motor vehicle & trailer excise manual

Motor Vehicle &Trailer ExciseManualPrepared by the Property Tax Bureau, June 2005

Massachusetts Department of Revenue Division of Local ServicesAlan LeBovidge, Commissioner Gerard D. Perry, Deputy Commissioner

TTHHIISS PPAAGGEELLEEFFTT BBLLAANNKK

IINNTTEENNTTIIOONNAALLLLYY

Motor Vehicle & TrailerExcise ManualTABLE OF CONTENTS

1 THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Motor Vehicles Subject to Excise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Definition of “Motor Vehicle” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Basis of the Excise Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Period of Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Calendar Year Basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Registration Requirements of:

Non-Residents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Owers Who Acquire Residence or Place of Business in the Commonwealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Calculation of the Excise Amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Role of the Registry of Motor Vehicles in Administration of the Excise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Electronic Valuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Non-Electronic Valuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Preparation of Bills or Billing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Obtaining Authorization to Print Bills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Distribution of Bills or Billing Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Role of the Division of Local Services in Administration of the Excise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Place of Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Assessment by the Commissioner of Revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Proration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Vehicles Registered after January 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Registration Canceled before December 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Minimum Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Payment Due Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Bill Mailed After Date of Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Date of Mailing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Person to Whom Excise Bill Should Be Assessed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Assessment in Case of Death of Registrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Registrant Dies After Assessment But Prior to Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Registrant Dies Before Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Liability of Executor or Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Address to Which Bill Should Be Mailed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Failure to Receive Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Bill Mailed to Wrong Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Registrant Moves to New Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Methods to Effectuate a Change of Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Form #10094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Change of Address Labels; Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Liability if Notice Not Given to Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Relief if Address Given but Not Effectuated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Place Where Payment Is Due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Bill Mailed to Wrong Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Recommitment of Motor Vehicle Excise Bills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Assessors Discretion to Recommit Excise Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Assessment of Machinery Attached to a Motor Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Common Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 EXEMPTIONS

Vehicles Owned by:

Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Vehicles Leased by Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Former Prisoner of War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Spouse of Former Prisoner of War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Handicapped Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Non-Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Vehicles Operated with Section 5 Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Penalty for Improper Use of Section 5 Plates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Assessment on Vehicle, Not Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Vehicles Jointly Registered in Two States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Vehicles Owned by:

Non-Domiciliary Enlistees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Foreign Dignitaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Liability of Motor Vehicles for Personal Property Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Valuation of Vehicles Subject to Personal Property Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Farm Plate Exemption Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Limitation of Use of Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Use of Plates on Farm Tractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Use of Plates on Farm Trailers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Operation of Unregistered Vehicles for Farm Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3 ABATEMENTS

Application for Abatement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Proration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Cancellation of Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Minimum Abatement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Discretionary Abatements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Circumstances Authorizing Assessors to Abate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Overvaluation of Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Transfer of Title and Cancellation of Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Move Out of State and Registers in Another State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Subsequent Registration Same Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Transfer of Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Theft of Motor Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Processing an Abatement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Abatement of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Appeal of Assessors’ Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Refund of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Notifying Registry of Valuation Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4 COLLECTION PROCEDURES

Collection Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Demand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Deputy Tax Collectors or Other Collection Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Issuance of Warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Notice of Warrant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Exhibition of Warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Use of a Collection Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Partial Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Non-Renewal of License and/or Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Prerequisites to Use of Non-Renewal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Time Limitation of Placement of Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Information Required to Place Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Clearing Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Persons Who May Place Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

In-Office Alternatives to Use of Non-Office Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Collector Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

On-Line Access to Non-Renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Refunds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Interest on Abatements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Abatement of Interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Uncollectible Excises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

5 MISCELLANEOUS

Antique Automobiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Excise Abatement Application is a Public Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Special Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Statute of Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Mobile Homes/Manufactured Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Located in Manufactured Housing Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Not Located in Manufactured Housing Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Automatic Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Debts Not Discharged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Proof of Claim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Non-Renewal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Minimum Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Title in Case of Death of a Spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

International Registration Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

MOTOR VEHICLES SUBJECT TO

EXCISE

Pursuant to Ch. 60A of the MassachusettsGeneral Laws, every motor vehicle andtrailer* registered in the Commonwealth issubject to the motor vehicle excise unlessexpressly exempted. See Chapter 2 for alisting and discussion of each exemption.

DEFINITION OF “MOTOR

VEHICLE”The term “motor vehicles” is defined inCh. 90 §1. The statute broadly defines motorvehicles as “all vehicles constructed anddesigned for propulsion by power otherthan muscular power including such vehi-cles when pulled or towed by another motorvehicle.” The statute, however, proceedsto limit this definition by excluding thefollowing:

• trains and trolleys, including tracklesstrolleys.

• vehicles used for other purposes thantransportation of property and incapableof being driven at a speed exceeding 12miles per hour and

1. used exclusively for the building, re-pair and maintenance of highways or

2. designed especially for use elsewherethan on the traveled part of ways.

• wheelchairs owned and operated by in-valids and operated or guided by a per-son on foot.

• motorized bicycles.

*The rules relating to trailers are identical to those relating to motor vehicles. Therefore, where this manual refers to motor vehicles,the reference, where appropriate, is also to trailers.

The Assessment Process 1

Massachusetts Department of Revenue Division of Local ServicesAlan LeBovidge, Commissioner Gerard D. Perry, Deputy Commissioner

BASIS OF THE EXCISE ASSESSMENT

The motor vehicle excise is imposed for theprivilege of registering a motor vehicle. Regis-tering a motor vehicle automatically triggersthe assessment of the excise.

PERIOD OF ASSESSMENT

Motor vehicle registrations are issued foreither one or two years. The following reg-istrations are issued for one year:

1. Vanity plates.

2. Section 5 plates. (Section 5 plates arethose registration plates authorized byCh. 90 §5 and which may be issued toautomobile manufacturers, dealers, re-pairmen, farmers, owner-contractors,transporters and harvesters of forestproducts. See definitions Ch. 90 §1.)

3. Commercial registrations for vehiclesof 6,000 pounds or more.

All other plates and registrations are issuedfor two years.

CALENDAR YEAR BASIS

Vanity plates and registrations for commer-cial vehicles of 6,000 pounds or more are is-sued on a calendar year basis. Black’s LawDictionary, Fourth Edition, defines calendaryear, “The period from January 1 to Decem-ber 31, inclusive.” Therefore, a vanity platefirst effective on November 15 of some yearwill expire on the following December 31.

Section 5 plates are issued for one yearterms on a staggered basis, as follows:

8 Motor Vehicle & Trailer Excise Manual

All other registration periods are staggeredfor two year terms. For example, the regis-tration of a passenger vehicle registered onMarch 3 of some particular year will expireon the last day of February of the secondfollowing year.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

OF (1) NON-RESIDENTS AND

(2) OWNERS WHO ACQUIRE A

REGULAR PLACE OF BUSINESS

OR ABODE IN THE

COMMONWEALTH

A non-resident of Massachusetts may, fora limited period of time, operate within theCommonwealth a motor vehicle registeredin some other state or country, so long ashe/she has complied with the laws relatingto operation and registration in the otherstate or country. G.L. Ch. 90 §3 limits the du-ration of such operation to not more than 30 daysin the aggregate in any one year.

Whenever a non-resident owner of a motorvehicle acquires a regular place of abode orbusiness or employment in Massachusetts,that person must either:

• register that vehicle in Massachusettswithin 30 days or

• maintain in full force a policy of liabilityinsurance at least in the amount or limitsset out in Ch. 90 §34A.

CALCULATION OF THE EXCISE

AMOUNT

The amount of the motor vehicle excise dueon any particular vehicle or trailer in anyregistration year is calculated by multiply-ing the value of the vehicle by the motor ve-hicle excise rate. That rate is fixed at $25.00per thousand dollars of value. The value ofa vehicle for the purpose of the excise is theapplicable percentage for that year of themanufacturer’s suggested retail price forthat vehicle. The applicable percentages areset out in Ch. 60A §1 as follows:

The manufacturer’s list price for any particu-lar vehicle is the price recommended by themanufacturer as the selling price of that ve-hicle when new. It is the manufacturer’s listprice rather than the actual purchase pricewhich will control for purposes of calculat-ing the motor vehicle excise. The followingmodels illustrate calculations of amountsdue for representative automobiles.

Model 1

In the year preceding the year of manufacture. . . . .50%In the year of manufacture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90%In the second year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60% In the third year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40% In the fourth year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%In the fifth and succeeding years. . . . . . . . . . . . 10%

Owner–contractor and transporter. . . . . .July 1–June 30Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 1–September 30Repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 1–December 31Dealer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 1–March 31

Model 1 assumes a motor vehicle (a) purchased in the year preceding the year of manufacture [e.g., a 1990model year vehicle purchased in calendar 1989] (b) with a manufacturer’s list price of $15,000.

Manufacturer’s Ch. 60A Value for Rate Excise AmountList Price Percentage Excise Purposes

Year of Purchase: $15,000 x 50% = $7,500 x .025 = $187.50Second Year: $15,000 x 90% = $13,500 x .025 = $337.50Third Year: $15,000 x 60% = $9,000 x .025 = $225.00Fourth Year: $15,000 x 40% = $6,000 x .025 = $150.00Fifth Year: $15,000 x 25% = $3,750 x .025 = $93.75Sixth: $15,000 x 10% = $1,500 x .025 = $37.50(and all ensuing years)

ROLE OF THE REGISTRY

OF MOTOR VEHICLES IN

ADMINISTRATION OF THE

MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE

ELECTRONIC VALUATION

The Registry of Motor Vehicles annually cal-culates the value of all registered motor ve-hicles for the purpose of excise assessment.For most motor vehicles, the calculations areperformed electronically using valuationtapes. For automobiles and light trucks, thevaluation tape is created by the NationalAutomobile Dealers Used Car Guide Co.(NADA); for heavy trucks and school buses,the tape is created by Maclean Hunter Mar-ket Reports, Inc., publisher of the Truck BlueBook; and for motorcycles, the tape is createdby Hap Jones, publisher of the MotorcycleBlue Book. In each case, it is the vehicleidentification number (VIN) which drivesthe electronic valuation process.

