What are Real Estate taxes?
Real estate is the physical land and all that's affixed to it. The tax on it is an ad valorem (based on value) tax and that tax funds the government. Approximately 75% of the Town of Wellesley's budget (including schools) is funded through property tax.
How are my Real Estate taxes calculated?
CALCULATING REAL ESTATE TAXES
It is the responsibility of the Assessor's Office to establish the taxable valuation of each
individual piece of property in the Town. However, the Assessors do not create value.
Buyers and sellers create the value via their transactions in the marketplace. The
Assessors have the legal and moral responsibility to study those transactions and assess
the property accordingly.
At Town Meeting each year a budget is voted on by Town Meeting Members taking into
account the limits of Proposition 2 ½, and how much money will be needed to meet all
appropriations and other expenses. The assessors have no control over the Town’s
Budget.
The difference between the amount approved and the money received from other
revenue sources (i.e. state aid, licensing fees, permits, automobile excise) must be raised
by property taxation.
The valuation assessments are developed independently from the budget and are used
only in the last step of the budgeting process to distribute the Tax Levy. Changing
property values does not affect the overall Tax Levy, but it does redistribute the levy.
The assessors calculate the annual tax rate as a means to distribute the Town’s budget
obligations.
The tax rate is calculated by taking the total tax to be levied and dividing by the total
valuation of taxable property. This results in a tax rate expressed in dollars per thousand
dollars of valuation.
Example: For Fiscal Year 2005
Total Tax Levy $66,326,547
Total Assessed Value $7,895,998,000 =$8.40/1,000
How do I pay a Real Estate bill?
• Real Estate taxes are billed and payable quarterly. Over the course of the Town's fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) the due dates are August 1, November 1, February 1 and May 1 (or the Monday that follows these dates if they fall on a weekend).
• If you have the bill, send a check and the Collector's copy of the bill in the envelope provided. If you don't have the envelope, send it to: Tax Collector, P.O. Box 9187, Wellesley, MA 02481-9187. Please do not include any correspondence as this envelope goes directly to the Town's bank for immediate deposit.
• If you do not have the bill, send a check with the owner's name, the property address, the tax period and amount being paid clearly indicated to: Tax Collector, Town of Wellesley, 525 Washington St., Wellesley, MA 02482.
• If you want a receipt or need to pay by cash or simply want to pay in person, come to the Wellesley Town Hall @ 525 Washington Street, 1st Floor Treasurer/Collector's Office between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
• You may also pay online by Logging in on the Town or Treasurer/Collector's home pages after a one-time registration. eBill Registration eBill Log In
• Questions regarding the payment of your bill can be directed to the Office of the Treasurer/Collector at (781) 431-1019 x2260.
How do I dispute my Real Estate taxes if I think the property value is too high?
The appeal process for disputing your property tax bill is via the Abatement Procedure. The application is available at the Assessor's Office in Town Hall and must be filed after the mailing of the Third Quarter tax bill (December), but no later than the close of business on February 1st. No abatement can be granted unless the application is filed on time.
Filing an appeal does not put your tax payment on hold. Tax payments need to be rendered in a timely manner in order to protect further appeal rights to the State.
If you think your assessed value is wrong you must provide your opinion of value on the abatement application. You may attach an appraisal to the application to support your opinion of value, but you must realize it is another appraiser's assumption and may have been influenced by the purpose of the appraisal.
The Board of Assessors has 90 days from the date the application was received to act on the appeal. Each and every appeal will receive written notification of the Assessor's action.
Any amendment to taxes paid are adjusted on the fourth quarter bill. If there has been an overpayment, a refund is generated at the close of the fiscal year (June 30).
If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of Assessors, you may file an appeal to the Appellate Tax Board, but this must be done within 3 months of the Assessor's decision.
For further information contact the Assessor's Office at (781) 431-1019 ext. 2275.
Are there any type of Tax Savings for qualified individuals?
For more in-depth information, take a look at the following brochures from the Assesor's office
Proposition 2 ½ is the title given to an initiative petition adopted by voters in Massachusetts in 1980.
The principal features of Proposition 2 ½ are related to the total amount of property taxes which a city or town can raise each year. It contains two limitations on the amount of property taxes to be raised:
• The property tax levy ceiling (the amount raised) can never exceed 2 ½ % of the full cash value of all taxable property in the city or town. A tax rate can not be higher than $25.00 per $1,000 of valuation.
• The property tax levy limit cannot be increased more than the 2 ½ % over the prior years levy limit unless it gets voters' approval to override the cap.
The levy limit provisions of Proposition 2 ½ affect the total amount of taxes to be raised by a city or town. It does not apply to an individual tax bill.
Whether the tax rate for a community will increase or decrease from the prior year will depend upon the levy decided upon by the community. It also depends on whether property values appreciate, depreciate or remain steady in the particular community.
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