There are several brochures available, all pertaining to the various exemption programs offered by the Town.

Please note: for the Senior 65 or Older Tax Deferral, the annual income cannot exceed $51,845.00 for FY2012, per locally adopted income limit.

The selection "Tax Relief (Exemption) Programs Chart" is a 1-page document that summarizes the various programs and qualifications.

There are several other brochures available, including a primer on Proposition 2 1/2.

Applications for various personal exemptions are available.
When an applicant files for an exemption where the income is reviewed, such as the Cls. 41C & 17D Senior Exemption, the applicant is required to attach a copy of his or her most recent tax return. If the applicant is not required to file a tax return with the federal government, the applicant is requested to file the "File No Income Tax Return" form with the application. If an applicant is filing for the first time for a tax deferral, then the applicant is required to also file the Tax Deferral Recovery Agreement with the tax deferral application.

The types of abatements applications available are: real estate or personal property tax, motor vehicle excise tax and boat excise tax. A brochure is also available - "How to File for an Abatement on Your FY2013 Assessed Value".

Examples of forms available are: requesting a mailing address change, requesting a tax apportionment, Form of List, Income and Expense, Form 3ABC and Form CL-1.

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) was adopted by Belmont voters on November 2, 2010, with the Act to begin funding in FY2012. The Act establishes a Community Preservation Fund financed by property tax surcharges and annual distributions received from the State “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund”. All funds are to be used to:

· acquire, create and preserve open space;
· acquire, preserve, rehabilitate and restore historic resources;
· acquire, create and preserve land for recreation use;
· create, preserve and support community housing; and
· rehabilitate and restore open space and land for recreational use and community housing acquired or created using monies from the fund.

This gives the community the opportunity to determine its priorities, plan for the future, and have the funds to make those plans happen. A Community Preservation Committee composed of local citizens will make recommendations on the use of the funds.