NON-ELECTRONIC VALUATION: TRAILERS,FIXED EQUIPMENT

While most vehicles are valued electroni-cally, valuation programs are not availablefor all motor vehicles or motor vehicle com-ponents. For example, various equipmentcommonly mounted on the cab chassis, suchas cement mixers or pumpers, garbage com-pactors, home delivery oil trucks, welldrillers, etc., cannot be valued electronically.Also, tapes do not exist which value themyriad varieties of trailers on the market.For these kinds of items, as well as for thosemotor vehicles which cannot be valuedusing the available tapes, the Registry ofMotor Vehicles annually ascertains valua-

tions (default valuations) and mails noticeof these valuations to all board of assessorsin the fall of every year.

Assessors possess authority to abate a Reg-istry default value in any case in which theybelieve it is excessive.

Assessors may also obtain the manufac-turer’s list price of any particular motorvehicle by either (a) calling an automobiledealer who regularly sells that brand of ve-hicle, (b) requesting the vehicle’s registrantto provide the window pricing sticker ofthe car when new or (c) calling the manu-facturer’s customer service number.

PREPARATION OF BILLS OR BILLING

INFORMATION

In addition to calculating the value of allmotor vehicles registered in the Common-wealth, the Registry, at each municipality’soption, either (a) prepares actual excise billsfor the city or town or (b) enters billing in-formation on a computer tape for the useof the city or town to produce its own bills.Any community which chooses to receiveactual bills is assessed a Cherry Sheet chargeof $.15 per bill for this service.

OBTAINING AUTHORIZATION TO PRINT BILLS

Any city or town which wishes to print itsown bills must submit to the Registry a No-tice of Intent to Print Motor Vehicle ExciseBills. The format for making this request isset out annually in the IGR on the require-ments for motor vehicle excise bills for thatyear. No assessment is made to those com-munities that receive billing information ona computer tape.

Model 2

Motor Vehicle & Trailer Excise Manual 9

Model 2 assumes a motor vehicle (a) purchased two years succeeding the year of manufacture (b) with amanufacturer’s list price of $19,000.

Manufacturer’s Ch. 60A Value for Rate Excise AmountList Price Percentage Excise Purposes

Year of Purchase: $19,000 x 40% = $7,600 x .025 = $190.00Second Year: $19,000 x 25% = $4,750 x .025 = $118.75Third Year: $19,000 x 10% = $1,900 x .025 = $47.50(and all ensuing years)

DISTRIBUTION OF BILLS OR BILLING

INFORMATION

Because of the volume and variety of typesof vehicles, the Registry is unable to providebills or billing information for all vehicles atthe same time. Rather, bills and billing tapesare prepared and distributed in batches sub-sequent to January 1. The first batch, usuallymailed out in early January of each year, iscomprised of passenger motor vehicleswhich were registered as of the precedingJanuary 1. Vehicles registered after January 1are contained in a later batch or batches. An-other batch is comprised of trucks; still an-other, of motorcycles.

ROLE OF THE DIVISION

OF LOCAL SERVICES IN THE

ADMINISTRATION OF THE

MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE

The Division of Local Services is availableto assist local officials in the administrationof the motor vehicle excise by responding toquestions which relate to legal or technicalaspects of the excise. In addition, the Com-missioner of Revenue will authorize asses-sors to abate excises, under G.L. Ch. 58 §8,in appropriate cases, when the assessors donot possess jurisdiction to make an abate-ment on their own. See Chapter 3 for a fur-ther discussion of Ch. 58 §8 abatements.

The Division, however, possesses neither thestaff nor the other necessary resources to as-sist municipalities in valuing motor vehicles.All assessors should ensure, therefore, thatthey have available in their offices up-to-date copies of the NADA Official Used CarGuide, the Truck Blue Book, the MotorcycleBlue Book and the Registry’s annual lettersetting out valuations of motor vehiclesand components which it is unable to valueelectronically. With these resources, asses-sors will be able to process abatement appli-cations based upon claims of overvaluation.The Massachusetts Association of AssessingOfficers (MAAO) annually organizes bulkpurchasing of these valuation materials toassist cities and towns to reduce costs. There-

fore, municipalities should coordinate theirpurchases through the Association.

PLACE OF ASSESSMENT

The excise on any particular vehicle is to beassessed at the place where that vehicle isprincipally kept, i.e., garaged. The relevantstatute, Ch. 60A §6, provides:

“The excise … shall be laid and collectedat the residential address of the owner, ifan individual, or at the principal place ofbusiness in the commonwealth, if a part-nership, voluntary association or corpo-ration, as determined by the owner’sregistration, except that if a motor vehi-cle … is customarily kept in some othermunicipality, the excise shall be laid andcollected in such other municipality.”

This statute was drafted with a presumptionthat any particular motor vehicle is kept forexcise purposes at the residence or principalbusiness address of its owner. On the basisof this presumption, the statute sets out twoalternatives. It instructs that the excise forthe vehicle is to be imposed and collectedby the city or town where its owner (a) if anindividual, lives, or (b) if a partnership, vol-untary association or corporation, maintainsits principal place of business unless themotor vehicle is customarily kept in someother city or town.

It is only when the Registry is specificallynotified that a vehicle is principally kept insome other municipality that the Registrywill include the excise for that vehicle inthe commitment for the other municipality.Otherwise, the excise will be included in thecommitment of the municipality where theindividual lives or the principal place ofbusiness is located.

The place where a motor vehicle is princi-pally kept is not identified on the registra-tion certificate for that vehicle. However,that place is identified on the registrant’sinsurance coverage selection sheet. There-fore, where an issue arises concerning theplace of garaging, the assessors should re-quest a copy of this insurance document.

10 The Assessment Process

ASSESSMENT BY COMMISSIONER

OF REVENUE

In the case of motor vehicles which are notcustomarily kept in any Massachusetts cityor town, i.e., vehicles registered in Massa-chusetts but customarily kept out of state,the excise is levied and collected by the Ex-cise Bureau within the Department of Rev-enue. For answers to questions respectingsuch excises, call the Excise Bureau at(617)887-5060.

PRORATION

VEHICLES REGISTERED AFTER JANUARY 1Excises are prorated on a monthly basis. If amotor vehicle is registered after the begin-ning of any calendar year, no excise will beimposed for those months, if any, whichhave fully elapsed before the vehicle is regis-tered. If a vehicle is registered for any part ofa month, however, the excise will be due forall of that month. The annual excise due ona vehicle registered after January 1 will bereduced, therefore, by one-twelfth of the fullyear’s excise for every month prior to themonth in which the vehicle was registered.

The following example illustrates the calcu-lation of the excise due on a vehicle regis-tered after January 1.

Where, as in this example, a vehicle is regis-tered after January 1, the Registry performsa proration, automatically, in its calculationof the excise amount due for that calendaryear. Therefore, the bill or billing informa-tion prepared by the Registry for that vehi-cle will provide the correct amount due.Local assessors do not have to perform thecalculations, themselves.

REGISTRATION CANCELED BEFORE

DECEMBER 1A registrant who cancels a registration dur-ing a calendar year may qualify for a partialabatement. To be eligible, however, such aregistrant must also either (a) transfer title tothe vehicle or (b) move out of Massachusettsand register the vehicle in some other juris-diction. For a registrant who so qualifies, the

assessors, not the Registry, must calculatethe amount of the abatement for which theregistrant is eligible. A registrant will neverqualify for an abatement on any vehicle forany month during which the vehicle wasregistered for any portion of that month.For further information regarding abate-ments, see Chapter 3 of this manual.

MINIMUM ASSESSMENT

The minimum motor vehicle assessmentwhich may be made is $5.00. Therefore, ifthe value of a vehicle produces an exciseamount less than $5.00, an assessment of$5.00 must be made.

PAYMENT DUE DATE

Excise bills must show the date upon whichthe bills were issued and must contain thestatement: “Due and Payable in Full Within30 Days of Issue.” (See annual IGR on theformat of motor vehicle excise bills.) A pay-ment, to be timely, must be received in thecollector’s office on or before the close ofbusiness on the 30th day following the dateshown on the bill as the date of issue. As isthe case with property taxes, mailing thepayment on or before the due date does notsatisfy the requisite for timely payment if itis not received until after the due date.

EXCISE BILL MAILED AFTER THE

DATE OF ISSUE

If an excise bill is mailed after the printeddate of issuance, the bill is due and payableat the expiration of 30 days from the datethe bill was mailed by the tax collector.Again, to be timely paid, the payment must


Example:

A vehicle is registered on March 5. If that vehicle had been registered for the entireyear, the excise due would have been $360.00. Therefore, the amount due shouldbe reduced as follows:

Annual Months Monthly Months not Reduction ProratedAmount Amount Registered Amount Due

$360.00$360 ÷ 12 = $30.00 x 2 = $60.00 - 60.00

$300.00

be received in the collector’s office on or be-fore the close of business on the 30th dayfollowing the date of mailing.

DATE OF MAILING

The date of mailing of a motor vehicle excisebill is not necessarily the postmarked date.Rather, it is the date certified by the collec-tor, on the affidavit of sending, executed inaccordance with G.L. Ch. 60 §3, as the datethe bill was mailed. The collector shouldcertify the mailing date on the affidavit tobe the date the bill was delivered into thecustody of the post office. It is irrelevantwhether a bill is postmarked on the date itis turned over to the post office. For the pur-pose of determining whether a bill is timelypaid, that bill is deemed to have been mailedon the turnover date.

INTEREST

If a motor vehicle excise bill is not timelypaid, interest accrues on any unpaid amountat the rate of 12 percent per year, simple in-terest, not compounded, from the date thepayment was due until the date it is paid.

