Show All Answers

1. What does the Assessor do?

The Assessor is required under Massachusetts General laws: Chapter 59, to list and value all real and personal property. Valuation is subject to ad valorem taxation on an assessment roll each year. The "ad valorem" bases for taxation means that all property should be taxed "according to value" which is the definition. Assessed values in Massachusetts are based on full and fair cash value, or 100 percent of market value.

Assessors are required to submit these values to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for certification every three years. In the years between certification the Assessors must also maintain values and make adjustments according to market conditions. The Town of Needham reassesses values each and every year. This is done so that the property taxpayer pays his or her fair share of the cost of local government in proportion to the amount of money the property is worth, on a yearly basis rather than every three years.

The Needham Assessors Office appraises and assesses approximately 12,000 parcels of real and personal property each year.

2. What doesn't the Assessor do?

The Assessor does not raise or lower taxes. The Assessor does not make the laws that affect property owners. The Assessors do not make property values. The Massachusetts Constitution requires that direct taxes on persons and property be proportionately and reasonably imposed. In addition, the Declaration of Rights, Part 1, Article 10, requires each individual to bear his fair share of the public expense.

The Board of Assessors is required to annually assess taxes in an amount sufficient to cover the state and local appropriations chargeable to the town. These taxes assessed will include state taxes, which have been duly certified to the Board, town taxes voted by the town (including Prop. 2 1/2), and all taxes voted and certified by the annual Town Meeting.

The Assessors' Office has nothing to do with the total amount of taxes collected. The Assessors' primary responsibility is to find and list the "full and fair cash value" of your property, so that you only pay your fair share of the taxes. The tax rate is determined by all the taxing agencies within the town, and is the basis for the budget needed or demanded by the voters to provide the services, such as schools, roads, and public safety. The tax rate is the factor that is applied to the total value of all property in the town and the levy.

3. What is the tax levy?

The tax levy is the amount of money that must be raised through local taxation. Once the town budget is determined through town meeting actions the amount of local aid, i.e. Cherry Sheet reimbursements, school aid and other sources are subtracted. The amount remaining must be paid for through local taxation.

4. What is Proposition 2 1/2?

In 1982, the people of Massachusetts through an initiative petition amended the Massachusetts Constitution by providing that this levy could only increase by 2 1/2 percent each year, plus the amount of "new growth" in the community. Proposition places restraints on the amount of money raised by the town and how much the levy can be increased from year-to-year. It provides the town with the annual increases in their levy limits of 2 1/2 percent over the previous year's levy plus an additional amount based the valuation of certain new construction and other allowable growth (i.e. new Personal Property accounts) that is not the result of property revaluation. This is known as "New Growth". Proposition 2 1/2 does not mean that one's property value cannot increase more than 2 1/2 percent each year. Historically speaking, under Proposition 2 1/2 taxpayers can expect a levy increase of a minimum of 2 1/2 percent each year since its inception.

5. How is your assessment determined?

To arrive at "full and fair" cash value for your property, the assessors must know what "willing sellers" and "willing buyers" are doing in the marketplace. The Assessor must collect, record and analyze a great deal of information about property and market characteristics in order to estimate the fair market value. Some of the things that the Assessor looks at include current construction costs, zoning changes, financing and local economic conditions and neighborhood character changes. The Assessor uses the internationally accepted appraisal approaches, Market, Income and Cost to arrive at the valuation. Massachusetts Assessors and most other states do not assess individual properties. Using Mass Appraisal techniques properties are stratified by neighborhoods, style, age, sale date and selling prices to determine values for all of the similar properties in the community.

The object of an assessment program is to estimate "full and fair" cash value as of January (known as the assessment date) of the year preceding the fiscal year.

6. How can my taxes increase?

When the people of the community vote for additional taxes, an individual's tax bill will increase. Property improvements such as new construction, additions, major renovations (kitchens and baths) can increase property values. The additional value is not calculated by the cost to renovate. It is determined by what similar properties with similar characteristics are selling for. The Assessor does not create value. Property owners make value by the transactions that take place in the real estate market. The Assessor has the legal and moral responsibility to appraise your property accordingly.