2014 Applications for Abatement Available in Sudbury

If a taxpayer disagrees with the assessment, he or she has the right to file for an abatement as provided in M.G.L. Ch. 59, Sections 59-69. The time for filing an application for abatement under M.G.L. Ch. 59, Sections 59-69 is quite specific.  To be considered timely filed the FY 2014 applications for abatement must be filed on an approved application (State Tax form 128) within 30 days of the mailing of the actual tax bill (3rdquarter installment).  The filing time frame for FY 2014 is: January 1, 2014 to February 3, 2014 (one month).  The completed application form must be returned to the Assessors Office: Town of Sudbury, Assessors Office, 278 Old Sudbury Rd. Sudbury, MA. 01776.

Consider the following prior to filing for abatement:

• Assessors in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are charged with valuing every property in their respective municipalities fairly and equitably.
• Each year the Sudbury Board of Assessors assigns a “full and fair cash value” to every parcel of real estate in the town.
• The town operates on a fiscal year basis, which runs from July 1 to June 30. Assessments are approximations of what the value of each property was on January 1 prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. 
• Property assessments are always established as of a fixed point in time unlike fee appraisals and the real-time sales market. The data used to establish assessed values are compiled from sales of the preceding calendar year.  For example, FY 2014 commenced July 1, 2013, and the values were fixed as of January 1, 2013.
• The sales data used to determine assessed values were extracted from calendar year 2012 property sales. Only marketplace-derived sales (aka “arm’s length”) may be used. Arm’s length or marketplace-derived sales are those involving a willing buyer and a willing seller unrelated to each other and free from compulsion to buy or sell. 
• Application forms are available at the Assessors Office 278 Old Sudbury Rd. Sudbury, MA. 01776
• For further information call 978-639-3393.