PERSON TO WHOM EXCISE BILL

SHOULD BE ASSESSED

Ch. 60A §2 directs that the motor vehicle ex-cise “shall be assessed to the owner of thevehicle or trailer registering the same.” Thisstatute deems a person who registers amotor vehicle to be that vehicle’s ownerfor excise purposes. Moreover, pursuant toCh. 90 §2, the statute which sets out rulesand procedures relating to the registrationof motor vehicles, motor vehicles may onlybe registered to their owners.

This requirement is corroborated by Ch. 90D§4 which establishes that, except for certainvehicles expressly exempted under Ch. 90D§2, the Registrar shall accept no new appli-cation for registration pertaining to a motorvehicle or trailer under the provisions of Ch.90 until the owner thereof makes applicationto the registrar for a certificate of title.

The Supreme Judicial Court dealt with theissue of vehicle ownership in Casey v. Gal-lagher, 326 Mass. 746, 750 (1950) where itfound registration of a motor vehicle toconnote ownership. The Court declared,“[R]egistration in the name of a person asowner is evidence of ownership by him.”

The word “owner,” as used in Ch. 90 §2, isnot confined to a person having absolute in-terest in the vehicle; a motor vehicle may beregistered by a person having a part owner-ship in the vehicle. It may, also, be registeredby a corporation, association, partnershipor other legal entity.

By the express provisions of Ch. 90 §2A,motor vehicles may be registered to minors.

In the case of a leased vehicle, the bill mustbe assessed to the lessor (leasing company)since the lessor, not the lessee, is the ownerof the vehicle.

In sum, assessors should assess the excisefor any particular motor vehicle to theowner of that vehicle who, of necessity, willbe the registrant.

ASSESSMENT IN THE CASE

OF THE DEATH OF THE

REGISTRANT

REGISTRANT DIES AFTER ASSESSMENT BUT

PRIOR TO PAYMENT

If an excise is assessed to a registrant whodies prior to payment, the collector shouldseek payment from the decedent’s executoror administrator. Pursuant to Ch. 197 §9, thecollector must make the claim within oneyear after the date of the decedent’s death. Ifthe executor or administrator does not pay,the collector should commence an action tocollect in the appropriate probate court.

REGISTRANT DIES BEFORE ASSESSMENT

If an excise is assessed after a registrant dies,the assessment should be made to the dece-dent’s executor or administrator. If an ex-ecutor or administrator has not yet beenappointed, the assessment should be made


to the decedent’s estate. Upon subsequentappointment, the executor or administratorbecomes responsible to pay the assessmentas though it had been to him/her.

LIABILITY OF EXECUTOR OR ADMINISTRATOR

Pursuant to Ch. 60 §36, a decedent’s executoror administrator, who receives or has posses-sion of money applicable to a motor vehicleexcise assessed upon the deceased person’sestate, must pay the excise forthwith. If theexecutor or administrator fails to do so,he/she will, if a demand has been made,become personally liable for that excise.To collect upon such a liability, the collectormust commence an action within six years.

ADDRESS TO WHICH BILL

SHOULD BE MAILED

For individuals, the excise for each particu-lar motor vehicle should be mailed to theowner’s residential address as that addressappears on the individual’s registration, un-less that owner has expressly specified inwriting a different mailing address.

For corporations, partnerships or voluntaryassociations, the excise should be mailed tothe owner’s principal place of business inthe Commonwealth, if any, as that addressappears on the owner’s registration. If theowner has no principal place of businessin the Commonwealth, the bill should bemailed to the owner’s principal place ofbusiness outside the Commonwealth.

FAILURE TO RECEIVE BILL

So long as a municipality mails an excise billto a registrant and the bill is sent to the reg-istrant’s address, as that address appears onthe vehicle’s registration or as the person hasotherwise specified in writing, the registrantis presumed to have received the bill, regard-less whether he/she received it in fact. If theregistrant fails to receive such a bill, he/sheis, nevertheless, liable for its timely payment,and interest and fees will accrue if the billis not paid on or before the due date.

BILL MAILED TO WRONG

ADDRESS

If a motor vehicle excise bill is not sent to theregistrant’s address, as that address appearson the vehicle’s registration or as expresslydesignated by the registrant, collection can-not be enforced. In the case of a bill sent tothe right city or town but to the wrong streetaddress, the bill should be reissued by thecollector to the correct street address with-out the addition of any interest or fees. Inthe case of a bill sent to the wrong city ortown, that bill should be abated in the in-correct municipality and recommitted inthe correct city or town. (See discussionof assessors discretion to recommit exciseassessment, following.) If the assessors lackjurisdiction to so abate, they may seek juris-diction under Ch. 58 §8. (See Chapter 2; seealso IGR 94-202.)

REGISTRANT MOVES TO

NEW ADDRESS

If a registrant moves to some other addressthan that shown on his/her excise bill, thatregistrant should take steps to ensure thathis/her address is changed on his/her licenseand registration. G.L. Ch. 90 §26A states:

“Every person in whose name a motorvehicle … has been registered … shall re-port any change of his name, residentialaddress or mailing address in writing tothe registrar within thirty days after thedate on which such change was made.”

METHODS TO EFFECTUATE

A CHANGE OF ADDRESS

FORM #10094A convenient way for a person to make achange of address in the Registry’s data bankis to fill out and submit an orange “Changeof Address — License/Registration” card,Form #10094. A registrant may also changethe address on his/her registration bycalling the Registry of Motor Vehicles at(617) 351-4500, although this procedure doesnot technically comply with the statute’s re-


quirement that the change be made in writ-ing. Assessors, too, can alter or update infor-mation in the Registry’s excise data bank bycalling (617) 351-9380; however, the Registrywould prefer the assessors to effect thesechanges in writing, using the standard formentitled Request for Records Change.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS LABELS; FEES

Upon a request made either in writing or byphone, the Registry will provide change ofaddress labels upon which licensee/regis-trants may enter address changes. Theselabels may then be affixed, as appropriate,to previously issued licenses and registra-tions. The Registry provides change ofaddress labels at no charge. Alternatively,a registrant/licensee who changes his/heraddress may obtain from the Registry anamended license and/or registration(s) dis-playing the new address. For each amendeddocument, the Registry will assess a $15.00fee pursuant to the authority of Ch. 90 §33.

LIABILITY IF NOTICE OF CHANGE OF

ADDRESS IS NOT GIVEN TO THE REGISTRY

If a registrant moves and does not changehis/her address, the excise bill will be mailedto the registrant’s former address, and thebill might not be forwarded by the post officeto the new address. So long as a municipalitymails the excise bill to the address that ap-pears on a person’s registration, the munici-pality fulfills its duty to give notice to theregistrant. The registrant becomes subjectto interest and fees if the excise is not timelypaid. If a bill does not reach a registrant be-cause that person moved and did not notifythe Registry of his/her change of address,the registrant is not entitled to any relief.

AVAILABLE RELIEF IF CHANGE OF ADDRESS

IS GIVEN BUT NOT EFFECTUATED DUE TO

REGISTRY ERROR

On the other hand, if a person moves andproperly notifies the Registry of the movebut, notwithstanding, does not receive anexcise bill, that person may be entitled torelief. Two particular circumstances shouldafford such relief:

1. A registrant properly files a change ofaddress; however, due to a clerical error,the change is either not entered, at all, oris incorrectly entered into the Registry’srecords.

2. A registrant’s license and registrationare not integrated in the Registry’s rec-ords. The registrant properly files an ad-dress change which effects a change inhis/her license file. However, the addressin his/her registration file is not concur-rently updated, and the excise bill goesto the incorrect address. (This is an infre-quent circumstance since the vast majorityof the Registry’s records are integrated.)

In both of the above circumstances, the as-sessors are not legally obligated to grant anabatement, if they possess jurisdiction, or toseek authority to grant an abatement underCh. 58 §8, if they lack such jurisdiction.They possess full discretion in these matters.However, the Department of Revenue be-lieves an abatement is fair and equitable insuch situations.

PAYMENT DUE TO MUNICIPALITY

WHERE VEHICLE WAS ORIGINALLY

REGISTERED

The excise for any particular year is due tothe municipality in which a vehicle was reg-istered on January 1 of that year. For a vehi-cle not registered on January 1, the excise isdue to the municipality in which the vehiclewas registered after January 1. Therefore,in the case of any person who moves duringany particular registration year, the excisewill be due to the city or town where thevehicle was originally registered for thatcalendar year.

BILL MAILED TO WRONG PERSON

Ch. 60A §2 expressly requires motor vehiclebills to be mailed to the vehicles’ owners.Therefore, collection cannot be enforced inthe case of a bill sent to the wrong person.Such a bill should be abated. If a munici-pality sends a bill to the wrong person, itshould, when it discovers the error, reissue


the bill to the proper person. That bill wouldbe due 30 days from the date of mailing.

RECOMMITMENT OF MOTOR

VEHICLE EXCISE BILLS

A motor vehicle excise bill committed to theincorrect city or town is not enforceable andmust, upon a written request timely submit-ted by the registrant, be abated by the asses-sors of that city or town. Assessors grantingsuch an abatement should, forthwith, notifythe assessors in the municipality where thecommitment should have been made. Uponreceipt of such notification, these assessorsmust recommit that bill to their tax collectorfor mailing to the registrant, regardlesswhen the earlier commitment was made.

ASSESSORS DISCRETION TO

RECOMMIT EXCISE ASSESSMENT

Assessors must commit any and all exciseassessments which are due to their respec-tive municipalities. They lack the discretionto do otherwise. Ch. 60A §2 states that, ex-cept for vehicles which are expressly ex-empt, “[T]he board of assessors shall assessthe excise imposed by [Ch. 60A] section one,and commit the same to the collector oftaxes with their warrant for the collectionthereof.” (Emphasis supplied.) Assessors

have no authority to refuse to commit an ex-cise for some earlier calendar year becausethe commitment for that year has been ex-tinguished or for any other reason.

