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Welcome to the Assessors Department The Board of Assessors is a three member elected board, each member being elected on alternate years for a three-year term. The Board meets regularly; usually on Thursday evenings after 7 PM. The Town Clerk is responsible for posting their Meeting Notices. Meetings are open to the public and are held in their office at the Town Hall. On a triennial basis the Department of Revenue (DOR) audits the Assessors assessment records and valuation techniques; to ultimately certify the Assessors real and personal property assessments. In the years between certification, assessors must also adjust values based on market sales. This is done so that the taxpayer pays his or her fair share of the cost of local government in proportion to the amount of money the property is worth on a yearly basis. The Nahant Assessors Office is responsible for appraising and assessing approximately 1470 real estate parcels, and less than 100 personal property accounts as well as annual motor vehicle and vessel excise accounts.About Our Office
Our Mission Statement
The mission of the Assessing Department is to accurately determine the value of all Real and Personal Property located within the Town of Nahant for the purpose of taxation. Assessors are statutorily obligated to assess all real property at its full and fair cash values as of January 1st of each year. Full and fair cash value is defined as 100% of the property's fair market value. It is the price an owner willing but not under compulsion to sell ought to receive from one willing to but not under compulsion to buy. Full and fair cash value is the applied constitutional and statutory standard that protects the property owner's right to pay only his fair share of the tax burden. The department is also responsible for the administration of all property tax record cards. It maintains accurate parcel ownership data based upon recorded property transactions at the Registry of Deeds, Southern District and all map data pertinent to accurate parcel identification. The Assessing Department is also responsible for motor vehicle excise and boat excise. Motor vehicle excise data is forwarded to the Assessors office from the Registry of Motor Vehicles 5 -6 times a year, which generates the excise bills. The bills correspond to the information of every registered vehicle in Nahant. Adjustments to the excise tax are performed at the Assessors office when an exemption or abatement is warranted. Excise Tax Information Motor Vehicle Excise Tax For the purpose of computing excise tax, the State offers the following guidelines:
The payment of such excise shall not apply to vessels engaged exclusively in commercial fishing, with a total value of $10,000 or less, nor to other vessels with a value of $1,000 or less. Abatement may be granted if the boat is transferred by sale or otherwise, removed to another state and registered in such other state, or the registration is surrendered or is not renewed in Massachusetts. In such cases proof must be provided to the Assessors Office, and no abatement is granted for transactions occurring after November first. If excise tax remains unpaid, the Harbormaster shall refuse to allow the vessel to moor or dock within the waterways of Nahant.
Nahant Property Real Estate Assessment Data How To Access Your Information: 1) New Nahant Tax-GIS Maps and Property Data 2) Property Records On the Web Fiscal Year Certification of Assessments and Tax Rate The DOR’s Bureau of Local Assessment, Division of Local Services (DLS) ensures that cities and towns achieve sound and equitable assessment of real and personal property through training and oversight. DLS is responsible for ensuring the fairness and equity of local property taxation along with the accuracy and quality of local accounting and treasury management, and other important government issues. Nahant was one of more than 100 communities to be audited by the DLS as part of their new 5 year recertification program and was first in the state to be recertified. The DLS’s recertification process consists of, but is not limited to, a data quality review, a statistical ratio studies review, and a valuation review to ensure that proper appraisal methodology was utilized and uniformly and equitably applied to all property. A recertification program is based on the mass appraisal process utilizing the components of an acceptable mass appraisal system. The mass appraisal system is comprised of the following: data management, valuation, performance analysis, administration and appeals. Sufficient data was collected by utilizing the land residual technique along with the various approaches to value (market, income, & cost) to produce acceptable credible land values for all real property consisting of residential, commercial and industrial properties. Our residential land values were developed through the analysis of recent vacant land sales within Nahant as well as reviewing sales in surrounding communities. There was one vacant land sales in Nahant from January 2015 to December 2016. Due to the lack of land sales in the town the land residual technique was employed. Personal property accounts were analyzed to ensure accurate valuation. This review included identifying the owners of personal property as of January 1 to