If Lowell is your home, this is your place

Ironic, because I texted about abatements on WCAP radio this morning. Respectfully, the claim that you’ve missed your chance to reduce your taxes once end of year assessments are certified is misleading. Because in reality, you cannot even file a formal abatement until those values are certified and the actual third-quarter tax bill is generated and mailed in late December. To protect your rights, the correct action plan is to check for errors on the Lowell Vision Appraisal database, pay your tax bill on time in January, and formally submit State Tax Form 128 to the Lowell Board of Assessors by hand or via Certified Mail before the strict February 1st deadline. An abatement is the correct and only legal solution for this scenario because it forces the city to correct physical errors like "non-existent bathrooms" that are wrongly inflating your property's valuation. When you file, include physical evidence (like interior photos) and be prepared to allow a city inspector inside your home to verify the error. Also, ANY taxpayer can file an abatement regardless of age or income, you just have to prove the property itself is overvalued. In addition, taxpayers facing a personal financial crisis can apply for separate Statutory Exemptions “(for seniors, disabled veterans, or blind individuals)” or a Hardship Deferral/Exemption under M.G.L. c. 59, Section 5, Clause 18, for a taxpayer of any age that can temporarily freeze and defer their property taxes if they face severe financial distress caused by “sudden unemployment, temporary illness, or other major life changes”. Hardworking Taxpayers of Lowell, HELP is ALWAYS there and available.