Frequently Asked Questions

HOW THE TOWN OF UPTON DETERMINES

PROPERTY VALUES

All cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts assess the value of property using a Mass Appraisal system. This system is a broad approach to predicting the value of properties that did not sell using the information collected about the properties that did sell. It is the application of a small database of information (the sold properties) to a large database of properties (the unsold properties).

As defined by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Mass Appraisal is the use of standardized procedures for collecting data and appraising property to ensure that all properties within a municipality are valued uniformly and equitably. Mass Appraisal is the processes of valuing a universe of properties as of a given valuation date using common data, a standardized procedure, and statistical testing. Unlike individual fee appraisal, which is intended to derive the market value of a single property, the goal of Mass Appraisal is to bring all properties to their full and fair market value, whether properties have sold recently or not, and thus to achieve equity among all property values.

The Department of Revenue requires cities and towns to revalue all properties every five years for certification according to specific requirements set by the Bureau of Local Assessment. The results of the revaluation process must meet statistical standards defined by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue also requires that cities perform interim year adjustments, which are conducted between certification years. Waiting five years between revaluations leads to large adjustments, whereas revaluing every year and annually adjusting to market trends, generally results in smaller increments of change.

In Mass Appraisal, the universe of properties is defined as all properties in a city or town including single-family homes, two-family homes, three-family homes, condominiums, apartments, vacant land, commercial properties, industrial properties, and mixed-use properties. The process described in this document only addresses the mass appraisal of single-family homes and condominiums. 

The valuation date for an assessment as defined in the laws of the Commonwealth is January 1st prior to the fiscal year, and the assessed value reflects estimated market value as of that date. For example, the assessment date for Fiscal Year 2026 is January 1, 2025. To determine the estimated market value of a parcel on January 1, 2023, the arms-length sales (between a willing buyer and a willing seller with no unusual circumstances) that occurred between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 are analyzed.

The standardized procedure followed for determining full and fair market value involves using a model, defining parameters, and performing iterations of statistical analysis to validate the model results. To accomplish this, a sales database is created each year containing information about the sales that occurred in the year prior to the valuation date. This is the small database of information (the sold properties) which will be applied to the large database of properties (the unsold properties). The sales database is used to establish the criteria for applying the characteristics of sold properties to the unsold properties. The standardized procedure used is the following:

1. Create the Sales Analysis database: This is the data collection and verification stage. Actual sales of properties for twelve months prior to the valuation date are collected. Deeds for each sale are received from the Registry of Deeds. Attempts are made to gather any information about financing arrangements, types of transactions, and any special circumstances around each sale. A sales questionnaire is sent to the buyer of the property, the buyer or seller is contacted, and third-party sources, such as real estate brokers, contribute information about the sale. Sold properties are inspected whenever possible. Property card adjustments are made if necessary. At this point, the new assessment value for a sold property is set by the Assessors, and is usually quite close to the sale price.

2. Validate the sales: Sales which are considered verified (also called “qualified sales”) are those that conform to specific criteria set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. These sales are called arms-length sales and must be between a willing buyer and a willing seller with no unusual circumstances. Any sales that do not represent the market are not considered valid to use in the model, as they may cause errors in the results. Such sales are “coded out”. There are various Non-Arms-Length codes used by the Department of Revenue to identify a sale that cannot be considered part of the sales database. Some of these include sales between members of the same family, sale of property substantially changed after the assessment date but before the sale, sales resulting from court orders, foreclosure auctions, or bankruptcy, etc.

3. Verify that the sales meet the Department of Revenue requirements: The Department of Revenue requires that the sales database contain transactions that represent at least 2% of all properties, or a minimum of 20 sales in each class (single-family, condo, etc.). If there are fewer than 20 sales, more than 12 months of sales must be used, until 20 sales have been achieved. This can be twelve months prior to, or six months prior and six months following the valuation period. For the January 2023 valuation for Fiscal Year 2024 tax bills, there were 2,341 single-family homes in Upton and 78 qualified sales (3.33%), and there were 309 condominium units and 49 qualified sales (15.86%).

