Tax Bills & Collections

The Treasurer/ Tax Collector's office is located on the first floor of the Homer Building, 19 Moore Street and is open Monday from 8 am to 7 pm, Tuesday through Thursday 8 am to 4 pm, and Friday 8 am to noon. There is also a drop off mail box located outside 19 Moore Street. (at the foot of the stairs) where residents may drop off tax payments, electric light bill payments, water bill payments, or any other town payments. Payments left in the box will be credited the next business day.

Real Estate

In July 2004 the Town of Belmont began collecting real estate and personal property taxes on a quarterly schedule.

The Town of Belmont currently bills on a quarterly schedule. Real estate and personal property tax bills for the fiscal year (July through June) are mailed the middle to last week of June, September, December and March. Payments are due by 4 pm in the Tax Collector's office on August 1, November 1, February 1 and May 1 or the following regular business day if the 1st falls on a weekend. Postmarks are not considered payment in a timely fashion per Mass. General Law. It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to ensure that tax bills arrive in the Treasurer/Collector's office on or before the due dates. 

Tax Title Process

Mass General Law Chapter 60 Section 53 - If a tax on land is not paid within fourteen days after demand therefore and remains unpaid at the date of taking, the collector may take such land for the town, first giving fourteen days' notice.

What is Tax Title? Tax Title is a term referring to a delinquent Real Estate account where a lien has been filed against the property to protect the Town's interest in the past-due balance. The Treasurer/Collector is tasked with keeping properties on the tax rolls to maximize collections; the tax-taking process is a tool to bring accounts back into good standing and to keep the overall tax rate as low as possible. A Tax Title is a lien placed on a property for nonpayment of property taxes. The Tax Title gives the Town the right to foreclose on the delinquent property and so claim the right to ownership as well as the right to sell the tax lien on the property in a public auction to a winning bidder. (Mass. General Laws c.60 § 53)

Payment plans are available for all delinquent accounts, and adherence to the agreement will put a pause on the foreclosure process.

For the list of Tax Title properties, please contact the Treasurer/Collector's Office via email.

Motor Vehicle Excise Tax

There are between six and eight Motor Vehicle Excise tax bill mailings during the year. The largest mailing occurs in February and usually includes all vehicles that were registered in Belmont for over one year. These bills, although collected by the Town, are generated from the records of the Registry of Motor Vehicles as of January 1st of the bill year.

When you fail to pay a motor vehicle excise, a tax collector can collect the delinquent excise by placing ("marking") your vehicle registration and operating license in non-renewal status at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV).

You must pay the excise within 30 days of receiving the bill. If you do not fully pay a motor vehicle excise on or before its due date, you also have to pay:

  • Interest (12% per year, from due date to payment date), and
  • Collection costs for:
    • Sending a demand for payment of the excise - Set locally, up to $15
    • Issuing a warrant to collect the excise to a deputy collector, assistant collector or other officer - $10
    • Sending a notice that a warrant to collect the excise has been issued to a deputy collector, assistant collector or other officer - $12
    • Serving the warrant to collect the excise - $17 (Final Warrant)
    • "Marking" the taxpayer's vehicle registration and operator's license for non-renewal at the RMV - $20

If the total amount of interest and collection costs added to an overdue motor vehicle excise is $15 or less, a tax collector may (but is not required to) waive any or all accrued interest and costs. Once the total interest and costs owed is more than $15, however, the collector cannot waive any interest or costs for any reason. (Excise Tax Penalities and Fees)