Property Taxes in Somerville

[derekp.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for information on Property Taxes in Somerville, specifically related to the percentage exemption received by folks who both own and live in their houses. I've seen allusions to a 30% residential exemption, but I can't find any details on this on the city's website. Their search link seems to be busted (and has been for at least 2 months).

Does anyone know where I can find this information?

Comments

[afty.livejournal.com]

If you call the Assessor's Office at City Hall, they can help you with this. I don't know how the residential exemption is calculated, but I don't think it's a straight percentage.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Call the city and ask for the Assessor's office. 617 625-6600 ext 3100.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I agree. (that it's not a straight percentage). My recollection is that there's some subtracted from the assessed value of your property, and then the tax is on the rest.

Here is the form to apply for the residential exemption:
http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Content/documents/forms/ResidentialExemption.pdf
(it's for FY2007, but I assume it's the same except for the dates for FY 2008)

You can also try emailing: treasury@ci.somerville.ma.us

[derekp.livejournal.com]

Got a chance to call on my lunch break and spoke to a very helpful lady in the Assessor's Office. I thought I'd post the results here just for posterity.

1. You must be an owner & resident on 1/1 of the Fiscal Year to qualify. I just bought this past June, so I do not qualify until next year.

2. Forms are sent to all new property owners every spring so they can apply for the discount.

3. The discount is based on the total residential value for the entire city. Everyone eligible gets the same exemption regardless of their particular valuation. The amount is 30% of the average valuation, which is the maximum allowed by the state. This last year, the exemption was good for $1,585.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

That sounds right. I was just about to post here and say that I received the application for the exemption in the mail automatically after I bought my home.

You might want to ask for some clarification on timing because the city's fiscal year begins in August if I recall correctly -- at least, August is when they notify you as to how much your property taxes will be for the upcoming year. So it may be that we are already in fiscal '08 and you will be able to claim the residential exemption retroactively once 1/1 rolls around. I could be wrong on that though.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

Now if Only I could get the City to start sending the tax bills to ME instead of the previous owner...

[afty.livejournal.com]

One thing to know is that if the previous owner was receiving the exemption, you will receive it as well for this fiscal year. At least, that is what the Assessor's Office told me, and the property tax portion of our mortgage payment reflects the reduced cost as well.

timing

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

1. You must be an owner & resident on 1/1 of the Fiscal Year to qualify. I just bought this past June, so I do not qualify until next year.

Since most home purchases are in the spring, this is pretty clearly done to screw over new residents as sort of a "hey, welcome to somerville!".

Also, although it takes effect the next June, that's not figured into the bills you receive and have to pay until the next January, when it's retroactively applied. So most people are looking at being in their new homes for over a year and half before the exemption kicks in.

Re: timing

[derekp.livejournal.com]

Nah, the real "Welcome to Somerville" was being told I may owe 14% interest because I didn't know when Tax Bills were due, assuming the city -- like everyone else who wants my money -- would send the tax bill to the address of the place I just bought.

No dice. They sent it to the previous owners address and she is under no legal obligation to forward. From what I was told today on the phone, there is no way to have this automatically sent to me and I must request a copy any time I want one.

Also, explaining this whole - "I just bought into a master parcel that has not yet received it's very own tax ID (and won't until NEXT year) so please only pay half the received tax bill" to my mortgage company has made their heads spin.

Re: timing

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we almost had our mortgage fall through at the last minute for the exact same tax ID reason. But we (or rather, our awesome lawyer) called the Somerville tax office and talked to the assessor and totally got everything straightened out.

Keep reciepts

[amaralgroup.livejournal.com]

I'd highly recommend that you also keep your own records that show you live here on the 1st of January. If you buy say Jan 2th or cannot show you were living there on the 1st -- you lose the WHOLE year's exemption. Keep your own records as it is a worthwhile the tax break (~ $2000 a year).

It is one of the few things Somerville offers that a lot of towns do not that is great for residents. Take advantage of it, but make sure you have all your i's dotted and t's crossed by keeping gas/electric/RMV records/voting enrollment showing you're here on the 1st. Good luck.

Re: timing

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

How funny. I just learned this today, too. We bought our house in March of 2007 and we won't be up for the residential exemption until the 2009 tax year. Delightful, huh? It's going to cost us well over $2000 in property taxes that we wouldn't have to pay if the exemption rules were a bit different. I spent a good chunk of the morning considering writing my alderperson and asking if any kind of different model for determining a residental exemption was up for consideration. It feels like a newcomer tax. I can see waiting until the next fiscal year, but two years if you miss it by one day seems a bit much. The funny part is, we've been Somerville residents for years. We just haven't been homeowners for years.

Your sellers can help

[imnotbrian.livejournal.com]

We bought in the spring, and learned that the previous owners had never applied for the residential exemption, and thus our next few tax bills wouldn't have this discount. We were on good terms with the sellers, and they agreed to give me copies of documents that showed they were owner-residents as of the previous Jan. 1, so I forwarded this to the Assessor's office and got my home qualified for the residential exemption (under the previous owner's name). An odd start to paying property taxes. But this might work for you too -- if you're on good terms with the sellers. Not sure if this would enable the sellers to gain via retroactive reductions in the taxes they (over)paid.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

it's a state approved program that communities can apply for.

here's the blurb from the state site on the residential exemptions indicating that boston, cambridge, and somerville get 30% (http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorterminal&L=6&L0=Home&L1=Local+Officials&L2=Municipal+Data+and+Financial+Management&L3=Municipal+Knowledge+Base&L4=Municipal+Finance+Glossary&L5=Municipal+Finance+Glossary+(Alphabetical+P+through+S)&sid=Ador&b=terminalcontent&f=dls_reference_glossary_refgls_residntlexmpt&csid=Ador)

and, here's the online version of an excel file (http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorterminal&L=6&L0=Home&L1=Local+Officials&L2=Municipal+Data+and+Financial+Management&L3=Municipal+Knowledge+Base&L4=Municipal+Finance+Glossary&L5=Municipal+Finance+Glossary+(Alphabetical+P+through+S)&sid=Ador&b=terminalcontent&f=dls_reference_glossary_refgls_residntlexmpt&csid=Ador) from the state showing all the communities with exemptions and what the percentages are (sorry for the highlighting in the link, it did that when i searched the mass dor site).