New Hampshire Property Tax Bill To Be Sent
Most communities in New Hampshire will be sending out there Tax Year 2016 property tax bills this fall. These tax bills are for the assessment date of April, 2016. If a person is aggrieved by the assessment he may file an Abatement Application with the local Assessors. This Application must generally be filed no later than March 1, 2017. The Assessors have until July 1, 2017 to respond to the Application. If the Applicant is not satisfied with the Assessors’ response he may file a Petition at the State of New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals or the Superior Court in the County where the property is located no later than September 1, 2017. The Applicant may not file at both the Board of Tax and Land Appeals and the Superior Court. In either forum the taxpayer will be afforded a hearing where he must prove that his property is over assessed.
Property Tax Payments Mail Box Rule Follow “The Mail Box Rule”
In Massachusetts the timely payment of property taxes is generally a jurisdictional prerequisite to a valid property tax appeal to the Appellate Tax Board. This means that the tax payment has to be in the Collector of Taxes Office by the due date. A new bill was just signed by the Governor providing that the mailing of a tax payment on the due date is considered timely payment for the purpose of maintaining a valid appeal at the Appellate Tax Board. This is commonly referred to as “The Moil Box Rule”. This new law brings Massachusetts in closer sync with how all other tax payments are treated in the Commonwealth. “The Mail Box Rule” is an amelioration of the unusual and draconian Massachusetts rule that requires the timely payment of property tax in order for a taxpayer t o be afforded a valid property tax appeal.
Discrimination In Taxation Is Okay
In Massachusetts, there is a constitutional mandate that there be no discrimination between taxpayers. In 1978 the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was amended to allow for an exception to this rule. That amendment allowed the assessment of four classes of REAL PROPERTY and each class could be taxed differently. These classes are determined to be (1) commercial (2) industrial (3) residential and (4) open space. Generally commercial and industrial properties are taxed at a higher rate. It is the practice in the Commonwealth to tax PERSONAL PROPERTY at the higher commercial and industrial real property tax rate. In the case of Verizon v. Boston Board of Assessors, 475 Mass. 826 (2016), Verizon appealed challenging this form of taxation stating that it was unconstitutional to tax its personal property at the higher real property tax rate. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the taxing of personal property at the higher real property tax rate was constitutional. The reasoning is that this is a constitutional question that must be interpreted broadly and that taxing personal property as real property is in keeping the general purpose of the amendment.
New Hampshire Property Tax Bills Are Soon To Issue
Most communities in New Hampshire have sent out their 2017 property tax bills during October and November of 2017. These tax bills have an assessing date of April 1, 2017. The property tax assessment should equal the fee simple market value of the property as of April 1, 2017, multiplied by the jurisdiction’s median assessment ratio. If your property is assessed in excess of that amount you may have grounds for a property tax appeal. In general Abatement Applications must be filed with the local assessors by March 1, 2018. If you are aggrieved by the action or inaction of the local assessors, you may file a petition with the State Board of Tax and Land Appeals or the Superior Court in the County where the property is located. There you will be afforded a full hearing on the merits where the rules of evidence will apply.
Beware Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2018 Property Tax Bills Have Been Sent
The 2018 Fiscal Year for cities and towns in Massachusetts runs from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Most jurisdictions have sent out there Actual Fiscal Year 2018 Property Tax Bills in December of 2017. The Actual Property Tax Bill is the first tax bill of the Fiscal Year that contains an assessed value and a tax rate. It is from this Actual Property Tax Bill that rights of appeal accrue. In most cases the Fiscal Year 2018 filing deadline is February 1, 2018. It is important to review your Actual Property Tax Bill as many of the 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth are revaluing in their jurisdictions for Fiscal Year 2018. It is important to note that generally the timely payment of all property taxes is a jurisdictional prerequisite to a valid tax appeal. Timely payment means that payment must be post marked by the due date.
File An Account To Protect Your Right Of Appeal
Now is the time for Rhode Island taxpayers to preserve their right of appeal for Tax Year 2018 by filing an Account with the local assessor. In most jurisdictions the Tax Year 2018 tax bill will be sent out during the summer of 2018. The Tax Year 2018 tax bill has a valuation or assessing date of December 31, 2017. In most cases the filing of a valid Account by January 31, 2018 is a prerequisite to a valid appeal. The Account must describe the property, claim a value of the property, and be signed under oath and notarized. Occasionally the assessors do not send out Account forms. It is incumbent upon the taxpayer to seek out a form and properly complete and file it. It is possible for a taxpayer to construct his own Account form, but it must include all the required information and be signed under oath, notarized and filed timely.