ASSESSMENT OF MACHINERY

ATTACHED TO A MOTOR VEHICLE

Machinery which is permanently attachedto a motor vehicle or trailer and which can-not feasibly be removed and sold separatelyfor its intended purpose should be assessedas part of the value of the motor vehicle ortrailer under the motor vehicle excise. Whenso assessed, it is exempt from personal prop-erty tax in the same manner as the rest of themotor vehicle or trailer under Ch. 59 §5(35).

COMMON CARRIERS

Common carriers are subject to the motorvehicle excise. A common carrier is onewho, as a regular business, transports per-sons and/or goods from place to place forthose who employ him/her and who payhis/her charges. Therefore, unless a carrieris exempt from the excise as a transportationauthority or otherwise, city and town asses-sors and collectors should assess and levy,in the usual way, an excise on all vehiclesowned by that common carrier which arecustomarily kept in their municipalities.


Ch. 60A §1 exempts the following vehiclesfrom the motor vehicle excise:

I. Vehicles owned and registered by theCommonwealth or any political subdivisionof the Commonwealth. Political subdivi-sions include cities, towns, counties, districtsand authorities.

II. Vehicles owned and registered by anycorporation whose personal property is ex-empt from taxation under Ch. 59 §5, ClausesThird and Tenth. Clause Third exempts thepersonal property owned by literary, benev-olent, charitable and scientific corporations.Clause Tenth exempts the personal propertyowned by religious organizations.

In making a determination about the excisestatus of vehicles owned by a charitable cor-poration, the assessors must ascertainwhether a charity satisfies the Clause Thirdrequisites. Clause Third exempts the:

“[p]ersonal property of a charitable or-ganization, which term, as used in thisclause, shall mean (1) a literary, benevo-lent, charitable or scientific institution ortemperance society, incorporated in thecommonwealth, and (2) a trust for liter-ary, benevolent, charitable, scientific ortemperance purposes if it is establishedby a declaration of trust executed in thecommonwealth or all its trustees are ap-pointed by a court or courts in the com-monwealth and if its principal literary,benevolent, charitable, scientific or tem-perance purposes are principally andusually carried out within the common-wealth.” (Emphasis added.)

The documents a charity should provide,therefore, are, for a corporation, a copy ofthe articles of incorporation, and for a trust,a copy of its declaration of trust. These doc-uments, alone, should be sufficient to deter-

mine whether a charity qualifies for exemp-tion on automobiles it owns and registers.(To determine a charity’s tax status regard-ing real property, additional documentswould be necessary to establish how theproperty was occupied and used on thequalification date.)

III. Vehicles leased for a full calendar yearto any charitable corporation except a charit-able educational corporation which eithergrants degrees or awards diplomas. (Vehiclesowned by such educational corporationswhich satisfy the exemption requisites fora charitable corporation, cited above, areexempt from the excise.)

A. Only a vehicle leased for a full calen-dar year may qualify for an exemption.Therefore, a vehicle leased from Febru-ary 1 of one year through January 31 ofthe next year would not qualify for anexemption. A vehicle leased from Febru-ary 1 of one year through January 31 ofthe second following year could onlyqualify for the full calendar year con-tained within the 24 months of the lease.

B. The Legislature’s purpose in restrict-ing the excise exemption on vehiclesleased to charities to full calendar yearsis the fact that the excise, itself, is as-sessed on a calendar year basis. Withoutthis restriction, a leasing company couldobtain a calendar year exemption onthe basis of a lease which terminatedat some time during a calendar year.

C. Vehicles leased to private schoolswhich are organized as charities are notexempt from the motor vehicle excise.

D. To determine the eligibility of lessorsunder this provision, assessors shouldrequire:

Exemptions 2

1. A copy of the lease agreement orsome other documentation which dis-closes the dates the lease commencesand terminates.

2. The name, address and sales taxexemption number of the non-profitlessee.

IV. Vehicles owned and registered by formerprisoners of war or the surviving spouses offormer prisoners of war.

A. This exemption is available only atlocal option. It must be accepted by avote of the city council with the approvalof the mayor, in a city, and by vote of thetown meeting or town council, in a town.

B. To qualify as a former prisoner of war,a person must have been regularly ap-pointed, enrolled, enlisted or inductedinto the military forces of the UnitedStates and been captured, separated andincarcerated by an enemy of the UnitedStates during an armed conflict.

C. At the time of the initial filing of anapplication for this exemption, the appli-cant must supply sufficient evidence ofthe former prisoner of war’s earlier in-carceration, either through documenta-tion by the Veterans Administration orby providing a copy of the veteran’s dis-charge papers. In future years, only theapplication for exemption must be filed.

D. A surviving spouse of a deceasedformer prisoner of war is entitled to thisexemption until such time as that surviv-ing spouse remarries.

E. Prisoner of war registration platesare not necessary for entitlement to thisexemption.

V. Vehicles owned and registered by handi-capped persons.

A. Handicapped veterans:

1. To qualify as a veteran, a personmust have been honorably dischargedfrom the armed services and haveserved in either World War I, World

War II, the Korean Emergency, theVietnamese War, the Lebanese PeaceKeeping Force, the Panamanian Inter-vention Force or the Persian Gulf.

2. In addition, the person must, byreason of such service, have sufferedeither (a) an actual loss of or a perma-nent and complete loss of use of, oneor both feet or one or both hands or(b) a permanent vision impairment,of the magnitude set out in Ch. 60A§1, of one or both eyes. As used in thisstatute, loss of use is the constructiveequivalent of an actual loss. No mag-nitude of loss which is less than totalloss of use qualifies an individual forexemption.

3. This loss must be documented bythe records of the Veterans Administra-tion.

4. This exemption is restricted for eachhandicapped veteran to one vehicle ata time, owned and registered by theveteran for personal, non-businessuse. It does not preclude a qualifyingperson’s receiving an abatement on asecond vehicle in a calendar year solong as he/she: a) conveys title to thefirst vehicle upon which he/she al-ready received an excise abatement,and b) transfers the registration fromthe first vehicle to the second or can-cels the registration on the first vehicleand obtains a new registration onthe second.

5. A veteran who owns more than onevehicle has the right to choose thevehicle upon which to obtain anexemption.

6. A handicapped veteran who ownsa vehicle jointly with his/her spouseor with some other person(s) satisfiesthe ownership requisite for a full ex-emption. See the Appellate Tax Boarddecision in Brunette v. Assessors ofSouthampton, Docket No. F231437,issued October 11, 1966.

18 Exemptions

B. Handicapped non-veterans:

1. This exemption is available to aperson who has suffered either (a)an actual loss of or a permanent andcomplete loss of use of both legs or botharms or (b) a permanent vision im-pairment of both eyes of the magni-tude set out in Ch. 60A §1. As withthe exemption for handicapped veter-ans, loss of use is the constructiveequivalent of an actual loss.

2. A board of assessors may requirean applicant for this exemption toprovide a certification by a physicianof the existence of the requisite loss.

3. This exemption is restricted for eachhandicapped person to one vehicle ata time, owned and registered by theperson for personal, non-business use.It does not preclude a qualifyingperson’s receiving an abatement ona second vehicle in a calendar year solong as he/she: a) conveys title to thefirst vehicle upon which he/she al-ready received an excise abatement,and b) transfers the registration fromthe first vehicle to the second or can-cels the registration on the first vehicleand obtains a new registration onthe second.

4. A person who owns more than onevehicle has the right to choose the ve-hicle upon which to obtain an exemp-tion.

5. A handicapped person who ownsa vehicle jointly with his/her spouseor with some other person(s) satisfiesthe ownership requisite for a full ex-emption. See the Appellate Tax Boarddecision in Brunette v. Assessors ofSouthampton, Docket No. F231437,issued October 11, 1966.

C. Handicap Plates:

A person need not have a handicap plateto be eligible for this exemption. Alterna-tively, one who has a handicap plate is

not per se entitled to an exemption. Therequisite loss must still be demonstrated.

VI. Vehicles operated with Section 5 platesand owned or controlled by manufacturers,farmers or dealers. (See discussion of farmvehicles, following.)

Formerly, vehicles operated with repairplates also qualified for an exemption fromthe excise. However, this exemption wasrepealed, commencing with calendar year1991. Frequently, tow trucks are operatedwith repair plates. Such trucks are not ex-empt from the motor vehicle excise.

The exemption for vehicles operated withthese special plates is conditional, however.It should only be granted if:

A. The vehicles are operated exclusivelyfor business purposes. The statute for-bids the use of such vehicles for the per-sonal use or convenience of the holderof the special plates or some other per-son. Such activities as commuting orrunning errands, which are clearly forthe “convenience” of some person, isa non-exempt use. The statute makesno allowance for even minimal personaluse. Any degree of personal use, how-ever slight, disqualifies a motor vehiclefrom an excise exemption.

B. The manufacturer, farmer or dealertimely filed an application with the as-sessors using State Tax Form 126A re-questing the exemption. The applicationmust contain a statement “subscribedunder penalties of perjury” by the owneror controller of the vehicle that it will notbe operated for any personal use.

PENALTY FOR UTILIZING VEHICLE

WITH SECTION 5 PLATE FOR

PERSONAL USE

If assessors discover that a vehicle operatedwith special plates and upon which an ex-emption was allowed is, notwithstanding,utilized for personal use, the assessors must,forthwith, assess the excise upon that vehi-


cle. In addition, they shall assess a penaltyof $100.00. An excise assessed in such cir-cumstances cannot be subsequently abatedfor any part of the year of assessment, re-gardless whether title to the vehicle assessedis transferred.

ASSESSMENT SHOULD NOT

BE MADE ON REGISTRATION

PLATES

Making assessments on vehicles operatedwith special plates is problematic for asses-sors because such plates may be movedfrom vehicle to vehicle. Since officials pos-sess no efficient means to know what vehi-cles these are, frequent assessment practicehas been to assess the plates, themselves,rather than the vehicles to which they areattached. This practice, however, is inconsis-tent with the holding of the Supreme Judi-cial Court in Board of Assessors of Needham v.E. J. Bleiler Equipment Co., Inc., 364 Mass. 834(1974), a case which dealt with dealer plates.The Court stated, “An assessment of amotor vehicle excise on dealer’s plates, asopposed to vehicles, is not authorized byG.L. Ch. 60A §1.”

