Board of Assessors

Assessor: Amber J. Holland

Assessor Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Phone: (413)663-7940 Ext. 6

Email

For property values: Tax Cards

View the Interactive Tax Card Map here.

Board Members

Tom Bona

Michael Williams

The FY2026  Tax Rate is $12.29. (Rates are per $1,000 of assessed valuation)

The Assessors Office administers the following programs:

• Real Estate and Personal Property Abatements
• Personal Property Forms of List
• Real Estate Exemptions
• Chapter Land
• 3ABC Exemptions
• Income & Expense Forms
• Motor Vehicle Abatements
• Abutter's Lists
• Name/Address Changes
• Map updates

Upcoming Calendar Events

Real Estate & Personal Property Abatements

FY2026 Real Estate (RE) / Personal Property (PP) Abatement Period is from January 1, 2026 to February 2, 2026

Note: Real Estate and Personal Property abatement applications will be available on the website and in the town hall after the 3rd quarter bills are mailed out.

See Abatement Application Below. 

Motor Vehicle Excise Taxes, Abatements, Exemptions

Massachusetts law requires residents who own and register a motor vehicle to pay a motor vehicle excise each year. Every motor vehicle used (or planning to be used) for personal road privileges, whether registered or not, is subject to taxation.

Read the full statute here: MGL Chapter 60A, MGL Chapter 59, Section 2

The excise is levied by the city or town where the vehicle is principally garaged, and the revenues become part of the local community treasury.

Registration of a vehicle/trailer/motorcycle during a calendar year (January 1st through December 31st) automatically triggers assessment of a motor vehicle excise bill for that year. Therefore, an owner whose vehicle is registered at any time during the year is subject to motor vehicle excise tax bill. A resident must pay  their excise tax bill. Failure to pay will result in late fees and interest charges and a mark on your license that means your license can not be renewed. 

Motor Vehicle Excise Frequently Asked Questions

Mass Gov Motor Vehicle Excise

Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Abatement

To file for an abatement, you must pay/or have paid the excise tax for the vehicle being abated. We do abate bills that have not been paid. You must complete a Motor Vehicle Abatement Application and provide back-up documentation answering the two blue highlighted questions below:

What Happened to the Vehicle?

• Vehicle Sold, Traded, Junked, or Donated: A copy of the Bill of Sale, Trade-In Agreement, Junkyard Receipt, or Donation Receipt and must include the vehicle description and VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).
•  Vehicle Totaled, Repossessed or Stolen: If totaled, provide a copy of the letter from the insurance company rendering the identified vehicle a total loss with the date of the accident. If repossessed, provide notice of repossession from lien holder. If stolen, provide the police report or insurance settlement letter.

What Happened to the Registration Plate?

• Registration Cancelled: You are not entitled to abatement if you cancel your registration and retain ownership of the vehicle. 
• Cancelled your plate with the RMV - you must provide a copy of the OFFICIAL Registration Cancellation Receipt. If you cancelled your plate on-line you will receive a confirmation email. Please read the second line of the email "A cancelled plate receipt will be mailed to the address on file", this mailed document is the OFFICIAL Cancellation Plate Receipt . Have not yet cancelled your plate with the RMV, please visit Cancel My Registration
• Transferred Plate - need copy of the NEW vehicle registration and a copy of the OFFICIAL Registration Cancellation Receipt. 
• Moved Out of State - copy of the NEW State registration and a copy of the OFFICIAL Registration Cancellation Receipt. Please note that excise bills will continue to generate until your MA Registration is cancelled or the MA Registration expires.
• Moved Within Massachusetts - In the case of any person who moves within Massachusetts during the calendar year, the excise will be due to the municipality where the vehicle was originally registered on January 1st of the calendar year. You are responsible to change your address at the Registry of Motor Vehicles within 30 days of moving and to update your vehicle's garaging code on your insurance policy to ensure future excise tax bills will be generated from your new municipality. 
• NO ABATEMENT WILL BE GRANTED WITHOUT PROPER DOCUMENTATION

Exemptions

Military and Veterans:

Military soldiers and sailors who are stationed in MA due to military orders will need to provide a letter from their commanding officer establishing their absence from their domicile state due to compliance with Military orders. 