4. Begin the statistical analysis by stratifying the sales: The sales data is analyzed by grouping sales into specific categories and computing measures of assessment level and uniformity. There are two calculations required by the Department of Revenue called the ASR (which measures assessment level), and the COD (which measures assessment uniformity). Each must fall within specified ranges for each class of property. The ASR is the median assessment to sales ratio, and it measures actual differences between new assessments and sale prices. For all classes of property, the median assessment to sales ratio must be between 90% and 110%.

The COD is the coefficient of dispersion that occurs around the median assessment to sales ratio, and it measures the deviation between the new assessments and the sale prices. For single-family homes and condominiums, the coefficient of dispersion must be less than 10%.

The grouped sales, called “stratifications”, report the median assessment to sales ratio and the coefficient of dispersion for each sale in each category. The categories are: land use (single-family, condo, etc.), neighborhood, house style (ranch, colonial, cape, etc.), actual year the house was built, lot size, and house size. Two other reports called price quartiles and date quartiles show the median assessment to sales ratio and the coefficient of dispersion grouped by the sale price and the sale date. Each stratification report is intended to provide a different perspective of the same data, thus revealing discrepancies that require correction. If the ASR and COD values exceed the values required by the Department of Revenue, then this must be corrected.

5. Bring the ASR and the COD into compliance with the Department of Revenue requirements by changing the values of factors: To bring the new assessed values of sold properties closer to the sales prices of those properties, and thus achieve smaller ranges of ASR and COD values, factors are changed in the sales database. There are many factors which can be adjusted to correct the assessments.  Some apply to all properties and others are property specific. The most dominant factors are the location of the property and the style of the house.

Location: Each year, the neighborhood boundaries are reviewed and modified if necessary. Sales in particular neighborhoods, when taken in the context of all characteristics of that neighborhood, contribute to the value of the neighborhood factor. As the stratification reports are run, and median assessment to sales ratios and the coefficients of dispersion are reviewed, the value of the neighborhood adjustment factor is evaluated. If changing the value of the factor for the sold properties in a particular neighborhood improves the ASR and the COD and changing this factor does not cause the ASR and the COD to vary beyond required ranges in other stratifications, then this means the land value for that particular neighborhood has either risen or fallen, and the change to the neighborhood adjustment factor corrects this.

House Style: The style of the house has an associated base rate per square foot assigned to it, which is used to adjust its value. Depending on sales, these base rates can change, and therefore are reviewed and adjusted each year as part of the sales analysis. If the base rate for a particular house style is changed, and all other stratifications maintain median assessment to sales ratios and coefficients of dispersion values within acceptable ranges, then such a change to the base rate can be considered a valid correction to the sales database.

6. Valuation of land: A property assessment is the sum of the land value and the structures value. The land value is determined either by land-only sales or by the “land residual method.” The structures value is determined by state regulated cost tables adjusted for Yarmouth, and by weighted measures such as the construction grade of the house or how well it has been maintained.

• Land Only Sales: Determining the value of land is straightforward when a sale occurs which had no structures on it. That sale can be considered representative of the land value for properties in the neighborhood in which it is located. Properties where the structures are removed after the sale require additional information and judgment to determine the land value, and this may involve further study of trends in the neighborhood in which the sale occurred.

• Land Residual Method: In a Town like Yarmouth, where few land sales occur each year, a method called “land residual” is also used to determine land values. This method extracts the value of the land from the total property value by subtracting the value of the structures from the total sale price. The remaining value is considered the land only value.

• Land Curve: The land values are then plotted on a graph called the “land curve” and are used to set the price per square foot for each zoning category. The land curve also determines the discounts for parcels that are smaller than minimum zoning requirements where the property is located.

