Massachusetts homeowners pay a median of $5,992 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.07%, the 17th highest of the 51 states we cover. The deadline to appeal: Feb 1 (quarterly) / Nov 1 (semiannual). Here is who sets your value, how to challenge it and what evidence works.
Varies, some openAs of October 21, 2026, the fiscal year 2027 window depends on how your town bills. In towns that bill actual taxes in the fall (around October 1), applications are generally due November 2, 2026 (November 1 is a Sunday), or 30 days after the bill was mailed if that is later. Some towns that use preliminary bills have a later actual-bill date (April 1), so check the due date printed on your bill. In quarterly towns, including Boston, the window opens when third-quarter bills arrive in late December and closes February 1, 2027.
Your abatement application must reach the local board of assessors by the due date of the first actual (not preliminary) tax bill for the fiscal year. In communities that bill quarterly, that is normally February 1. If actual bills go out after December 31, the deadline moves to May 1 or 30 days after mailing, whichever is later. In communities that bill twice a year, it is usually November 1 or 30 days after the actual bill is mailed, whichever is later. The due date is printed on your tax bill. If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, you have until the next day town offices are open. An application sent by U.S. mail counts as filed on the postmark date; FedEx, UPS and other private carriers do not get this rule, so the assessors must actually receive it by the deadline. The assessors cannot extend or waive this deadline for any reason. Example: Boston bills quarterly, and the deadline to file a fiscal year 2027 abatement application with the Boston Assessing Department is February 1, 2027; applications are available only after third-quarter bills go out in late December.
In most years there is no separate value notice. Your assessed value appears on your actual tax bill: in quarterly-billing communities that is the third-quarter bill, usually mailed in late December; in semiannual communities it is usually mailed around October 1. In a five-year certification year, the town must make proposed values public for a set period before they are final, often online or in the newspaper, and a full revaluation also brings impact notices. Watch for these and ask questions then.
Enter the market value on your assessment notice and what you think the home would really sell for. We estimate the yearly saving if the board agrees with you.
Some states cap how fast the taxable value of a home can rise (California, Florida, Michigan and Texas homesteads, for example). If your taxable value is already held below market value by a cap, a lower market value may not lower this year's bill.
Counties play no role. Each of the 351 cities and towns has its own board of assessors that values every home in town. The state Division of Local Services (part of the Department of Revenue) checks those values each year and certifies them every five years. Appeals start with your local board of assessors and then go to the state Appellate Tax Board. Homes are assessed at 100% of full and fair cash value (market value) as of January 1 before the fiscal year. The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, so fiscal year 2027 taxes (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) are based on your home's value on January 1, 2026. Assessors must review the market and adjust values every year. Every five years the state Bureau of Local Assessment does a full certification review of each community's values; the years in between are called interim years.
There is no required informal step, but you can call or visit your assessors' office at any time to look at your property record card and point out errors (wrong square footage, room count, condition). In a revaluation or certification year, raise problems during the public review of proposed values, when they can be fixed before bills go out.
What works in Massachusetts: Recent sales of similar nearby homes (same style, size, age and condition), adjusted for differences and for market changes up to January 1; Your property record card from the assessors, with any errors in size, rooms, baths or features marked; Photos and repair estimates showing condition problems the assessors did not account for; Assessed values of truly similar homes, adjusted for differences, as extra support for your value; An appraisal as of January 1; at the ATB the appraiser should testify, because a report alone is treated as hearsay.
Fill out State Tax Form 128 (Application for Abatement of Real Property Tax), or your city's version of it, and file it with the board of assessors in the city or town where the home is. Check the reason (usually overvaluation), give the value you think is right, and explain why. You can file in person or by U.S. mail; ask your assessors if they accept other methods. Keep paying your tax bills while you wait: filing does not pause collection. The assessors may ask to inspect your home or send you a written information request; if you do not answer within 30 days, you can lose your right to appeal. The board has three months to decide. If it does nothing, the application is deemed denied, unless you agreed in writing to give it more time. You get a written notice either way. Cost: No fee.
The assessment is presumed correct, so you must prove that your home's fair cash value on January 1 was lower than the assessed value. At the ATB the assessors can simply rest on their value and still win if your evidence falls short. Exception: if the ATB set your home's value for one fiscal year and the assessors raise it in either of the next two years, the assessors must prove the increase is justified.
Within three months of the date the assessors acted on your application (the date of the decision, not the date the notice was mailed), or within three months of the date it was deemed denied. File a Statement Under Informal Procedure (most homeowners use this) or a Petition Under Formal Procedure with the ATB, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 200, Boston, MA 02114, in person or by U.S. mail (postmark counts). Send three copies and a check payable to "The Appellate Tax Board". The fee depends on your assessed value: $10 up to $20,000; $50 over $20,000 to $100,000; $100 over $100,000 to $999,999; $0.10 per $1,000 at $1,000,000 and up (maximum $5,000). The informal procedure is simpler, but both sides give up most rights to appeal the ATB's decision to court; the town can switch a case on property over $20,000 to the formal procedure. If your full-year tax is over $5,000, you must have paid every installment on time, without interest, or the ATB cannot hear your case (there is a three-year-average exception). Cases usually wait four months to a year for a hearing, often by video; mediation is available. Send your evidence to the ATB and the assessors at least seven days before the hearing. Formal-procedure decisions can be appealed to the Appeals Court within 30 days.
