Excise Tax Information

 

Payments can be made:

•  Online Here
• Mailed to:     Town of Barre     40 West Street- Suite 387     Barre, MA 01005
• Dropped in the lock box outside the building.
• Brought into the office. 

 

• "Postmarks are not considered payment in a timely fashion..." per M.G.L. Chapter 59 section 57.
• Bounced checks are not re-deposited. A fee of $25.00 and any accrued late charges will be added to the bill for all checks not honored by your bank.
• Checks will not be held by the Collector for later deposit.

 

Abatements:

A taxpayer may be entitled to an abatement.  Filing for an abatement does not stay the collection of the excise tax due.   Abatement requests are filed through the Assessors Office and can take two months to move through the refund process.

 

How Excise is billed:

• There are between 7 and 12 Motor Vehicle Excise tax bill mailings during the year. 
• The largest mailing usually occurs in January or February and usually includes all vehicles that were registered as garaged in Barre for over one year.
• Bills are generated from the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
• Address changes must be done through the Registry of Motor Vehicles. 
• M.G.L. Chapter 60A, section 2  reads “Failure to receive notice shall not affect the validity of the excise”. A taxpayer who does not receive a bill is still liable for the excise plus any interest charges accrued. [M.G.L. Chapter 60 Sections, sections 3 & 16]

It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to ensure that tax bills arrive in the Treasurer Collector office on or before the due dates.