Nahant homeowners to see $140 jump in tax bill

NAHANT – The average homeowner’s tax bill will increase by roughly $140, according to town officials, even though the tax rate is slightly lower than last year.Assistant Assessor Sheila Hambleton told selectmen last week that this year’s tax rate would be set at $10.92 per $1,000 assessed value.”Last year’s tax rate was $11.03,” she added.While the tax rate dropped slightly, property values rose slightly. Property calculations prepared for the board show that the average single-family home in Nahant is assessed at $545,700 in 2014, up from $527,608 in 2013.The slight change in valuations might make it appear that a tax increase would be minimal, but that isn’t all that goes into setting the rate, Hambleton said Friday.The tax increase also takes into account an increase in new growth and Proposition 2 ?, which allows communities to raise taxes up to but no more than 2 ? percent over the previous year’s limit. However, town officials chose not to raise taxes to the full levy limit. Hambleton said that essentially means the tax increase could have been greater. She also said the town has seen some “decent new growth,” primarily in utilities, not in building permits.The town has 1,472 taxable parcels, which includes both business and personal property and 96 parcels that are exempt. Hambleton said exemptions could be, for example, for veterans, a blind resident or a senior citizen.Anyone seeking to file an exemption must do so by Dec. 15, though Hambleton said she would prefer they be filed before Thanksgiving.Abatements are due Nov. 1, and information to file those can be found on the assessor’s website at www.nahant.org/townhall/assessors.shtml.Tax bills will be sent out Oct. 1 and are due Nov. 1. Hambleton said thanks to a law passed many years ago, if a homeowner pays half of their property tax bill on time, on or before Nov. 1, they can make a second payment May 1 without incurring taxes or fees. However, if they are late in November or May, taxes will be incurred all the way back to Oct. 1.”Which is a hefty 14 percent,” Hambleton said.She also warned that the notices sent in May are merely reminders that the second half of the tax bill is due. Complaints are often made that a home has been sold between November and May and, therefore, the second “bill” should go to the new owner, but Hambleton said that’s not the way it works.”We can’t change the name on the second bill because it’s not a bill,” she said. “The bill was sent in October; this is just a reminder.”Hambleton said residents should be aware that all 2015 real estate assessments as well as new tax maps and Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps can be found online on the assessor’s website.