The assessors (or the ATB) grant an abatement, which cuts that fiscal year's tax. If you already paid, the overpayment is refunded or credited; an ATB abatement is refunded with interest. An abatement covers one fiscal year only, and the assessors can set a new value next year. If the ATB itself set your value, the assessors must justify any increase in the next two fiscal years.
Form 128 lets you claim a 'disproportionate assessment', but to win on that alone you must show an intentional, widespread scheme of assessing other property at a lower share of value; pointing to a few lower-assessed neighbors is not enough. Assessments of similar homes can still help as evidence that your home's value is too high. This works only in limited cases. Run the numbers with our unequal assessment calculator.
Most wins start with a mistake in the assessor's record of your home. Check it line by line.
Record card checklistAn exemption is separate from an appeal: you apply once and it cuts your taxable value every year. Check you have every one you qualify for.
Some cities and towns, including Boston, have adopted an exemption for owner-occupied principal residences of up to 35% of the town's average residential value. Apply to your assessors by April 1, or within three months after actual bills are mailed if that is later. Ask your assessors whether your town offers it.
Exemptions for homeowners 70 or older (65 in towns that lower the age for Clauses 41C and 41C½) who meet residency, income and asset limits. The basic amount is $500, and towns can vote higher amounts. Apply to your assessors each year by April 1, or within three months after actual bills are mailed if that is later.
Exemptions for veterans with a service-connected disability of 10% or more, and for certain spouses and surviving spouses and parents. The state guide lists amounts from $400 to full exemption depending on the clause. Some towns have adopted higher local amounts. Apply each year to your assessors.
A state income tax credit for people 65 and older whose property tax, plus half of their water and sewer charges, is more than 10% of their Massachusetts income. For tax year 2025 the maximum credit is $2,820, income limits are $75,000 single, $94,000 head of household and $112,000 joint, and the home's assessed value can be no more than $1,298,000. You claim it on your state income tax return, even if you owe no income tax.
You can file and present your own case; many homeowners do at the ATB. A Massachusetts attorney can represent you. Anyone else needs the ATB's permission to appear for you. At the local level, someone can sign Form 128 for you if you attach written authorization.
Fill in your details and download a written appeal statement as a PDF or Word file. Most boards also require their own appeal form: file the form and attach this letter and your evidence to it.
Tax Appeal Map is a free information site, not a law firm or appraiser. The letter is a template, not legal advice.
Your abatement application must reach the local board of assessors by the due date of the first actual (not preliminary) tax bill for the fiscal year. In communities that bill quarterly, that is normally February 1. If actual bills go out after December 31, the deadline moves to May 1 or 30 days after mailing, whichever is later. In communities that bill twice a year, it is usually November 1 or 30 days after the actual bill is mailed, whichever is later. The due date is printed on your tax bill. If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, you have until the next day town offices are open. An application sent by U.S. mail counts as filed on the postmark date; FedEx, UPS and other private carriers do not get this rule, so the assessors must actually receive it by the deadline. The assessors cannot extend or waive this deadline for any reason. Example: Boston bills quarterly, and the deadline to file a fiscal year 2027 abatement application with the Boston Assessing Department is February 1, 2027; applications are available only after third-quarter bills go out in late December.
With the Abatement application to the local board of assessors. Fill out State Tax Form 128 (Application for Abatement of Real Property Tax), or your city's version of it, and file it with the board of assessors in the city or town where the home is. Check the reason (usually overvaluation), give the value you think is right, and explain why. You can file in person or by U.S. mail; ask your assessors if they accept other methods. Keep paying your tax bills while you wait: filing does not pause collection. The assessors may ask to inspect your home or send you a written information request; if you do not answer within 30 days, you can lose your right to appeal. The board has three months to decide. If it does nothing, the application is deemed denied, unless you agreed in writing to give it more time. You get a written notice either way.
No fee.
There is no required informal step, but you can call or visit your assessors' office at any time to look at your property record card and point out errors (wrong square footage, room count, condition). In a revaluation or certification year, raise problems during the public review of proposed values, when they can be fixed before bills go out.
You can appeal to the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board (ATB). Within three months of the date the assessors acted on your application (the date of the decision, not the date the notice was mailed), or within three months of the date it was deemed denied. File a Statement Under Informal Procedure (most homeowners use this) or a Petition Under Formal Procedure with the ATB, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 200, Boston, MA 02114, in person or by U.S. mail (postmark counts). Send three copies and a check payable to "The Appellate Tax Board". The fee depends on your assessed value: $10 up to $20,000; $50 over $20,000 to $100,000; $100 over $100,000 to $999,999; $0.10 per $1,000 at $1,000,000 and up (maximum $5,000). The informal procedure is simpler, but both sides give up most rights to appeal the ATB's decision to court; the town can switch a case on property over $20,000 to the formal procedure. If your full-year tax is over $5,000, you must have paid every installment on time, without interest, or the ATB cannot hear your case (there is a three-year-average exception). Cases usually wait four months to a year for a hearing, often by video; mediation is available. Send your evidence to the ATB and the assessors at least seven days before the hearing. Formal-procedure decisions can be appealed to the Appeals Court within 30 days.
The assessors (or the ATB) grant an abatement, which cuts that fiscal year's tax. If you already paid, the overpayment is refunded or credited; an ATB abatement is refunded with interest. An abatement covers one fiscal year only, and the assessors can set a new value next year. If the ATB itself set your value, the assessors must justify any increase in the next two fiscal years.
Checked 2026-10 against official Massachusetts sources. Local deadlines and fees can differ; confirm with your assessor or board.