Tax Collector

A:  The office is open Monday-Thursday 9:30am-2:30pm and Wednesdays 9:30am-6:30pm.  Town Hall is CLOSED on Friday.

A: The Town of Berkley is on a quarterly tax system and taxes are due 4 times per year.  Tax due dates are on the first business day of August, November, February, and May.  If the 1^st falls on a weekend or holiday, taxes are due the following business day.

Fiscal Year 2027 Due Dates:

Q1 – Monday, August 3, 2026

Q2 – Monday, November 2, 2026

Q3 – Monday, February 1, 2027

Q4 – Monday, May 3, 2027

The Fiscal Year begins July 1^st and ends June 30^th.  Currently we are in FY2027, which began July 1, 2026 and will end June 30, 2027.

A:  Real Estate and Personal Property – 14% Interest

Motor Vehicle Excise – 12% Interest

Tax Titles Prior to November 1, 2024 – 16% Interest

Tax Titles After November 1, 2024 – 8% Interest

Interest rates are calculated on outstanding principle balances per annum.

There are multiple ways to pay your Town of Berkley bills. Payment can be made:

IN PERSON: Pay with cash, check, or card at the Treasurer/Collector’s Office

DROP BOX: Place payment in the payment drop box located on the side of Town Hall. Payments are received daily. Please do not leave cash in the drop box.

MAILING PAYMENT: Payments can be mailed directly to Town Hall. Please do not mail cash.
Town of Berkley
1 North Main St
Berkley MA 02779

PAYING ONLINE: Make online payments through the online payment portal

A:  Please make checks payable to Town of Berkley.  Please include your remit or reference your bill number or address on the face of your check. 

A:  No.  Bills are considered paid when received by the Treasurer/Collector.  Postmark dates on envelopes are not accepted as the date of payment.  All payments are to be received by the Treasurer/Collector’s office by the due date.  Payments are processed the day they are received.  Late payments will incur interest/penalties.

A:  If your check bounces, you will be responsible for a $25.00 fee in addition to the amount of the check that is returned, plus any accrued interest/fees

A:  Please visit the online payment portal or contact the Tax Collector’s office.

A:  Chapter 60A of Massachusetts General Law imposes an excise for the privilege of registering a motor vehicle in Massachusetts. If you have a Massachusetts license plate on your car (or in your possession) you must pay Excise tax, a yearly tax, based on the value of the car on which the plate was registered. All bills must be reconciled within 30 days by either payment in full, or abatement in full. The largest Excise tax billing commitment is usually billed in March and due in April. However, you could receive an Excise bill at any time during the year, depending on when you registered your car and when the Registry of Motor Vehicles generates a bill.

Excise tax information originates with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The address that the license plate was registered to on January 1 determines where the tax bill for that year will be mailed. If you move January 2nd, the bill will still go to the January 1 address. Failure to receive a bill does not excuse you from the tax or fees that accrue on outstanding tax bills. Change your forwarding address with the US Postal Service so that you receive your Excise bills. Contact the Treasurer/Collector’s office if you do not receive a bill. For questions about making payment, contact the Collector’s office. For all other questions, i.e. valuation, other tax questions, contact the Assessor’s Office.

For more information, please visit Mass.gov

A:  Initial and Demand excise bills can be paid online

Excise bills that are in Warrant/Non-renewal status can be paid through the Deputy Collector

A: It is the responsibility of the property owner to pay taxes regardless of receipt of a bill. Failure to receive your tax bill does not excuse you from payment of taxes, or from the interest and fees that accrue on the outstanding balance(s). Payment is due 30 days from the date the bill is issued (not mailed, as is popularly believed). According to Chapter 60A, section 2 of the Massachusetts General Laws, “Failure to receive notice shall not affect the validity of the excise”.

Therefore, it is important to keep the Registry, local assessors, and the post office informed of a current name and address so that bills can be delivered promptly. All owners of motor vehicles must pay an excise tax; therefore, it is the responsibility of the owner to contact the local assessor if he/she has not received a bill.

A:  Taxes have not been paid.  If you received a Demand notice, you should not ignore this bill. The Demand fee is $15.00 and cannot be waived. Additional interest and fees will continue to accrue until the payment is made in full.

A:  Interest on Motor Vehicle Excise bills accrues at 12% per annum from the day after the due date.  If the excise is not paid three weeks after the due date, the Treasurer/Collector will issue a $15.00 demand fee.

If the demand is not answered within 14 days, the Treasurer/Collector will issue a warrant to the Deputy Tax Collector, which incurs another $10.00 and $12.00 fee. 

Finally, the tax payer’s vehicle registration and operators license will be marked at the RMV for non-renewal, along with an additional $20.00 fee. For more information, please visit Mass.gov

A:  Pay the bill. Read the back of the bill. Contact the Assessors Office. If a tax abatement is granted by the Assessing Department, you will receive a refund of any tax overpaid. You will be responsible for paying fees and interest charges that accrue on unpaid bills even if the Assessing Department grants an abatement of a portion of the tax.

A:  Pay the bill. Read the back of the bill. Contact the Assessors Office. If a tax abatement is granted by the Assessing Department, you will receive a refund of any tax overpaid. You will be responsible for paying fees and interest charges that accrue on unpaid bills even if the Assessing Department grants an abatement of a portion of the tax.

A:  No, payment for excise bills must be paid in full including all accrued interest and fees.

A:  Property tax is an assessment on the ownership of real and personal property. An owner’s property tax is based on the assessment, which is the full and fair cash value of the property.
Each year, local assessors in Massachusetts have a constitutional and statutory duty to assess all property at its full and fair cash value under Massachusetts General Law. As of each January 1^st, local assessors must classify all real property. 

Personal property generally includes tangible items that are not firmly attached to land or buildings and are not considered to be part of the real estate, for example, merchandise, furniture, machinery, tools, animals and equipment.

A:  A tax bill is generated for every parcel in the Town and is sent to the home owner.  Mortgage companies and tax servicers receive an electronic file from the Town.  We do not bill mortgage companies. 

A:  Contact the Assessor’s office.

A:  Reach out to your mortgage company.  Credit balances are generally not refunded until the end of the fiscal year because all bills have not yet been issued or paid. A double payment or overpayment will be credited towards the next quarter tax due. If there is an overpayment on the May installment (4th quarter), or a credit balance exists after the May 1 tax installment is paid, a refund will be issued to the homeowner.  Credits do not automatically move forward from one Fiscal Year to another.

A:  Taxes have not been paid.  If you received a Demand notice, you should not ignore this bill. The Demand fee is $15.00 and cannot be waived.

A:  An abatement is a reduction in the amount of a committed tax. A taxpayer may apply for abatement for the following reasons:

• Overvaluation
• Disproportionate assessment
• Misclassification of real property
• Statutory exemption

Contact the Assessor’s office for more information.

A:  An exemption is a release or discharge from the obligation to pay all or a portion of a local property tax. These exemptions can help reduce your tax burden and provide financial relief.

• Senior Citizens for those age 70+
• Veterans and Surviving Spouses
• Blind or Disabled for those individuals with specific disabilities

A:  When Real Estate taxes are not paid on time and in full, a lien is placed on the property by operation of law.  An Instrument of Taking is filed with the Registry of Deeds.  Once the lien amount is paid in full, a Certificate of Redemption is filed, clearing the lien.  See MGL Chapter 60 for more information.