How do I dispute my assessed value if I think it is too high?

You may dispute your property valuation (assessment) via the Abatement Procedure. The application is available in January at the Assessors' Office in Town Hall, or at http://www.mass.gov/dor/docs/dls/publ/forms/abatement.pdf, and may be filed after the Town has mailed your Third Quarter tax bill on or about December 31, 2014. The application for abatement must be received by the Assessors’ Office no later than the close of business on the last day of the abatement filing period which in Fiscal Year 2015 is February 2, 2015.

If you think your assessed value is “wrong”, you must state your opinion of the “correct value on the abatement application. You may attach an appraisal to the application to support your opinion of value, but realize it is another appraiser’s assumption and may have been influenced by the purpose of the appraisal. The Board of Assessors has 90 days from the date the application was received to act on the appeal. Each and every appeal will receive written notification of the Assessors' action.

Filing for an abatement does not put your tax payment on hold. Tax payments need to be rendered in a timely manner in order to protect further appeal rights to the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board. If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of Assessors regarding your abatement request, you may file an appeal to the Appellate Tax Board. This must be done within three months of the Assessors' decision.