About your Property Tax Bill:
Massachusetts general law requires that we send the property tax bill to the owner of record as of the January 1 date immediately preceding the start of the fiscal year. This means that if you purchased property in South Hadley after January 1 the tax bills for July 1 to June 30 will be in the name of the previous owner. In an attempt to insure that the new property owner receives their bill the Assessor’s Office puts a c/o “in care of” in the new owners name in the mailing address so that the post office will deliver it. If you are a new property owner be sure to contact the Collector’s Office if you do not receive your quarterly tax bill. Please see the calendar which provides issuance dates and due dates that is available on this site.
Billing Cycle
Real Estate bills are issued quarterly and are due as follows:
August 1st, November 1st, February 1st, and May 1st
Late Payments
Tax payments must be received on or before the due date to avoid interest charges. Postmarks are not accepted and do not verify timely payment. If payment is not made within 30 days of the original date of mailing the account will begin to accrue interest at the rate of 14% per annum, computed from the date the bill was due. A demand notice will be sent and a demand fee of $30.00 is charged against the account. If the account remains outstanding 14 days after the issuance of the demand notice tax title procedures are started.
Demand notices are sent only after the fourth quarter bill cycle closes.
If the account remains delinquent after June 30th of the fiscal year, a tax lien (a legal claim placed on property for debt) is placed on the property and is recorded with the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds. In addition, the property is placed in the tax title system and turned over to the Town Treasurer with additional fees and costs associated. A taking into Tax Title is the first step in the foreclosure process.
Failure to receive a bill:
If you do not receive your quarterly tax bill contact the Collector’ Office at 538-5020 to obtain your bill information.
Under state law failure to receive a tax bill does not affect the validity of the tax or any interest or fines incurred due to late payment(2) or of the proceedings for its collection. It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to secure his/her tax bill when one is not received.
Change of mailing address:
If you wish to change the mailing address on your real estate or personal property bill you must contact the Assessor’s Office.
Escrow payments by mortgage company or bank:
If a bank or mortgage company escrows your taxes, it is your responsibility to make sure that they make timely payments. By law, tax bills are mailed to the property owner. We do not mail tax bills to banks or mortgage companies. Check with your bank or mortgage company to find out how they obtain your tax information. Some companies require the homeowner to mail in a copy of their bill while others obtain the information directly from the Collector’s Office.
PAYMENT METHODS
In addition of the conventional payment methods of mail, or coming into the collector’s office we now offer a direct debit program and on-line payments.
To view information on the various payments methods available please click on the link below.
Visit the Assessor’s web page for information on how taxes are calculated and your value determined.
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