Personal Property Tax

Personal Property is tangible property other than Real Estate.  Only tangible property, such as machinery, furniture, pipelines, wires, poles, etc. are taxable personal property.  This is not limited to individuals.  It includes property of partnerships, trust, corporations, estates, etc.  It is assessed separately from Real Estate. It also applies to properties that are second homes.  Those are assessed by a percentage of the building value.

Personal Property is taxable in the municipality where it is situated on January 1st of that year or in the town where the owner is an inhabitant on January 1st for items not permanently situated in a town, such as construction equipment.  There are some exemptions to the personal property tax.  For more information on that, contact the Manchester Assessors Office.

Each taxpayer with taxable personal property must submit a true list of all non-exempt personal estate by March 1st of each year.  The Assessors office does post a notice every year on January 1st, in three locations around town, to remind taxpayers to file the forms by March 1st.

Businesses must file a Form 2, Mobile Telecommunications Providers must file a Form 2MT, and people with second homes must file a Form 2HF.  Forms are available in the Assessors Office.

If a form is not filed with the Assessors by March 1st, the Assessors will have to estimate the value of your personal property.  If the form is filed late, the Assessors can abate it if the person assessed shows a reasonable excuse for failure to file in a timely manner.  If there is no reasonable excuse for a late filing, but the assessment made exceeds by at least 50%, the amount that should have been assessed, an abatement of the amount that exceeds 150% of the proper assessed value may be made.  If no form is filed, no abatement may be made.

Personal Property is valued by replacement cost new, minus depreciation, based on age and condition.  Anyone with a Personal Property value less than $5,000 will not receive a bill, but is still required to file the Form of List.

Any questions or for further information, you can contact the Assessors Office. Also don’t forget to check out our web site at www.manchester.ma.us.