accrues on the amount of taxes. You can file for an abatement with the assessor in the city or town in which live on a form that the assessors will provide you with. However you must apply within three months of the first installment of the actual tax bill issued upon the establishment of the tax rate for the fiscal year in which the tax relates. The fiscal year in Massachusetts is from July 1 of each year to  the following June 30 and in most cities and towns that taxes are paid quarterly by the first day of August, November, February, and May. However the taxes are not payable until 30 days after the tax bill is actually issued. Also, very often, tax bills in the fall are based upon the prior year’s tax bill and the actual rate is not established until one of the spring bills is payable. So you need to be aware of the date by which you must file the application for abatement. The assessors may then meet with you so that you can tell them the reasons why you believe your taxes are too high. You have the burden of proof so you should be prepared to prove your case, by an appraisal or by other similar properties and the reason why you think that your property is taxed more than the others without justification. It application is deemed denied three months after the date you file it whether or not you ever meet with the assessors. If your application is denied, you can then appeal to the State Appellate Tax Board located in Boston on forms the Board provides but you must do so within three months following the denial by the local assessors. You will then have a hearing before the Appellate Tax Board at a date they schedule and you can present your case to them. Sometimes lawyers will do this work on a contingency, that is they will take as their payment a portion of the tax refund they get you. However they generally will only take a very strong case. In any event if you fail to follow the timelines set forth above you will be automatically denied. Good luck!

If you have questions about this or any other real estate matter, please contact Tom Bennett at (617) 531-6574 or tvb@barronstad.com.