VII. Vehicles jointly registered in Massachu-setts and some other state, and customarilykept in the other state, provided:

A. the individual or business that ownsthe vehicle resides in another state, andhas no principal place of business in theCommonwealth, and

B. the other state does not impose ahigher (1) excise, (2) privilege or prop-erty tax, (3) registration fee or (4) fee inlieu of or in addition to a registration feeon Massachusetts vehicles:

1. customarily kept in Massachusettsand

2. registered:

a) by a resident of Massachusetts

b) both in Massachusetts and in thatother state.

Upon a request by a board of assessors, theCommissioner of Revenue will determinethe exemption eligibility of any particularregistrant. For a Supreme Judicial Court caseapplying the eligibility requisites for this ex-emption, see Akers Motor Lines, Inc. v. StateTax Commissioner, 344 Mass. 359 (1962).

VIII. Vehicles owned and registered by ser-vicemen and women (soldiers and sailors).

A. This exemption is available to non-domiciliary soldiers and sailors who:

1. register their motor vehicles inMassachusetts,

2. are stationed in Massachusetts orsome other state pursuant to militaryorders and

3. are in compliance with the registra-tion laws of the state(s) in which theyreside while on military assignment.

B. The soldier or sailor need not bestationed in Massachusetts. For example,he/she may be stationed in a borderstate. So long as he/she is absent fromhis/her domicile by reason of compli-ance with military orders, he/she isexempt from the motor vehicle excise inevery state except that of his/her domi-cile so long as he/she is in compliancewith the registration laws of the state ofhis/her residence. (Soldiers’ and Sailors’Civil Relief Act, 50 USCA §574 App.)

C. To determine the eligibility of a soldieror sailor who seeks an exemption as anon-domiciliary, the assessors shouldrequire a letter from the soldier or sailor’scommanding officer establishing thathe/she is absent from his/her domicileby reason of compliance with militaryorders, identifying the place of the soldieror sailor’s assignment.

D. A Massachusetts domiciliary who issent to some other state pursuant to mili-tary orders but does not cancel his/herMassachusetts registration is not eligiblefor a motor vehicle exemption.

20 Exemptions

E. A non-domiciliary soldier or sailormay qualify for an exemption on two ormore vehicles. However, for each exemp-tion sought, the soldier or sailor must beable to prove that he/she owns the sub-ject vehicle and utilizes it for personal,non-business use.

F. A non-domiciliary soldier or sailorwho owns a vehicle jointly with his/herspouse or with some other person(s)satisfies the ownership requisite for afull exemption. See the Appellate TaxBoard decision in Brunette v. Assessorsof Southampton, Docket No. F231437,issued October 11, 1966.

IX. Vehicles owned and registered by for-eign dignitaries, diplomats, consular officersor employees.

A. No Massachusetts statute grants amotor vehicle exemption for diplomats,etc. However, numerous tax exemptionsare granted by treaties and conventionswhich have the authority of federal lawand pre-empt any state law to the con-trary. For example, Article 49 of theVienna Convention exempts diplomatsof signatory nations and members oftheir families from all “dues and taxes,personal or real, national, regional ormunicipal,” with exceptions not relevantto motor vehicle excise.

B. In order to verify the status as a diplo-mat of a person claiming an exemption,assessors can contact:

Registration and Titling Unit Diplomatic Motor Vehicle Office U.S. Department of State Officeof Foreign Missions

Washington, D.C. 20520

LIABILITY OF MOTOR VEHICLES

FOR A PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX

The motor vehicle excise is an assessmentin lieu of a personal property tax. Vehicleswhich are exempt from the motor vehicleexcise are not subject to a personal propertytax, pursuant to Ch. 59 §5(35), which ex-

empts from taxation motor vehicles whichare either subject to or exempt from the ex-cise under Ch. 60A.

Conversely, any vehicle which is not subjectto or exempt from the motor vehicle exciseis subject to taxation as personal propertyunder the provisions of Ch. 59 §18. Theowner of any such vehicle should reportthat property to the assessors on a form oflist, using either State Tax Form 2 or 2HF,as appropriate.

VALUATION OF VEHICLES SUBJECT

TO PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX

While Ch. 60A directs that vehicles bevalued for excise in conformance with theformula set out in §1, Ch. 59 §38 prescribesthat assessors value personal property at“fair cash value.” In order to determine thefair cash value of unregistered motor vehi-cles, assessors should use valuation manu-als, such as NADA’s Official Used Car Guide.Such manuals provide average retail prices,as well as manufacturer’s suggested listprices used for excise purposes. In addition,while the purchase price of a motor vehicleis irrelevant for purposes of excise valua-tion, that price is pertinent for personalproperty valuation. So long as a sale is armslength, some weight should be given to thesales price in determining the value of thesubject vehicle for purposes of personalproperty tax assessment.

FARM PLATE EXEMPTION ISSUES

LIMITATION OF USE OF PLATES

A farm plate may not be used on a passen-ger vehicle. A pickup truck is not a passen-ger vehicle for purposes of this provision.Therefore, farm plates may properly be usedon pickup trucks.

USE OF PLATES ON FARM TRACTORS

While farm plates may be used on farm trac-tors, such use does not qualify those tractorsfor an exemption from the motor vehicle ex-cise. The exemption is available only for“motor vehicles and trailers” operated with


farm plates. Pursuant to Ch. 90 §1, vehicleswhich are (a) used for other purposes thantransportation of property, (b) incapable ofbeing driven at a speed exceeding twelvemiles per hour and (c) designed especiallyfor use elsewhere than on the traveled partof ways are expressly exempted from thedefinition of motor vehicles. Since a farmtractor does not satisfy the definition of amotor vehicle, it is not subject to the motorvehicle excise in the first place. Rather, suchequipment should be assessed as personalproperty.

Where the owner of a tractor is “principallyengaged in agriculture,” that tractor may beeligible for assessment as farm machineryunder Ch. 59 §8A. This statute extends a taxadvantage to qualifying farmers. Under itsprovisions, the farm animals, machineryand equipment of a person principally en-gaged in agriculture is assessed “at the rateof five dollars per one thousand dollars ofvaluation.”

Alternatively, an owner of a tractor not qual-ifying for assessment under this statute issubject to taxation under the personal prop-erty provisions of Ch. 59 §18.

USE OF PLATES ON FARM TRAILERS

Farm trailers, also, do not qualify for ex-emption from the motor vehicle excise. Thedefinition of “trailer” in Ch. 90 §1 expresslyexcludes “farm machinery or implementswhen used in connection with the operationof a farm or estate … [and] any vehicle whentowed behind a farm tractor and used inconnection with the operation of a farm orestate.” Therefore, farm trailers, like farmtractors, above, should be assessed eitheras personal property or as farm machinery.

OPERATION OF UNREGISTERED

VEHICLES USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR

AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES

Ch. 90 §9 authorizes the operation of an un-registered tractor, trailer or truck for a dis-tance not exceeding one-half mile, ifuninsured, or two miles, if insured, so longas it is used exclusively for agricultural pur-poses. Evidence of such insurance must befiled with the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.

22 Exemptions

The rules and laws relating to abatementsof the motor vehicle excise are set out inCh. 60A §1.

The authority to abate an excise lies in theboard of assessors. No other person maygrant an abatement.

While assessors possess authority to abatemotor vehicle excises, they may only do soonly within the limitations and consistentwith the specific circumstances which areset out in the statute. These limitations andcircumstances are discussed below.

APPLICATION FOR ABATEMENT

Assessors have jurisdiction to abate anymotor vehicle excise for which a timely filedapplication is filed. To be timely filed, anapplication must be received by the asses-sors within three years after the excise wasdue, or one year after the excise was paid,whichever is later.

PRORATION

As was explained in Chapter 1, motor vehi-cle excises are prorated on a monthly basis.For each month that the assessors allow anabatement on a motor vehicle, the excise due

on that vehicle is reduced by an amountequal to one-twelfth of the annual amountwhich would otherwise have been due,multiplied by the number of months duringwhich the vehicle was not registered. Exceptin the case of an overvaluation, a conditionprecedent to the granting of an abatement isthe cancellation of the registration on a motorvehicle. Where a requisite for an abatementis such cancellation, an abatement cannot begiven for any month during which the vehi-cle was registered for any period of time.

CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION

Canceling the insurance policy on a motorvehicle does not effect a contemporaneouscancellation of the registration on that vehi-cle. Rather, to cause a cancellation, a regis-trant should deal directly with the Registryof Motor Vehicles, either in person, byphone or by mail.

To effectuate a cancellation on a particularvehicle, a registrant should return the licenseplates to the Registry and receive a Plate Re-turn Receipt. A registrant who does not havepossession of those plates should obtainfrom the Registry a Form C19, “Lost PlateAffidavit for Cancellation of Registration.”Obtaining either a Plate Return Receipt ora processed Form C19 will effectuate a can-cellation of the registration on that vehicle.

An insurer, in order to cancel or revoke an in-surance policy on a motor vehicle, must giveelectronic notice to the Registry. If the Reg-istry does not receive a new certificate of in-surance covering the same vehicle within thefollowing 23 days, it will mail notice to theregistrant that unless a new certificate is pro-vided within the ensuing 10 days, the regis-tration on that motor vehicle will be revoked.

Abatements 3

ExamplesA motor vehicle excise is due on February 25, 2005.Any abatement application is due February 25,2008, or one year after the excise is paid if later.

• If the taxpayer pays the excise on February 20,2005, any abatement application is due by Feb-ruary 25, 2008.

• If the taxpayer pays the excise on December 1,2006, the application is still due by February 25,2008.

