Quarterly Tax Billing

(Effective 7/1/12)

TAXPAYER INFORMATION ON QUARTERLY TAX PAYMENTS

On May 2, 2011 the voters at Town Meeting voted to change from semi-annual to quarterly billing for Real Estate and Personal Property tax starting in Fiscal 2013. The fiscal year begins July 1st of any given year and ends June 30th of the following calendar year.

HOW QUARTERLY BILLING WORKS:

The bills are issued two times per year, at the end of June and December. Each bill has two detachable stubs, one for each of the billing installments included on the bill.

The bill mailed at the end of June is the "Preliminary" tax bill, and details the amounts due on the first business day of August and the first business day of November.

The bill mailed at the end of December is the "Actual" tax bill, and this bill details the amounts due on the first business day of February and the first business day of May.

1st PAYMENT— Due August 1st

The first installment will be detailed on the preliminary bill, mailed by June 30th. This installment will be due on the first business day in August. This bill will be approximately one quarter of last year’s bill amount. No tax rate or assessment will appear on this bill.

2nd PAYMENT— Due November 1st

The second installment will also be detailed on the preliminary tax bill, which is mailed  by June 30th. This installment is due on the first business day of November. This bill is calculated in the same manner as the 1st payment. Again, no tax rate or assessment will appear on this bill.

3RD PAYMENT— Due February 1st

The third installment is detailed on the "Actual" bill, which is mailed by December 31st. This installment is due on the first business day of February. This tax bill will show the assessed valuation of your property, the tax rate and the amount of property taxes you owe for the current Fiscal Year, including any betterments or other charges that are added to the tax. The bill amount will be 50% of your actual tax after the first two payments have been deducted. This means that if your first two payments totaled $1,000 and your actual tax bill is $3,000, you would owe 50% of the difference or $1,000.

4th PAYMENT – Due May 1st

The fourth and final installment is also detailed on the "Actual" bill, which is mailed by December 31st. This installment is due by the first business day of May. This bill will be the balance that remains after the first three payments.

LATE PAYMENTS

Under the quarterly system, the interest on late payments will be charged for the number of days the payment is actually delinquent. For example, if a payment due on November 1st is not made on time, 14% interest will be charged from November 1st until the date the payment is made.

ABATEMENT AND EXEMPTION APPLICATIONS

Abatement applications can only be accepted after the issuance of the first actual bill mailed December 31st. Abatement applications must be filed by February 1st.

Exemption applications can only be accepted after the issuance of the first actual bill mailed December 31st. Exemption application will be accepted up to March 31st.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

You will receive two remittance tear-offs to send with each of your payments. We will include two remittance envelopes that go directly to our bank in Reading, MA for processing. You may also pay on-line or you may pay your bills in person at the Treasurer/Collector’s office.