Abatement Information

Abatement Application

An abatement is a reduction of the assessed value of a property that results in a corresponding reduction of the real estate tax bill. A taxpayer may apply for an abatement each year between the mailing of the third quarter tax bill and the due date of the 3rd quarter Actual Tax Bill. The deadline to appeal the Fiscal Year 2023 assessed valuation is February 1st, 2023. No application received after February 1st can be accepted. You may find the link to the Application for Abatement here

Basis or Ground for an Appeal

• Overvaluation: The assessed value is greater than fair market value. Fiscal Year 2023's valuation date is 1/1/2022 using sales that occurred during calendar year 2021
• Disproportionate Assessment: A class of property is assessed at a different percentage than the entire town or a single property is assessed differently than like properties.
  Disproportionate assessments are extremely rare since all assessments are based on computer models.
• Improper Classification:  Misclassification of a residential property is assessed as commercial property

Procedure after the Application is Submitted

After submitting the Application for Abatement to the Assessors Office, the property owner must schedule a full interior inspection of the property. The Principal Assessor will inspect both the interior and exterior of the property to verify the information on record in accurate. At this time, the homeowner may provide additional information to the Assessor, either verbally or in writing, to support their opinion of value. A full inspection of the property is required, and no application will be considered without full access to the property.

After the inspection of the property, the Assessor will present the appeal to the Board of Assessors during a scheduled meeting. The information provided to the Assessors will include the findings of the property inspection, highlighting any discrepancies found between the inspection of the home the information on file, the evidence provided by the homeowner and a review of the comparable sales of the property the occurred during calendar year 2021. After presenting the information, the Board will then discuss the case and then decide on whether an abatement is justified.

The Board of Assessors has 90 days to act on the appeal. The property owner will be notified via postal service of the Board's decision. If an abatement is granted, additional documentation will be provided including the impact on outstanding real estate tax bill(s). 

Fiscal Year 2023 Assessed Valuations are available for your review and accessible by using the link on the top left side of the page.  

2021 Sales used to establish 2023 valuations may be reviewed here