NORWELL GLOSSARY of Terms
Abatement: A notice on an approved form to the Board of Assessors that the taxpayer disagrees with the assessment on his/her real or personal property.
This must be filed no later than the due date of the 3rd quarter bill. This is usually February 1 st.
Appellate Tax Board: A quasi-judicial board for taxpayer appeal after a Board of Assessors has made a decision regarding an abatement application.
Application must be made within three months after the date of decision by the Board of Assessors. Filing information is available at: Appellate Tax Board, 399 Washington Street., Boston, MA 02108-529. Phone number is 617-727-3100. There is a fee required to file the appeal at this level.
Decision: After review of the abatement application, the Board of Assessors makes its decision on whether to grant or deny the application. Once this is done, the property owner has three months to file with the Appellate Tax Board.
Exemption: A tax relief provision under Massachusetts Law for certain qualifying taxpayers: elderly persons, blind persons, disabled veterans, surviving spouse or orphaned minor child, widow or orphaned minor child of a police officer or firefighters and extreme hardship.
Neighborhood Designation: This refers to the neighborhood or section of the Town in which a property is located. It is the means whereby the assessed value of a property reflects the effect of its location within the Town.
New Growth: This is the term used to describe the additional Proposition 2 1/2 tax revenue raising capacity which is permitted by reason of the new building construction which takes place within the Town.
Quarterly Tax Bill: The property tax bill in the Town of Norwell is issued four times a year. The normal due dates are as follows: the first quarter bill of
the fiscal year (preliminary) is due on August 1 st ; the second (preliminary) on November 1 st ; the third (actual) is due on February 1 st and the fourth (actual)
on May 1 st. The third quarter tax bill is the first one to be based on the actual assessment and tax rate for any given fiscal year. Therefore it reflects the calculation of the fiscal year's total tax due and the deduction of the first two preliminary tax payments. The remaining tax due is divided in two to represent the third and fourth quarter tax payments.
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