2010 Preliminary Tax Bills are out!

They are due October 5, 2009

Click here to pay taxes online now. Be sure to have your bill number handy!

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The Town of Royalston has recently adopted a new semi-annual preliminary tax payment system, which will affect your property tax bills for Fiscal Year 2010 (July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010).

Benefits from The New System

Under the old system, property tax payments were due twice a year, ideally this was November 1 and May 1. However in practice, communities frequently issued their tax bills at different times during the year. As a result, taxpayers were often uncertain when their bills would be issued, and had difficulty in planning their payments. Also, communities were forced to borrow money to have sufficient funds to meet their bills. The new preliminary billing system has been shown, in a number of other Massachusetts communities, to provide the following advantages:

1. Greater certainty of regular payment due dates for taxpayers;
2. More even distribution of income for cities and towns; and
3. A significant reduction, even elimination, of costly municipal borrowing in anticipation of tax revenues.

How Our Preliminary Tax Payment System Will Work

Under the preliminary tax payment system, you will be sent a preliminary tax bill each year by July 1. Your preliminary tax will be based on the adjusted net tax owed (including any betterments, special assessments and other charges added to the tax) on your property for the prior fiscal year and as a general rule will be no more than half (50%) of that amount. Adjustments are made for any abatements or exemptions granted in the prior year, and any tax increases allowed under Proposition 2.5 for the current fiscal year.

Your preliminary tax bill (about half of last year’s bill) will be payable in a single installment due on October 1st 2009.

Example: If your Fiscal Year 2009 tax was $2000 (including any betterments, special assessments and other charges added to the tax), and you were granted an abatement of $400, your FY09 net tax due was $1600. After a tax increase adjustment of 2.5%, your adjusted FY09 net tax due would be $1640 and your Fiscal Year 2010 preliminary tax would, in most instances, be no more than $820. This $820 would be payable in a single installment, due on October 1, 2009. If for some reason preliminary tax bills were mailed after August 1, you would have until November 1 (or 30 days after the bills are mailed, if later) to pay the entire $820.

Your actual tax bill will be sent to you on or about December 31.

This bill will show the assessed valuation of your property, the tax rate and the amount of property taxes you owe for the fiscal year, including any betterments, special assessments or other charges that are added to the tax. The tax bill will also show the amount of the preliminary tax billed earlier (if paid), as a credit against your actual tax for the year.

The balance of your tax bill must be paid by April 1.

Example: If your actual Fiscal Year 2010 tax bill is $2100 and you had previously been billed $820 in preliminary taxes for the year; you would have a remaining balance of $1280. This $1280 balance would be payable on April 1, 2010. If for some reason, actual tax bills were mailed after December 31st then you would have until May 1 (or 30 days after the bills are mailed, if later) to pay the entire balance of $1280.

Late Payments

Under the preliminary tax payment system, interest on late tax payments will be charged for the number of days that the payment is actually delinquent. For example, if the actual tax is due on April 1st and it is not timely paid, then interest will be charged from that date, until the date the payment is made.

Answers to Common Questions about the Preliminary Tax System:

Will the new system affect the amount of property taxes I pay for the year?

No. The amount you pay is the same under either system. Either way, the amount is based on the valuation of your property and the tax rate. The tax rate reflects the level of taxes needed to fund local budget decisions and must still be within the limits of Proposition 2 1/2.

Will the new system affect my right to seek an abatement or exemption?

No, these rights are unchanged. Once the actual tax bills are mailed, you will still be able to file an abatement application with the assessors, if you wish to contest your assessment. Applications for abatement must be filed on or before April 1, 2010 unless the actual bills are mailed after December 31, 2009. In that case, abatement applications must be filed on or before May 1, 2010 or, the 30th day after your bill is mailed, whichever is later. Applications for personal exemptions and the residential exemption must be filed within three months of the date the actual tax bills (not the preliminary bills) were mailed. All other exemption applications are due the same date as abatements.