Notice to Taxpayers: City Deadlines Extended

Important information Regarding Your Tax Bill

Pursuant to Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020 entitled an “An Act to Address Challenges Faced by Municipalities and State Authorities Resulting From COVID-19, the City of Melrose has adopted local options to extend due dates for real and personal property tax payments and applications for exemptions and a waiver of interest on certain municipal tax and other bills paid by June 30, 2020. See below.

1. The due date of your real and personal property tax bill has been extended to June 1, 2020. June 1, 2020 is the new due date even if the due date for payment on your enclosed or previously mailed tax bill is April 1, 2020 or May 1, 2020.

2. The due date for applications for property tax exemptions has also been extended to June 1, 2020. June 1, 2020 is the new due date even if the due date for applications on your enclosed or previously mailed tax bill is April 1, 2020.
   This extension applies to applications for the exemptions listed in the third paragraph of G.L. c. 59, § 59, including exemptions under clauses 17, 17C, 17C1/2 and 17D (seniors, surviving spouses, minor children of deceased parent); 18 (financial hardship – activated military, age and infirmity); 22, 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D, 22E, 22F and 22H (veterans, surviving spouses and surviving parents); 37 and 37A (blind persons); 41, 41B, 41C and 41C1/2 (seniors); 42 and 43 (surviving spouse and minor children of firefighter/police officer killed in line of duty); 52 (certain eligible seniors); 53 (certain eligible properties with septic systems); 56 (National Guard and reservists on active duty in foreign countries); and 57 (local option tax rebates). This extension also automatically applies to applications for residential exemptions under G.L. c. 59, § 5C, for small commercial exemptions under G.L. c. 59, § 5I and for deferrals under G.L. c. 59, § 5, clauses 41A (seniors) and 18A (poverty or financial hardship due to change to active military).

3. The City of Melrose, acting by and through its Mayor in accordance with his authority under Section 11 of the Act, has elected to waive interest and other penalties for late payment of any excise, tax, betterment assessment or apportionment thereof, water rate or annual sewer use or other charge added to a tax for any payments with a due date on or after March 10, 2020 where payment is made late but before June 30, 2020. This applies to late payments of bills that have a due date of March 10, 2020 or after, when such bills are paid late but paid before June 30. This waiver of interest does not apply to bills with due dates before March 10, 2020 or if the bill is not paid before June 30.

NOTE - If the municipal offices are closed on the June 1, 2020 extended due date for tax payments or filing of exemption applications as a result of the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus or the declaration of a state of emergency issued by the governor on March 10, 2020, the due dates for tax payments and applications for exemptions are not extended – they will be due on June 1, 2020 even if the municipal offices are closed. (See section 10(b) of the Act.)

You can pay your City of Melrose bills online, mail them to the address on the bill, or put them in the gray drop-box in the alley between City Hall and the Post Office. If you have questions about your taxes, please e-mail (preferred) Collectors@cityofmelrose.org or call 781-979-4120 and leave a message. Our staff is working remotely but they are checking e-mails and messages.