On August 8, 2024 Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed veterans’ legislation known as the HERO Act: An Act Honoring, Empowering, and Recognizing our Service Members and Veterans. Included in the Act is an expansion of a previously existing motor vehicle excise tax exemption for some veterans who by a decision of the Medical Advisory Board were declared eligible for motor vehicle excise tax exemption. G.L. c. 60A, § 1, Section 24 changes how eligibility for the motor vehicle exemption for a veteran with a service-connected disability is established. The change to the exemption provision now allows for a veteran with a 100% disability rating or a veteran deemed unemployable due to their service connected disability to be eligible for motor vehicle excise exemption.   

•   Documentation from the VA indicating the percent of disability must be furnished in the first year of application, and an application for abatement must be filed each excise year.
•   If the qualifying veteran owns or leases more than one vehicle, they must decide on which vehicle they wish to apply for exemption, and indicate that on the abatement application.

Overvaluation

The excise valuation is a percentage of the manufacturer's suggested retail price "MSRP" of the vehicle when new. It is NOT based on the sales price or on the "blue book" value. Excise is calculated at the rate of $25.00 per thousand dollars of this valuation.

How is motor vehicle valuation calculated

All valuation issues should be directed to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to be corrected at the source:

Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Excise Tax Customer Assistance   1-857-368-8181 or email RMV Customer Service

Exemptions - Town & State

Taxpayer Guides:

• Blind Persons (PDF)
• Qualifying Veterans (PDF)
• Surviving Spouse (PDF)
• Qualifying Senior Citizens (PDF)
• Senior Tax Deferrals (PDF)
• CPA Exemption Information (PDF)

Application Forms:

• Statutory Exemption Application Form-All Clauses (STF 96) (PDF)
• Means-Tested Senior Exemption Application Form (PDF)
• State Tax Schedule CB (to be filed with Means Tested Applications) (PDF)
• CPA Exemption Application Form (PDF)

Q&A

Why Valuations Change State law requires assessors to estimate the fair market of all properties within their jurisdiction. With this mandate comes the requirement that assessors conduct annual revaluations. Revaluations not only respond to the ever-changing real estate market but are opportunities for assessors to improve the quality of property data, estimate values that more closely correspond to the market as evidenced by property sales, and improve the underlying valuation methods used to estimate valuations. If you observe a change in your valuation, the difference can be attributed to one or more of the following: - appreciation in the market value of your property; - resolution of emerging inequities that have caused your property to be over or undervalued; - building permit related construction and building improvements; - an updated property record showing updates found though a data validation program; - internal data quality reviews designed to insure consistent recording of property features - conversions to a new assessment system having a different value calculation method Surging property values as evidenced by sales transactions have resulted in most assessed valuations being understated. Significant increases in assessed valuations across town have been made to bring them into line with the market. Understand, that increased valuations do not result in a revenue windfall. Rather, tax rates are adjusted to bring the overall property tax collections down to those anticipated when the Town’s budget was approved. Assessed valuations are not intended to predict what a property might sell for in the future. Assessors are only concerned with what properties were worth on the assessment date - the January 1st preceding the fiscal year of taxation. Properties having sold in the 12-month period preceding the assessment date influence our valuation model – the system of land and building rate tables used to formulate values. Our office monitors the correlation between assessments and sale prices on sold properties ensuring that all property owners are assessed fairly and that no class of property is over or under assessed. Assessments are not simply factored up by a uniform rate. To do so, would defeat a revaluation program’s goal of improving property valuations. All assessments are estimates that approximate market value. Many factors influence what a buyer might pay for a property, but only those that are readily quantifiable are used in estimating your valuation. For example, your assessment is based on features like location, land area, building area, type and grade of construction, age and condition, and amenities like garages, swimming pools and finished basements. Examples of property features not considered in your assessment include curb appeal, home décor, and landscaping. We recognize that these latter features might well impact on a home’s sale price but are not readily measured and difficult to defend. If you believe your property to be overvalued, you may file an abatement application with the Town Assessor. Forms can be found on the Assessors website. Be careful to file the application by the deadline noted on your tax bill.

Forms

Personal Exemptions