7. Use the model repeatedly, adjusting factors as necessary: At this stage, three principal parameters (neighborhood adjustment factor, house style base rate, and land price) are being analyzed and adjusted. Examples of other factors that may be changed are the site index, the condition factor, the effective age of the house, and the construction grade of the structures. Even factors such as bedroom and bathroom count, interior wall material, building sub area sizes, outbuilding values, can all be changed to explain why a property sold for a particular price. Each time a new value for a factor is tried, another series of stratifications is run. All stratifications must yield the required range values for median assessment to sales ratios and coefficients of dispersion.

8. Run the final stratification: No matter how the data is divided, the adjustment of the selected factors should be arriving at the known sales price. The resulting analysis will show an approximately equal median assessment to sales ratio and coefficient of dispersion through all stratifications of the sales analysis database. At this point, the Department of Revenue requirements for certification have been met– the ASR is between 90% and 110%, and the COD is less than 10%.

9. Apply the sales analysis database to the entire universe of properties: The more carefully the sales data was researched and refined in each of the previous steps of this process, the better the model can predict the new assessment values of the unsold properties. It is time to apply the characteristics defined in the sold properties to the values of the unsold properties. At this point, the Mass Appraisal process is over and the preliminary assessment data is reviewed by the Board of Assessors and submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for approval.

This information is meant to be a brief overview of the assessment process; the actual process may require additional information and documentation, as deemed required by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and its Bureau of Local Assessments.

This is a very common occurrence with lenders being extremely cautious with their appraisals. An Appraisal can give an opinion of value greater than or less than the Assessed Value as the appraiser typically uses sales data within the past 6 months and Assessed Values is based on the prior calendar year sales. Assessed Value for Real Estate Tax is retrospective - it is based on past sales activity. An Appraisal is typically the opinion of the current market value. Bank appraisals are usually different than the town's assessment valuations. What you must compare is your tax assessment valuation relative to the assessment valuation set for the town of Upton. Is your home consistently assessed with other properties in the town of Upton?

All taxpayers have the right to contest their assessment. To do so you must file an application for abatement in writing on an approved form with the board of assessors. Tax abatement forms are available from your assessor's office. If tax bills were mailed on or before December 31st then you must file for abatement by February 1st of the next year.

It is very important that you complete the application and include specific details. The Assessors will provide you with the appropriate forms to complete your application process.

It is a good idea to visit the assessor's office and do a comparison of your property to similar properties within your neighborhood. To start, request a printout of your property record card and verify that all the data is correct including land size, house style, size based on total square footage as measured using the outside dimensions of the structure, amenities such as fireplace, bathrooms, air conditioning, garages, attic and basement finished/unfinished, decks, porches, and etc. The more details you include with the application showing comparisons the better. With over three thousand property assessments it is possible for us to make mistakes. The key and most important factor is consistency throughout the town and more specifically within neighborhoods. Please keep in mind the new assessments are based on sales analysis of property sold during the preceding year.

The Board of Assessors is working for you. Please contact us with any questions at 508-529-1002. Our office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 am to 4 pm, Tuesdays from 8 am to 6 pm, and Friday from 8 am to Noon. The Assessors are also available by appointment outside of office hours, at a mutually agreeable time.

Compare your value to similar properties in your neighborhood.

Land values can vary dramatically based on:

• Location
• Conformance to zoning
• Waterfront, View
• External or internal factors

The following are some, but not all of the variables that affect value:

• Location
• Style of home
• Desirability of the neighborhood
• External influences
• Traffic, schools, waterfront, view
• Buildings
• Size of the buildings
• Quality of construction
• Condition
• Amenities

These are carefully analyzed based on:

• Land sales
• Building costs
• Single and multiple family home sales
• Condominium sales
• Business Income and Expense statements
• Sales of land with buildings

The reason the total bill increases is because the town budget increases.

The tax rate is set as a direct result of Upton's town meeting process, so the voters decide if taxes go up. Individually, If the budget stays the same, some property owners will go up, some will go down, and some will stay just about the same.

The Town determines the amount of revenue (R) to be raised. The Town then totals all the assessments (A). The Town divides the revenue (R) by the Assessments (A) to get the actual tax rate: Tax Rate = R/A.