• If the taxpayer pays the excise on June 10, 2008,however, the application must be filed by June 10,2009.

MINIMUM ABATEMENT

The minimum motor vehicle abatementwhich may be made is $5.00. If a registrantotherwise qualifies for an abatement but theamount of that abatement is less than $5.00,no abatement may be made.

DISCRETIONARY ABATEMENTS

Assessors may abate motor vehicle and boatexcises in certain circumstances where thetaxpayer did not timely file for an abatement.The excise must be unpaid and the abate-ment must be consistent with guidelinesissued by the Commissioner. For details re-garding the assessors’ discretionary author-ity, assessors should consult IGR 04-209.

CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH ALLOW

ASSESSORS TO EXERCISE

ABATEMENT AUTHORITY

Where assessors possess jurisdiction tomake abatements, they may exercise thatauthority in the following circumstances:

A VEHICLE IS OVERVALUED

As is explained in Chapter 1 of this manual,Ch. 60A §1 of the General Laws sets out theprocedure whereby motor vehicles are to bevalued for the purpose of the excise. Thisprocedure is based upon the manufacturer’slist price for that vehicle, discounted by thedesignated percentage which accords withthe age of the vehicle. However, the statutepermits the assessors to abate that value if,in their opinion, the value so determined isexcessive.

Assessors should rarely exercise this abate-ment authority and, then, only in the case ofsome extraordinary circumstance unique to aparticular vehicle. If, for example, a vehiclewere substantially damaged due to an acci-dent or other cause and were not repaired,the assessors could lawfully abate its value.

In the absence of some extraordinary cir-cumstance, however, a value properly calcu-lated should not be altered because valuingall motor vehicles using a uniform proce-

dure ensures equity and regularity in theassessment process.

A REGISTRANT TRANSFERS TITLE TO A

VEHICLE AND CANCELS THE REGISTRATION

ON THAT VEHICLE

Ch. 60A §1 makes an abatement available if“during a calendar year ownership of a motorvehicle … is transferred by sale or otherwiseand its registration is surrendered.

Two actions are necessary for qualificationfor this abatement eligibility. A vehicleowner must both (a) convey title to thevehicle and (b) cancel the registration onthat vehicle. The performance of one ofthese actions, alone, does not qualify a per-son for an abatement. Therefore, a person whocancels the registration on a vehicle during a cal-endar year but does not convey title to the vehi-cle is not entitled to an excise abatement for anypart of that year. For the succeeding fiscalyear, the vehicle should be assessed as per-sonal property. See Chapter 2, “Liability ofmotor vehicles for a personal property tax.”

A transfer of title may be made by gift, sale,repossession or any other action which con-veys ownership from the registrant to someother person. In processing an applicationfor abatement under this provision, asses-sors should require that they be presentedwith a copy of a bill of sale or some otherdocument which establishes that a transferhas occurred. If a registrant claims abandon-ment of a vehicle at a junkyard or someother place of disposition, that registrantmust present evidence thereof, such as a re-ceipt from the owner of the junkyard. If aninsured vehicle is totaled in an accident andsettlement is made for the full value of thevehicle, title passes to the insurance com-pany by right of subrogation (legal doctrineof substituting one creditor for another). Insuch a case, the month the insurance com-pany makes payment to the insured is themonth that title transferred.

Generally, the assessors should require aplate return receipt to show evidence of can-cellation of registration. However, in somecircumstances, such as when a vehicle is to-

24 Abatements

taled in an accident and the vehicle is re-moved to a junkyard, it may not be possiblefor the owner to retrieve the plates. In suchcircumstances, the registrant should cancelthe registration on that vehicle using Reg-istry of Motor Vehicle Form C19 (See copyin Appendix.). Filing this form with theRegistry will eliminate future billings onthe vehicle. Otherwise, excise bills will issueuntil the registration expires.

Whenever the performance of more thanone activity is required to establish eligibil-ity for an abatement, the proper date for usein calculating the amount of the abatementis that date when the final one of the activi-ties is performed.

A REGISTRANT MOVES OUT OF STATE AND

REGISTERS IN SOME OTHER STATE OR

COUNTRY

A registrant is eligible for an excise abate-ment who “during a calendar year … re-moves to another state and registers suchmotor vehicle or trailer in such other stateand surrenders or does not renew his/herregistration in this state.” (G.L. Ch. 60A §1.Emphasis supplied.)

As above, two actions are also necessary forabatement eligibility under this provision.A person must have (1) registered his/hervehicle in some other state and (2) surren-dered his/her Massachusetts registration.

Although, assessors should generally re-quire a person to present to them a platereturn receipt as evidence of cancellationof his/her Massachusetts registration, thisrequirement should be abandoned in thecase of a state (e.g., Arizona and California)which, when issuing a registration, confis-cates the plates of any other state in whichthe vehicle may be registered at the time. Insuch a case, proof of registration in that stateis sufficient evidence of the registrant’s can-cellation of his/her Massachusetts registra-tion. The date of registration in the otherstate could appropriately be deemed thedate of surrender of the Massachusetts reg-istration for purposes of the relevant abate-ment provision under Ch. 60A §1. Of course,

if a person does not cancel his/her registra-tion in Massachusetts using a Form C19, ex-cise bills will continue to issue until theregistration expires.

A PERSON CANCELS THE REGISTRATION

ON A VEHICLE AND SUBSEQUENTLY

RE-REGISTERS THAT VEHICLE IN THE SAME

YEAR

No excise shall be due if assessed on thesame vehicle more than once in any calen-dar year by reason of the re-registration ofthat vehicle, except as outlined above in thecase of a transfer of that vehicle or a moveout of the state by its owner. If a person can-cels the registration on a motor vehicle inany particular year but does not transfertitle to that vehicle or does not move tosome other state and register the vehicle inthe other state and the person subsequentlyre-registers the vehicle in the same year, theexcise imposed for the months of the secondregistration should be abated. Otherwise,the person would be liable for two exciseson the same vehicle for the same year.

A PERSON SELLS OR TRADES A MOTOR

VEHICLE, CANCELS THE REGISTRATION

ON THAT VEHICLE AND SUBSEQUENTLY

TRANSFERS THE REGISTRATION TO SOME

OTHER VEHICLE IN SAME MONTH

If a person sells or trades a vehicle, cancelsthe registration on that vehicle and transfersthat registration to another motor vehicle inthe month of cancellation, the excise may befully abated on the transferred vehicle forthat month. Otherwise, the person would beliable for two excises on the same registra-tion for the same month.

If such a transfer occurs during January, theregistrant is eligible for a full abatement onthe transferred vehicle. The registrant is notliable for a minimum $5.00 assessment onthis transferred vehicle. Rather, the mini-mum excise liability shifts to the secondvehicle.


A VEHICLE IS STOLEN

A. A registrant is eligible for an abate-ment of the excise on a vehicle whichis stolen, provided that the registrant:

1. notifies the police within 48 hoursof discovery of the theft,

2. surrenders the certificate of regis-tration (not sooner than 30 days afterthe theft), and

3. presents a certificate of cancellationof registration from the Registrar ofMotor Vehicles verifying that the ve-hicle has been stolen. If the plates arelost with the stolen vehicle, the regis-trar will issue a Form C19, “Lost PlateAffidavit for Cancellation of Registra-tion.” The abatement will be issuedfor the months following the monthof cancellation of the certificate ofregistration.

B. Vehicle Subsequently Recovered

If a motor vehicle which had been stolenand for which an abatement of the excisehas been granted is subsequently recov-ered and registered in the same calendaryear by the same owner, that owner isliable to pay a proportionate part of theexcise for those months of the remainingyear.

C. False Report of the Theft of a MotorVehicle

If a registrant makes a false report of thetheft of a motor vehicle and seeks or ob-tains, thereby, an abatement of the exciseon that vehicle, the registrant is subject toa penalty of up to three times the excisedue on the vehicle for the entire year. Torecover this penalty, the city or town towhich the excise was payable must bringa civil action against the registrant.

PROCESSING AN ABATEMENT

Upon granting an excise abatement, asses-sors must prepare an abatement certificate(State Tax Form 146) and provide a copy tothe tax collector and a copy to the registrant.Upon receipt of a certificate, a registrantmay go to the tax collector to request a re-fund, if the excise has been paid, or to havethe bill adjusted, if it has not.

The board must maintain copies of all abate-ments granted as permanent records. A ma-jority of the board must sign the abatementcertificates. In addition, the assessors mustregularly prepare a monthly report of all ex-cise abatements granted, using State TaxForm 156, and forward the report for eachparticular month to the collector as soon asreasonably possible following the end ofthat month.

ABATEMENT OF INTEREST

The Supreme Judicial Court, in Bordeau v.Registry of Motor Vehicles, 373 Mass. 429(1977), held that the abatement procedure isavailable to contest costs and fees, as well asthe amount of the excise assessed. TheCourt stated:

“Our construction of the scope of theremedy available in the abatement pro-cedure requires an interpretation of theterm “excise” broad enough to allow anaggrieved taxpayer the right to correct apossible injury due to a wrongful assess-ment of any charge associated with theexcise tax.” Moreover, Ch. 60 §20 pro-vides that when it is found, in any par-ticular case, that no tax is due, costs orfees should not be collected.

Therefore, when a tax collector receivesfrom the assessors a certificate which abatesall of an excise assessment, the collectorshould abate all the collection fees, enumer-ated in Ch. 60 §15, as well as all other inter-est and charges. These fees include fees forthe services of a deputy collector.

26 Abatements

APPEAL OF ASSESSORS’DECISION

Pursuant to Ch. 58A §6, the Appellate TaxBoard has express jurisdiction to decide ap-peals of assessors’ decisions regardingmotor vehicle excise assessments. Ch. 60A§2 expressly authorizes aggrieved parties totake an appeal from any decision by the as-sessors relating to the motor vehicle exciseto the Appellate Tax Board.

