Personal Property Taxes

Information about taxable personal property, filing requirements, valuation, tax rates, payments, abatement, and exemptions in the Town of Bridgewater.

What Is Personal Property Tax?

All personal property owned by Massachusetts and non-Massachusetts residents and businesses that is situated in Massachusetts on January 1 is taxable unless an exemption applies.

To be situated in Massachusetts, the property must be physically located in the state on January 1 and must have some degree of permanence. Most property owned by non-Massachusetts residents and businesses and located temporarily in Massachusetts, such as property in transit, is not considered situated in Massachusetts and is not taxable.

Personal Property Defined

G.L. c. 59 does not define personal property, but the term is synonymous with “movables.” Personal property includes, for example, furniture, equipment, farm animals, electronic devices, pipes, and wires.

Personal Property Returns

Returns are due March 1.

An owner of taxable personal property on January 1 must file an annual personal property return, known as the Form of List (State Tax Form 2), with the Board of Assessors of the city or town in which the property is situated on that date. G.L. c. 59, § 29.

An owner of household furnishings and effects at a residential property in Massachusetts that is not the owner’s domicile, such as a summer or second residence, must file State Tax Form 2HF listing those furnishings and effects.

Cellular and mobile wireless telecommunications companies must file State Tax Form 2MT.

All charitable, benevolent, educational, literary, temperance, or scientific organizations and trusts owning personal property on January 1 must file State Tax Form 3ABC.

Personal Property Return Forms

• State Tax Form 2 – Return of Personal Property (Businesses/Corporations) - Click Here
• State Tax Form 2HF – Second Residence Form of List - Click Here
• State Tax Form 2MT – Mobile Communications Taxable Personal Property - Click Here
• State Tax Form 3ABC – Return of Property Held for Charitable Purposes - Click Here

Personal Property Valuation

Cost Approach

Personal property is assessed at fair cash value as of January 1 each year. Assessors generally use the cost method to estimate the value of personal property, typically relying on industry cost manuals. This may be reproduction, replacement, or original cost, less depreciation as the situation warrants.

Depreciation must be based on the age, condition, and quality of the property. Property still in use has a utility value, even if its life expectancy has been exceeded and it has zero value for accounting or regulatory purposes.

Generally, property in use should not be depreciated below 20 percent, although depreciation to as low as five percent might be appropriate where economic obsolescence principles apply.

Utility corporations are valued based on a blended method combining net book value and replacement cost new less depreciation.

Tax Rate

After the assessors receive the Commissioner’s certifications, the Town Council conducts a public hearing on the issue of allocating the local property tax levy among the four classes of real property and personal property pursuant to G.L. c. 40, § 56.

Once the public hearing has been held and the percentages of the tax levy to be paid by each class of real property have been determined, the assessors submit the information to the Bureau of Accounts to certify the tax rate(s). The tax rate is determined using the total valuations, as certified by the Commissioner, and the percentages of the tax levy, as determined by local officials.

Payment Information

A notice of preliminary personal property tax shall be sent no later than July 1 of each year and is payable in two installments:

• August 1 – First preliminary installment
• November 1 – Second preliminary installment

After these dates, unpaid amounts become delinquent and are subject to interest.

The actual tax bill is issued after the tax rate for the fiscal year has been established and credit has been given for the preliminary tax payments. The actual tax is payable in two installments:

• February 1 – First actual installment
• May 1 – Second actual installment

Payment Due Dates

If the last day for making a tax payment without incurring interest occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or a day on which a municipal office is closed as authorized for a weather-related or public safety emergency, payment may be made on the next day the municipal office is open without penalty or interest.

Personal Property Tax Abatements

An abatement is a reduction in the tax assessed on your property for the fiscal year. To dispute your valuation or assessment, or to correct another billing problem or error that caused your tax bill to be higher than it should be, you must apply for an abatement.

Who May File an Application?

The person or entity to whom the personal property tax is assessed, a subsequent owner, executors, administrators, authorized agents of the owner, or persons with a legal interest in or possession of the property may file an abatement application to contest the valuation, classification, or assessment.

In some cases, you must pay all or a portion of the tax before you can file.

Abatement Filing Deadline

Your application must be filed with the assessors on or before the date the first installment payment of the actual tax bill mailed for the fiscal year is due, unless you are a mortgagee. If so, your application must be filed during the last 10 days of the abatement application period.