determine taxable status, information on the taxable assets and the valuation of those assets. Annual discovery of accounts took place through a review of building permits, business permits issued by the town clerk, and a review of business advertisements posted around Town, along with other approved methods. This year there are 100 taxable personal property accounts that make up second homes, general business and utilities. Included in the recertification program is the requirement to maintain and update our tax maps. We are in full compliance. You may access Nahant’s tax maps and property record links through the Town’s website, www.nahant.org and go to GIS tax mapping link on the front page. Call the Assessor’s office for further details, (781) 581-0212 Personal Property Information If your have any questions please contact the Assessors Office at Town Hall. You may also contact the Bureau of Municipal Finance Law staff at (617) 626-2400. Personal Property Assessment FAQ
Tax Abatement Information
Excise Tax Abatement Application
Real Property Tax Exemptions and Deferral Information If you are an older citizen, surviving spouse - husband or wife - or minor whose parent is deceased, you may be more vulnerable than most citizens to high property taxes. Fortunately, there are programs to help you meet your tax obligations. These programs, which provide either property tax exemptions or a deferral of taxes, are set forth in different clauses of Chapter 59: Section 5 of the Massachusetts General Laws. Those specifically geared for you are variations of Clause 17 or Clause 41 or the Clause 41A tax deferral. Tax exemptions and deferrals are granted to those individuals who meet the eligibility requirements of age, assets, income, ownership, > 10% disabled veteran, blind, widow or widower.
Clause 17D Property Tax Exemption Benefits *Acceptance by a city or town means approval by the town meeting in a town, the city council subject to the provisions of the city charter in a city and the town council in a municipality having such form of government. All cities and towns are subject to the provisions of Clause 17 and Clause 41 unless they have a accepted a more recently enacted clause. When they accept such a clause, the provisions of the clause which was in effect are no longer applicable. Ownership and Occupancy How to Apply for a Tax Exemption Applications under Clause 17D must be virtuald with the Board of Assessors on or before December 15 of each year. If the actual (not preliminary) property tax bill is mailed after September 15, you have three months from the date the bill is first mailed in which to apply. In addition to your local Board of Assessors, your local Council on Aging may be able to help you fill out the forms. Some councils employ tax specialists to provide such assistance. Visit the Citizen Information Service website for additional details. Clause 41A Property Tax Deferral If you are unable to qualify for an exemption under any of the clauses described in previous pages, or if these exemptions do not help you enough in paying your real estate taxes, you might consider applying for a tax deferral under Clause 41A. A deferral permits you to delay payment on property taxes. If you qualify for a Clause 41A tax deferral, you enter into an agreement with your local assessor to defer payment of all or part of your taxes plus eight percent interest up to fifty percent of your interest in the property valuation. Taxes in every year may be deferred until you reach a point where the unpaid taxes plus interest due are equal to fifty percent of your interest in the property at full and fair cash value. When that point is reached, although you may no longer defer payment on current and future taxes, the unpaid taxes and interest to date together with interest which will continue to accrue on the unpaid taxes may remain unpaid until the property is sold or until one's death. Upon one's death the deferral may be continued by your surviving spouse, if he/she qualifies, or the taxes may be paid by your heirs or your estate. You can, of course, repay total deferred taxes at any time before then. Upon your death, if your surviving spouse does not continue to defer, or if the property is sold prior to your death, the interest rate goes up to sixteen percent, and the taxes must be paid in order to release the lien that was placed on the property while there were unpaid deferred taxes. If the taxes are not paid within six months of death or sale, the local treasurer may seek to foreclose the lien on the property if the deferred amount remains unpaid. Eligibility Requirements Ownership and Occupancy Surviving Spouse Deferral Payment of a deceased spouse's deferred taxes shall not be required during the life of a surviving spouse of any age who inherits the property and who enters into a tax deferral and recovery agreement. If you or your spouse own property jointly with other individuals you may apply for the deferral. The deferred taxes with interest at eight percent in this case are not to exceed one half of the full and fair cash value of the proportion of this property owned by you or you and your spouse. Applications under Clause 41A and Clause 41C must be filed with your local Board of Assessors on or before December 15 in each year. If the actual, not preliminary, property tax bill is