REFUND OF INTEREST

If the Appellate Tax Board (or the CountyCommissioners) orders an abatement, Ch.60A §2 mandates that the municipality pay

interest on the refund of any overpayment, atan annual rate of six percent, calculated fromthe date of payment. No interest shall bepaid on account of an overpayment upon anabatement granted by the board of assessors.

NOTIFICATION OF VALUATION

CORRECTION TO REGISTRY

Upon adjusting the value of a motor vehicle,assessors should forward an Assessors-Col-lectors Report of Record Change to the Reg-istry, thereby notifying the Registry of thevalue which is to be subsequently assignedto that vehicle. This assigned value shouldbe the manufacturer’s list price, not the cur-rent depreciated value.


COLLECTION REMEDIES

Pursuant to Ch. 60A §3, a tax collector, in thecollection of the motor vehicle excise, “shallhave all the remedies provided by chaptersixty.”

DEMAND

A prerequisite to the use of most collectionremedies is the mailing of a demand. A de-mand must be “made more than one dayafter an excise becomes due and payable.”Therefore, if a bill were due on February 1,the earliest a demand could properly bemailed would be February 3.

Just as with an initial excise bill, the law doesnot require that a demand bill be received;it requires only that demand be “made.”(Ch. 60A §1 states that “failure to receivenotice [of an original excise bill] shall notaffect the validity of the excise. Ch. 60 §16states, “failure to receive [a demand] shallnot invalidate a tax or any proceedings forthe enforcement or collection of the same.”)

DEPUTY TAX COLLECTORS OR

OTHER COLLECTION OFFICERS

Pursuant to Ch. 60 §92, a tax collector mayappoint a deputy tax collector to assist incollecting delinquent motor vehicle excises.(See IGR 90-219 for requirements governingdeputy collectors.)

ISSUANCE OF A WARRANT

If an excise bill remains unpaid for 14 daysafter the issuance of a demand, the tax col-lector may issue a warrant to a deputycollector or other officer, thereby grantingauthority to that person to collect the delin-quent excise. The Commissioner of Rev-enue’s prescribed warrant form is State TaxForm 266 (updated 11/92). No other form isto be used for this purpose without the ex-

press permission of the Commissioner. Forthe issuance of a warrant, a $5.00 fee isadded to the delinquent bill.

NOTICE OF WARRANT

A deputy tax collector or other officer whoreceives a warrant authorizing the collectionof an overdue excise may give notice to thedelinquent of the receipt of that warrant.The Commissioner of Revenue’s prescribednotice form is State Tax Form 275 (updated11/92). No other form is to be used for thispurpose without the express permission ofthe Commissioner. For sending notice of theissuance of a warrant, a $9.00 fee is addedto the delinquent bill.

EXHIBITION OF WARRANT

If a delinquent motor vehicle excise is notpaid within 30 days of the mailing of noticeof the issuance of a warrant, a deputy taxcollector or other officer may personally“exhibit” the warrant or leave it at the lastand usual place of abode or place of busi-ness of the delinquent. Exhibiting a warrantrequires an in hand presentation of the docu-ment either to the delinquent taxpayer, him-self/herself, or to his/her representative.Leaving a copy of a warrant at the regis-trant’s last and usual place of abode requiresa personal delivery to the place of residencewhich reasonable diligence would discoverto be the taxpayer’s customary and mostrecent residence. (See IGR 89-215.) Alterna-tively, the delinquent may serve the delin-quent, in hand, at his/her place of business.

For each service of warrant, a deputy collec-tor or other officer must execute a Certifica-tion of Service of Warrant, State Tax Form276, and turn that certification over to thetax collector. A mere mailing of the warrant atthis stage will not, under any circumstances,justify the imposition of the $14.00 charge.

Collection Procedures 4

For exhibiting a warrant or leaving a copyof the warrant, a $14.00 fee is added to thedelinquent bill.

USE OF A COLLECTION AGENCY

A tax collector may, also, enter into agree-ments with collection agencies, pursuant toG.L. Ch. 60 §2B, for the collection of delin-quent excises and other taxes, except taxeson real property. Any collector who entersinto such an agreement retains discretionwhether to use the agency’s services priorto utilizing the non-renewal procedures. Ifhe/she chooses to issue a warrant to a col-lection agency, however, he/she is not sub-sequently obligated to have the warrantserved if payment is not made within 30days of notice of issuance of that warrant.

PARTIAL PAYMENTS

G.L. Ch. 60 of the General Laws governsand regulates the payment of local taxes.Section 22 thereof permits, with certain limi-tations, a person who is assessed a tax uponreal estate to make a partial payment of thattax. This permissive provision is limited inapplication to real estate taxes. G.L. Ch. 60A,on the other hand, does not extend anycorresponding authorization to personsassessed a motor vehicle excise. Therefore,a collector may properly refuse to accepta partial payment.

NON-RENEWAL OF LICENSE

AND/OR REGISTRATION

Ch. 60A §2A permits a tax collector, with theassistance of the Registry of Motor Vehicles,to place in non-renewal status the licenseand registration of a person whose exciseassessment remains unpaid for 14 or moredays after the mailing of a demand. A per-son placed in such status will be unable torenew his/her license and registration upontheir expiration until the subject excise hasbeen paid.

PREREQUISITES TO USE OF THE

NON-RENEWAL PROCESS

The Supreme Judicial Court in Wright v. Col-lector and Treasurer of Arlington, 422 Mass.

455 (1996), said, “[Ch. 60A] makes the is-suance and service of a warrant a prerequi-site to the notification to the Registry ofMotor Vehicles.” Therefore, a collector maynot utilize the non-renewal process untilafter a warrant has been served.

TWO-YEAR LIMITATION ON PLACING MARKS

Pursuant to Registry regulations, a licenseor registration may not be submitted to bemarked for non-renewal status more thantwo years after the initial excise tax issu-ance was made. These regulations reducethe statutory, six-year limitation set out inCh. 60A §2A to two years for all excise billsissued after December 31, 1993 by thosemunicipalities possessing the capabilityto process current transactions.

INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR PLACEMENT

OF MARKS

A collector or other officer who transmitsto the Registrar notice of the non-paymentof an excise must include with that notice:

• The bill number.

• The bill issuance date.

• The vehicle registration number.

• The owner’s name and license number.

CLEARING NON-RENEWAL MARKS

The tax collector is responsible to clear amark whenever all monies due with respectto that mark have been paid. A mark mayby cleared either through an (a) On-Lineor (b) Batch Clear Transaction, made by anauthorized person. To learn about develop-ing on-line capability, see the section whichfollows in this manual entitled, “On-LineAccess to Non-Renewal.” If your commu-nity is not on line, you may periodicallyclear clusters of marks by sending on tapeto the Registry the necessary information.The Registry’s Non-Renewal Program: BatchProcessing Manual explains how to effectbatch clear transactions.

If a collector clears a mark through a BatchClear Transaction, the mark, of course, willnot be actually removed until after the batchhas been transmitted to the Registry. In such

30 Collection Procedures

a case, the collector may issue a CertifiedReceipt, attesting that full payment due withrespect to that mark has been made. The is-suance of such a document will enable theperson to renew a license or registration im-mediately. A collector who issues a CertifiedReceipt must, also, ensure that the subjectmark is electronically cleared.

• Mark Relates to a Person’s License

Where the non-renewal mark has beenplaced on a person’s license, the markshould not be removed until all motor vehi-cle excises owed by that person on all vehi-cles have been paid.

• Mark Relates to the Registration of aSingle Vehicle

Where the non-renewal mark has beenplaced on the registration of a single vehicle,the mark should be removed upon paymentof the total amount due on that vehicle. Thecollector should not refuse to remove themark because excises are due on othervehicles.

PERSONS WHO MAY PLACE MARKS

A collector may contract with a deputy col-lector, a collection agency or any other re-sponsible party to transmit to the Registrarwhatever information is necessary for theimplementation and operation of the non-renewal procedure. The cost for such servicemay not be added to the excise tax bill of adelinquent.

IN-OFFICE ALTERNATIVES TO USE OF

NON-OFFICE STAFF

A tax collector may utilize the warrant pro-cedures without engaging the services ofeither a deputy collector or a collectionagency by issuing a warrant to his/herassistant collector or to any other officerbonded for the receipt of municipal taxes.The collector, or any person delegated byhim/her to do so, may issue a notice of war-rant to a delinquent and, if the bill is nottimely paid, make service of that warrant.

COLLECTOR FEES

Pursuant to G.L. Ch. 60 §15, collectors mayadd specific fee amounts to the excise forwarrant services, as follows:

1. For the issuance and delivery of awarrant: $10.00.

2. For mailing notice of that warrant toa delinquent: $12.00.

3. For exhibiting that warrant to a delin-quent or leaving a copy of that warrantat the last and usual residence or placeof business of the delinquent: $17.00.

These warrant fees are the property of thecollector, unless the municipality has en-acted a by-law, pursuant to G.L. Ch. 40§21(13) requiring the collector to turn allfees over to the treasurer. If a warrant fee isthe property of a collector, that collectormay, by agreement, compensate a deputycollector or a collection agency all or part ofthat fee for performing the service associ-ated with the fee. If, on the other hand, amunicipality has enacted a by-law requiringthe collector to turn over all fees, compen-sation for the services of a deputy collectoror a collection agency may be made onlythrough an appropriation. Whenever adelinquent’s license and registration areplaced in non-renewal status, a $20.00 fee isassessed for the removal of that mark. Thefee is added to the delinquent bill and iscollected by the municipality. Upon collec-tion, this $20.00 shall be turned over to themunicipal treasurer and deposited in thegeneral fund. On or before September 1 ofeach year, the Registrar shall certify, for eachcity and town, the total number of accountswhich had been previously marked and forwhich all payments due were made duringthe preceding fiscal year. The state treasurerwill deduct $20.00 for each such accountfrom the amounts distributed to cities andtowns on the Cherry Sheet.

