Deadline nears in most Massachusetts communities to apply for a property tax abatement

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Paul Tuthill

Published January 30, 2023 at 3:40 PM EST

This new house on Jefferson Avenue in Springfield's North End was sold to a low income family picked by lottery

Rising residential real estate values mean higher tax bills for many

The average property tax bill for a single-family home in Massachusetts went up by almost $400 this year.

If a homeowner believes their property has been overvalued by their local assessors office, an abatement may be the only way to reduce their tax bill.

The deadline to apply for a property tax abatement in more than 80 percent of the state’s cities and towns is this Wednesday, February 1^st.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Patrick Greenhalgh, Chairman of the Board of Assessors in the city of Springfield.

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Paul Tuthill

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.

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