mailed after September 15, you have three months from the date the bill is first mailed in which to apply. In addition to your local Board of Assessors, your local Council on Aging may be able to help you fill out the forms. Some councils employ tax specialists to provide such assistance. Visit he Citizen Information Service website for additional details. Clause 41C Property Tax Exemption Benefits Eligibility Requirements Real Estate and Personal Property Option 2 allows a total worth of $40,000 for a single person or $45,000 for a married couple, including the assessed value of the domicile. If there is joint ownership with a person not a spouse, the whole estate, real and personal, of each joint tenant or tenant in common must be less than $12,000 for a single person or not exceed $15,000 if married, including the assessed value of the domicile. Clause 41C *The minimum annual social security payment rate changes yearly. It is determined by the Department of Revenue and is available from your Board of Assessors. If you are unable to qualify for an exemption under any of the clauses described in previous pages, or if these exemptions do not help you enough in paying your real |estate taxes, you might consider applying for a tax deferral under Clause 41A. If you qualify for a Clause 41A tax deferral, you enter into an agreement with your local assessor to defer payment of all or part of your taxes plus eight percent interest up to fifty percent of your interest in the property valuation. Taxes in every year may be deferred until you reach a point where the unpaid taxes plus interest due are equal to fifty percent of your interest in the property at full and fair cash value. When that point is reached, although you may no longer defer payment on current and future taxes, the unpaid taxes and interest to date together with interest which will continue to accrue on the unpaid taxes may remain unpaid until the property is sold or until one's death. Upon one's death the deferral may be continued by your surviving spouse, if he/she qualifies, or the taxes may be paid by your heirs or your estate. You can, of course, repay total deferred taxes at any time before then. Upon your death, if your surviving spouse does not continue to defer, or if the property is sold prior to your death, the interest rate goes up to sixteen percent, and the taxes must be paid in order to release the lien that was placed on the property while there were unpaid deferred taxes. If the taxes are not paid within six months of death or sale, the local treasurer may seek to foreclose the lien on the property if the deferred amount remains unpaid. Ownership and Occupancy A surviving spouse inheriting property must have occupied it or other real property for five years. The surviving spouse who otherwise qualifies may choose to continue to defer taxes. However, the total of taxes deferred by both spouses together with interest thereon may not exceed fifty percent of their interest in the property valuation. Payment of a deceased spouse's deferred taxes shall not be required during the life of a surviving spouse of any age who inherits the property and who enters into a tax deferral and recovery agreement. If you or your spouse own property jointly with other individuals you may apply for the deferral. The deferred taxes with interest at eight percent in this case are not to exceed one half of the full and fair cash value of the proportion of this property owned by you or you and your spouse. Contact your local Board of Assessors for an application form. You must apply each year for an exemption or deferral. Generally, you can receive only one exemption, so submit the application for the exemption which will provide the greatest benefit. However, since Clause 41A is a deferral of taxes, you may use a Clause 41A deferral in conjunction with an exemption for which you qualify. Applications under Clause 41, Clause 41A, Clause 41B or Clause 41C must be virtuald with your local Board of Assessors on or before December 15 in each year. If the actual, not preliminary, property tax bill is mailed after September 15, you have three months from the date the bill is first mailed in which to apply. In the year of local acceptance of Clause 41C the community allows an additional 45 days from the date of acceptance to apply unless a later date for applying is allowed by another statute. In addition to your local Board of Assessors, your local Council on Aging may be able to help you fill out the forms. Some councils employ tax specialists to provide such assistance. Applications under Clause 41C must be files with your local Board of Assessors on or before December 15 in each year. If the actual, not preliminary, property tax bill is mailed after September 15, you have three months from the date the bill is first mailed in which to apply. In the year of local acceptance of Clause 41C the community allows an additional 45 days from the date of acceptance to apply unless a later date for applying is allowed by another statute. In addition to your local Board of Assessors, your local Council on Aging may be able to help you fill out the forms. Some councils employ tax specialists to provide such assistance. Visit the Citizen Information Service website for additional details. Clause 22C
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