Property tax appeal · Massachusetts
Appeal your property taxes in Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, the municipal board of assessors sets your value and the board of assessors (then the Appellate Tax Board) hears your case. Boards act on evidence of market value as of the assessment date, and a licensed, USPAP-compliant appraisal is that evidence.
$5, credited toward your appraisal.
Massachusetts
9 county pages below
- Values your home
- Municipal board of assessors
- Hears your case
- Board of assessors (then the Appellate Tax Board)
- Desktop appraisal
- $225
- $5 check credited
- Timing
- Confirmed with your order
Deadline
Abatement applications are due when the third-quarter “actual” tax bill is due — February 1 in most communities. The date is on the bill.
Confirm your filing window and recipient requirements before ordering. Service availability and delivery depend on the property, evidence and appraiser. You remain responsible for filing on time.
How it works
How to appeal your property taxes in Massachusetts.
- Step 1
Check your savings
Enter your address and pay $5. We check your Massachusetts assessment against recent nearby sales.
- Step 2
Order the appraisal
A desktop appraisal valued as of your assessment date, with the $5 credited. Complex homes get one exact quote.
- Step 3
Show us your home
Walk through on your phone so the appraiser sees its condition. A desktop appraisal needs no visit.
- Step 4
File your appeal
A state-licensed MA appraiser signs it, with a cover letter and filing steps. You file by your deadline, and the board of assessors (then the Appellate Tax Board) hears your case.
The evidence
Boards act on value, not frustration.
However Massachusetts labels the process, the case underneath is the same: show what your home was actually worth on the assessment date. A licensed, USPAP-compliant appraisal, with comparable sales, documented adjustments and a signed opinion of value, is that showing.
What the appraisal gives you
- Valued as of your assessment date, not today
- Comparable sales with adjustments and citations
- Signed by a state-licensed MA appraiser
- A phone walkthrough; a desktop appraisal needs no visit
Confirm before you file
- Your filing deadline, from your assessment notice
- Appraiser availability and delivery timing, before you order
The process
How Massachusetts handles appeals.
In Massachusetts you don’t “appeal” so much as apply for an abatement: a formal application to your city or town’s board of assessors, due when the third-quarter actual bill is due (February 1 in most communities). The assessors rule on it themselves; if they deny it — or let three months pass without acting — you can carry the case to the state Appellate Tax Board, a homeowner-accessible forum where documented valuation evidence decides outcomes. Massachusetts assesses at full and fair cash value as of the prior January 1, so that date is what your evidence must speak to.
Worth knowing in Massachusetts
Proposition 2½ caps how fast your community’s total levy grows — not your individual assessment — so a rising bill usually traces back to your valuation, which is the thing an abatement can fix. Keep paying the tax while the abatement is pending to protect your appeal rights.
FAQ
Massachusetts questions
When is the abatement deadline in Massachusetts?
The application is due to your board of assessors when the third-quarter actual tax bill is due — February 1 in most communities. Miss it and the assessors lose jurisdiction to grant relief for that year.
Doesn’t Proposition 2½ already cap my taxes?
It caps the town’s total levy, not your share of it. If your assessment overstates your home’s January 1 value, you’re paying more than your share — that’s what the abatement corrects.
What evidence do Massachusetts assessors weigh?
Comparable sales supporting a lower full and fair cash value as of January 1 — the substance of a licensed appraisal. The same evidence carries the case to the Appellate Tax Board if the assessors deny it.
