Time to check your property taxes
With gas, food, and other prices on the rise, I’m sure many of you are looking for ways to save money. Well, a recent Wall Street Journal article offers a tip that may be worth looking into.
In light of the current real estate downturn, writer Arden Dale suggests looking over your property taxes and assessment to see, if perhaps, you are paying more than you should. Since real estate sales and prices have an affect on property assessments -- which are used to calculate residential tax bills -- it seems possible some taxpayers are paying too much.
In Massachusetts last year, the average tax bill was $3,962, according to the Globe’s archives.
Dale points out several indicators you may want to pursue an appeal: lots of neighboring homes up for sale and homes that linger on the market.
But be warned, the process involves some serious effort, including documenting the sale price of nearby homes sold during the assessment period.
And remember, despite the market downturns, some Bay State towns have continued to see sale prices edge up; which could mean no adjustment to your tax bill.
To start researching the matter, you can look at the assessor’s section on your town’s website. In many communities, assessor’s records are available online so you can look up the assessed value of neighboring properties. You may also find instructions for appealing an assessment online. And in some counties, you can look up recent sale prices on the Registry of Deeds’ website.
So, do you think it’s worth the effort to appeal? Have you done it already?
Enjoyed this post? Get blog updates delivered to your reader. Click here.
My inlaws filed an appeal and got a reduction of a few hundred dollars off their yearly property taxes.
I think it's worth it - at least in their town, the process wasn't very arduous. I think it depends on the community, though.
Move to NH.....my tax bill this year: $7600 and change!
Stop your weeping!!!
When we purchased our home in 2006, the assessed value was almost $250K above what we paid. We looked at Mass. General Laws to see how assessments are to be calculated and cited to the proper statute when filing for an abatement. Relying on the value that we paid in an arm's length transaction, our assessment was reduced so that the new value was just under 10% above what we paid (so if you presume we paid $600,000, the old assessment was $850,000 and after our abatement, the assessed value was $658,000). Because our sale was recent, we did not have to rely on other sales in the neighborhood which made the process easier. Given that our tax rate is roughly $10 per thousand dollars of assessed value, figuring out the paperwork and applying for the abatement saved us in the neighborhood of $2,000 that first year - definitely worth the effort.
A point that is not mentioned is that abatements can only be applied for in very narrow windows of time. In some towns, you literally can only apply in the month of January of every year, so plan accordingly.
Paul M: You also have no state income tax and no sales tax.
Stop comparing apples to oranges!!!
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
Recent Posts
browse this blog
by categoryINside Boston.com