If the value of property decreases then the rate must increase to meet the budget. The opposite effect occurs when the values increase then the tax rate will decrease.

Example:

• The affect of valuation change on the tax rate

The town valuation is $5,000,000 and the town budget was $1,000,000. The tax rate is calculated by dividing the amount to be raised $1,000,000 by the Valuation divided by 1000 ($1,000,000 / (5000000/1000) equals a tax rate of $20.

If the valuation decreases and the budget stays the same then the rate increases.

If the Town valuation decreases to $4,000,000 and the town budget remains flat at $1,000,000. The tax rate is calculated by dividing the amount to be raised $1,000,000 by the Valuation divided by 1000 ($1,000,000 / (4000000/1000) equals a tax rate of $25.

If the valuation increases and the budget stays the same then the rate decreases.

If the Town valuation increases to $6,000,000 and the town budget remains flat at $1,000,000. The tax rate is calculated by dividing the amount to be raised $1,000,000 by the Valuation divided by 1000 ($1,000,000 / (6000000/1000) equals a tax rate of $16.66.

The tax rate is a result of the correlation of the total assessed value of all property in the town of Upton and the amount of money the town requires satisfying its budgetary commitments.

The State of Massachusetts offers a variety of exemptions for certain qualifying individuals, including elderly persons, blind persons, disabled veterans, a surviving spouse or orphaned minor child, a widow or orphaned minor of a police officer or fire fighter killed in the line of duty, and individuals with extreme medical and financial hardships. Exemptions are distinguished from abatements in that exemptions refer to the condition of a person, while abatements refer to an incorrect assessment of a property.

The qualifying date for all exemptions is July 1st, the first day of the Fiscal Year. Applications are due within ninety (90) days of the date of the postmark of the third quarter, or actual, tax bill. An additional qualification for all exemptions is ownership and occupancy of the property.

Because of the number and complexity of exemptions, the following information is intended to give you a general idea of what is available. If you suspect that you may be eligible for an exemption or have any questions, call the Assessor's Office at 508-529-1002.

Clause Tax Exemptions

• 17D
  • Basic Qualifications: Age 70 or older, Surviving spouse or orphaned minor
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: $40,000
  • Exemption Amount: $175
• 41C
  • Age 65 or older - single
    • Max Income: $20,000
    • Max Assets: $40,000
    • Exemption Amount: $1,000
  • Age 65 or older - married
    • Max Income: $30,000
    • Max Assets: $55,000
    • Exemption Amount: $1,000
• 37A
  • Basic Qualifications: Legally Blind
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: $437.50
• 18
  • Basic Qualifications: Extreme Hardship
  • Max Income: None, please note: Granted at the discretion of the Board of Assessors
  • Max Assets: None, please note: Granted at the discretion of the Board of Assessors

Veterans

• 22
  • 10% disability or purple heart
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: $250
• 22A
  • Basic Qualifications: loss of foot, hand, or eye
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: $425
• 22B
  • Basic Qualifications: loss of two limbs or eyes
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: $775
• 22C
  • Basic Qualifications: specially adapted housing
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: $950
• 22E
  • Basic Qualifications: 100% disability
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: $600
• 22F
  • Basic Qualifications: paraplegic
  • Max Income: None
  • Max Assets: None
  • Exemption Amount: 100%

The Tax Deferral Program

Unlike a property exemption, the tax deferral is a program that allows a homeowner to defer the payment of their tax to a later date, typically when the owner passes away or sells the home. If you are 65 or older and have an annual income not exceeding $40,000 you may defer up to 100% of your annual property tax. The taxpayer must enter into a Deferral and Recovery Agreement with the Board of Assessors. A lien is placed upon the property, and deferred taxes accumulate with simple interest at 8%.