These deadlines cannot be extended or waived by the Assessors for any reason.

If your application is not timely filed, you lose all rights to an abatement and the Assessors cannot by law grant you one.

Timely Filing Requirements

To be timely filed, your application must be:

1. Received by the Assessors on or before the filing deadline; or
2. Mailed by United States Mail, first-class postage prepaid, to the proper address of the Assessors on or before the filing deadline, as shown by a postmark made by the United States Postal Service.

Application for Abatement

Please fill out the application and submit all supporting documentation by mail or email to assessors@bridgewaterma.org.

Assessors’ Disposition

The Assessors have three months from the date your application is filed to act on it unless you agree in writing, before that period expires, to extend it for a specific time. If the Assessors do not act on your application within the original or extended period, it is deemed denied. You will be notified in writing whether an abatement has been granted or denied.

Appeals

You may appeal the Board of Assessors’ decision regarding your application to the Appellate Tax Board or, if applicable, the County Commissioners.

The appeal must be filed within three months of the date the Assessors acted on your application or the date your application was deemed denied, whichever is applicable. The disposition notice will provide further information about the appeal procedure and deadline.

Taxable Personal Property

All personal property owned by Massachusetts and non-Massachusetts residents and businesses that is situated in Massachusetts on January 1 is taxable unless an exemption applies.

Individuals, Partnerships, Associations, Trusts & Certain LLCs

All tangible personal property is generally taxable. Individuals are entitled to exemptions for household furniture and effects at their domicile, farm utensils, tools of a mechanic’s trade, and boats, fishing gear, and nets up to a value of $10,000 owned and used in the individual’s business if engaged exclusively in commercial fishing. G.L. c. 59, § 5, cl. 20.

Business Corporations

Taxable property includes poles, underground conduits, wires, pipes, and certain machinery used in the conduct of business, subject to the exemptions provided by G.L. c. 59, § 5, cl. 16(2).

Manufacturing Corporations

Taxable property includes poles, underground conduits, wires, pipes, and certain tangible personal property used in the manufacture or generation of electricity, subject to the exemptions provided by G.L. c. 59, § 5, cl. 16(3).

Financial Institutions & Certain Insurance Companies

Taxable property includes poles, underground conduits, wires, pipes, and machinery used in manufacturing or in supplying or distributing water, as applicable under G.L. c. 59, § 5, cl. 16(1).

Certain Out-of-State Insurance Corporations

All tangible personal property requested in the applicable schedules may be taxable as provided under G.L. c. 59, § 5, cl. 16(1).

Personal Property Exemptions

Several exemptions from personal property tax may apply depending on factors including the legal form of the owner, the type of property, and, in some cases, the use of the property.

Most exemptions are set forth in several clauses of G.L. c. 59, § 5. However, some are contained in other general laws or provided by court decisions. Some exemptions are not complete exemptions from all forms of taxation, and the property owner may be subject to another tax, fee, or assessment instead.

Goods in transit temporarily located at a licensed public storage warehouse are generally exempt, provided the owner has no domicile or place of business in Massachusetts. See G.L. c. 59, § 2.

Bridgewater Local Personal Property Exemption

By local option, cities and towns may exempt personal property from taxation if the value of the personal property account does not exceed a minimum threshold established by the municipality. The established threshold cannot exceed $10,000 in value. See G.L. c. 59, § 5, Clause 54.

The Town of Bridgewater, by act of its legislative body on October 20, 2015, accepted Section 114 of General Laws Chapter 159 and exempted personal property accounts with $5,000 or less of fair cash value beginning in Fiscal Year 2017.

Religious & Charitable Organizations

Institutions and organizations such as hospitals, schools, churches, and cultural facilities may qualify for exemption from local taxes on real and personal property they own on July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.

These exemptions are found in G.L. c. 59, § 5, Clause 3 for real and personal property of charitable organizations, Clause 10 for personal property of religious organizations, and Clause 11 for houses of worship and parsonages of religious organizations. A religious or charitable organization is not automatically exempt from local taxation when it organizes or acquires property. It must meet specific eligibility criteria and follow certain procedures to obtain an exemption.

Helpful Tax Guide - Click Here

Additional Information

Additional guides, frequently asked questions, applications, and tax forms are available to assist property owners.

For questions, please contact the Assessor’s Office by email at assessors@bridgewaterma.org.