An Additional Alternative: The Property Tax Work-Off Program

Beginning in Fiscal 2006, the Board of Selectmen adopted a program called the Property Tax Work-Off Program. This program allows older residents to reduce their property tax liability by up to $888 by volunteering to work in various departments of the Town. You must be aged 60 or older and possess the appropriate skill for the department requiring the assistance. If you think you might be interested in this program, contact the Council on Aging at 508-529-4558.

If the Board of Assessors denies your application for abatement, or if you believe the abated value is still incorrect, you have the right to appeal this decision to the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board. You must file your appeal within three months of the Board's decision. You may contact the Appellate Tax Board at 617-727-3100, or visit their website.

If you believe your property value is too high you should speak to someone in the Assessor's Office. The first step is to review your property record card to insure that the data is correct. Quite often, if the value is incorrect it is due to a simple data error. The next step would be to review the sales of similar properties within the community, and particularly within a neighborhood similar to yours. The assessing staff will assist you with this process if you need help, as all data is available in their office.

Once you have completed these steps, if you still believe the assessment of your property is incorrect you should apply for an abatement. You must apply for an abatement by February 1st of any given year, or thirty (30) days from the postmark on the third quarter tax bill, whichever date is later. Upon receipt of your application, the Assessor will most likely contact you to arrange for an inspection of your property to take place in order to verify the accuracy of the data. The Board of Assessors has three months from the date they are received to act upon abatement applications, and is required to notify you in writing within ten days of their decision, regardless of whether the decision is to abate or deny your application.

Finally, it is important that you understand that abatements are granted or denied based upon valuation issues, not tax issues. In other words, if your issue is with your tax bill but not your value you have no grounds to apply for an abatement. Tax dollars are determined by the spending at Town Meeting, not the value of your property, and while the Assessor has total jurisdiction over the assessments on all properties within the community, they have no jurisdiction over spending.

You have no legal obligation to allow the Assessor to inspect your property unless you apply for an abatement of your property tax. However, for the Assessor to properly perform their duty of applying fair and equitable values to all properties within the community it is imperative that the data they have on each property is accurate. For this reason, the taxpayers' cooperation with the inspection process is very important and greatly appreciated by the Assessor.

Valuation in Massachusetts is based on "full and fair cash value", or the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller on the open market. Determining the "full and fair cash value" involves reviewing the sales of similar properties (the market approach to value), what the property would cost today to replace (the cost approach to value), and for income-producing properties, a knowledge of current economic conditions such as rental and vacancy rates, current interest rates, and the rate of return a potential purchaser can expect to receive on their investment (the income approach to value). The Assessor does not create value. Rather, he/she has the responsibility to discover and reflect the changes that are occurring in the marketplace.

Proposition 2 ½ is a State law that places constraints on the amount of real and personal property taxes that the Town is allowed to raise in any given Fiscal Year. The amount of tax dollars, or levy, allowed under Proposition 2 ½ is called the "levy limit". The levy limit is determined by multiplying the previous year's limit by 2 ½ percent, and adding to that the tax dollars generated from any new construction within the Town that is not the result of property revaluation. The levy limit under Proposition 2 ½ may be exceeded only by the Town's approval of a debt exclusion or override. A debt exclusion allows the Town to exceed the levy limit only for the life of the debt, i.e., the terms of the borrowing, while an override is a permanent increase in the levy limit.

The Board of Assessors is responsible for determining the fair market value of all property located within the Town. There are three principal types of local taxes administered by the Board: real estate, personal property, and motor vehicle excise. The Board is also responsible for the administration of all laws relative to local taxation as outlined in the General Laws of Massachusetts and is supervised in the administration of these laws by the Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services. Additionally, the Board of Assessors is responsible for compiling and submitting all data required for setting the tax rate on an annual basis to the Department of Revenue for approval on an annual basis.

The assessing department does not raise or lower taxes. The amount of taxes charged is determined by the amount of tax dollars, or tax levy, required to cover the cost of local services. The tax levy is determined by the town's spending, which is determined by the voters at town meeting. While the assessing department is responsible for determining each person's share of the levy, they have no control over an individual's tax bill.