The $20.00 will not be assessed if a license orregistration was marked non-renewal statusby error and the mark is subsequently re-moved by the collector or other officerthrough an “error clear” transaction. Such


a transaction may be performed by checkingthe “error clear” box on a certified receipt orby placing a “Y” in the error field in an elec-tronic transmission to the Registry.

If an excise bill, and related charges, areabated because the bill was sent to thewrong address due to a Registry error, themark should be removed by the collector orother officer through an “error clear” trans-action, thereby ensuring that a $20.00 chargeis not imposed.

The $20.00 marking charge, together withthe collection fees enumerated in G.L. Ch. 60§15, constitute the only amounts which maybe added to an excise. Cities and towns maynot add to an excise any other cost incurredby them.

ON-LINE ACCESS TO

NON-RENEWAL

The Registry will arrange for any municipal-ity which so desires to obtain on-line accessto the non-renewal system. A municipalitymay choose such access either for inquirypurposes or to make updates in the Reg-istry’s data bank.

Any municipality desiring such accessshould make a written request to:

Non-Renewal ProgramRegistry of Motor Vehicles1135 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02120

REFUNDS

INTEREST ON ABATEMENTS

The requirements and procedure set out inCh. 59 §69 relative to refunds of interest onabated taxes do not apply to motor vehicleexcise abatements, granted under Ch. 60A.Ch. 59 §69 states:

“A person whose tax has been abated shall,if the tax has been paid, be reimbursed bythe town to the amount of the abatement al-lowed, including all interest and chargespaid therewith. …”

As noted earlier in this Manual in the sec-tion entitled “Refund of Interest,” a munici-pality is liable to pay interest on a refund inthe case of a motor vehicle abatement onlywhen an abatement is ordered by the Appel-late Tax Board or the county commissioners.

ABATEMENT OF INTEREST

At the same time, however, when a motorvehicle registrant comes to the collector’s of-fice to pay an overdue excise bill which hasbeen partially abated, the collector shouldrecalculate the interest due. No interest shouldbe assessed on that portion of the underlying ex-cise which was abated.

UNCOLLECTIBLE EXCISE: 60A §7If a collector, after diligent attempts to col-lect a motor vehicle excise, concludes thatthe excise is uncollectible due to the death,absence, poverty, insolvency, bankruptcy orother inability of the assessed person to pay,the collector should so notify the assessorson oath and in writing, using State Tax Form380A-60A-7. Upon receipt of such notifica-tion, the assessors should conduct an appro-priate investigation to verify that the exciseis, indeed, uncollectible. If they so find, theymay abate the excise in whole or in part.They should notify the collector of theiraction using State Tax Form 166A-60A-7.Receipt of said notification discharges thecollector from any further obligation tocollect such excises.

The assessors are directed by the statuteto act within 30 days of notification by thecollector.

If at any future time the assessors believethat an excise, which they had earlier abatedunder this provision, has become collectible,they may issue a new commitment to thecollector for the collection of that excise.

32 Collection Procedures

ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILES

Antique automobiles are defined in Ch. 90§1 as “any vehicle over 25 years old whichis maintained solely for use in exhibitions,club activities, parades and other functionsof public interest and which is not used pri-marily for the transportation of passengersor goods over any way.”

Antique automobiles may be registeredunder the provisions of Ch. 90 §6A.

A motor vehicle excise should be imposed inthe regular manner upon a registered, an-tique automobile, just as if that vehicle werenot an antique. The vehicle should be val-ued for excise purposes in accordance withthe valuation formula set out in Ch. 60A §1and discussed in Chapter 1 of this manual.The value should not be increased to actualmarket value.

If, on the other hand, an antique automobileis not registered, it should be assessed as per-sonal property under the provisions of Ch.59 §18. The value of the vehicle for such as-sessment should be its actual market value.

EXCISE ABATEMENT APPLICATION

IS A PUBLIC RECORD

Unlike applications for abatement of realand personal property taxes, which areprotected from public inspection by the pro-visions of Ch. 59 §60, applications for abate-ment of motor vehicle excises are publicrecords. Ch. 59 §60 exempts from classifica-tion as public records only applications forabatement under Ch. 59, whereas the motorvehicle excise is levied under Ch. 60A.Therefore, State Tax Forms 126 and 126Amust be disclosed to any requester at rea-sonable times and without unreasonabledelay.

SPECIAL PLATES

Ch. 90 §5 authorizes the Registrar to issuespecial plates to persons engaged in thefollowing occupations relating to motor ve-hicles: (1) manufacturer (2) dealer (3) repair-man (4) recreational vehicle and recreationaltrailer dealer (5) boat and boat trailer dealer(6) farmer (7) owner-contractor (8) trans-porter and (9) person involved in the har-vesting of forest products.

1. Manufacturers, dealers and farmersmay qualify for excise exemptions onvehicles operated with special plates.(See Chapter 2.) No excise exemptionsare available to persons in the otheroccupations on vehicles they operatewith special plates.

2. Special mobile equipment operatedby owner-contractors with specialplates should be assessed as personalproperty. Ch. 90 §1 defines suchequipment as “a motor vehicle whichis principally designed to conduct ex-cavations or lift building materials ata public or private construction siteand is operated on a way for the solepurpose of transportation to or fromsaid construction site and has a grossvehicle weight of at least twelve thou-sand pounds.” Pursuant to Ch. 90 §1,vehicles which are (a) used for otherpurposes than transportation of prop-erty, (b) incapable of being driven ata speed exceeding twelve miles perhour and (c) used exclusively for thebuilding, repair and maintenance ofhighways or designed especially foruse elsewhere than on the traveledpart of ways are expressly exemptedfrom the definition of motor vehicles.Since special mobile equipment doesnot satisfy the definition of a motorvehicle, it cannot qualify for the exciseexemption.

Miscellaneous 5

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

There is no statute of limitations upon theassessment of a motor vehicle excise inMassachusetts. At the same time, however,the usual enforcement procedures employedto collect delinquent motor vehicle excisescease to be available if not utilized in atimely fashion. For example, pursuant toG.L. Ch. 260 §2, a delinquent excise cannotbe recovered in an action in contract if thataction is not commenced within six years ofthe origin of the contract. In addition, pur-suant an amendment to G.L. Ch. 60A §2A,made by Section 29 of Ch. 151 of the Acts of1993, a license or registration cannot be sub-mitted to be marked non-renewal status“later than six years after the initial excisetax issuance was made.” By regulation, theRegistry has narrowed this period to twoyears for all excise bills issued after Decem-ber 31, 1993 by those municipalities possess-ing the capability to process currenttransactions.

These six year limits do not begin to run inthe case of any particular excise until thedate the assessment is made. Therefore, if a1996 excise were not assessed until February1, 1998, the collector could bring an action incontract for its collection or could submit theregistrant’s license and registration for mark-ing at any time on or before February 1, 2004.

MOBILE HOMES/MANUFACTURED

HOUSING

IF LOCATED IN A MOBILE HOME PARK/MANUFACTURED HOUSING COMMUNITY

The owner of a mobile home (manufacturedhousing unit) situated in a mobile homepark (manufactured housing community) issubject to a monthly license fee pursuant toCh. 140 §32G. Such owner is only subject tothe motor vehicle excise if he/she registersthe mobile home.

IF NOT LOCATED IN A MOBILE HOME PARK/MANUFACTURED HOUSING COMMUNITY

The owner of a mobile home which is notsituated in a mobile home park is, also, sub-

ject to the motor vehicle excise only if he/sheregisters the mobile home. However, if he/she does not register it, he/she is subject toa personal property tax on the mobile home.

BANKRUPTCY

AUTOMATIC STAY OF COLLECTION

PROCEDURES

The filing of a petition in bankruptcy oper-ates as an automatic stay to prohibit effortsto enforce collection of obligations of thebankrupt debtor that arose before the filingof the petition. The stay remains in effectuntil the case is resolved, normally by thegrant of a discharge in the case of an indi-vidual debtor. While the stay is in effect, col-lectors and their deputies should not takeany steps to collect excise bills that werecommitted before the filing of the bank-ruptcy petition. That means no demandsshould be issued, no notices of non-renewalof licenses should be sent to the Registry ofMotor Vehicles, and no suits or other actionsshould be brought against the debtor whilethe bankruptcy litigation is pending, unlessthe bankruptcy court gives its permission.

DEBTS NOT DISCHARGED BY A BANKRUPT

PETITION

A discharge in bankruptcy discharges cer-tain debts; among the debts not dischargedare taxes which were priority claims. Prior-ity tax claims include excises on transactionsoccurring during the three years before thefiling of the petition. We think, therefore,that motor vehicle excises for the three yearspreceding the filing of a petition should betreated as priority claims.

COLLECTOR SHOULD FILE PROOF OF CLAIM

WITH BANKRUPTCY COURT

Although priority tax claims are exemptfrom discharge whether or not they werefiled or allowed in the bankruptcy proceed-ings, a collector should file a Proof of Claim,whenever possible. This filing should bemade using Bankruptcy Court Form B10.

If an excise or other tax is not accorded pri-ority status, it will usually be subject to any

34 Miscellaneous

discharge granted the debtor. A dischargeoperates as an injunction to prohibit effortsto collect debts that have been discharged.As with the automatic stay, no demandsshould be issued, etc., with respect to dis-charged debts.

PROCEDURE WHEN A NON-RENEWAL

MARK HAS BEEN PLACED PRIOR TO THE

FILING OF A BANKRUPTCY PETITION

When a person whose license or registrationhas been marked files a petition in bank-ruptcy subsequent to the placement of themark, we believe that person should notbe precluded from renewing his/her licenseand registration for the pendancy of thebankruptcy. Rather, during such pendancy,when the license or any registration of thepetitioner is due to be renewed, the markshould be removed, the renewal accom-plished and, with the permission of theCourt, the mark replaced.

MINIMUM REFUND

No refund of a motor vehicle excise may bemade in an amount less than $5.00. There-fore, if a person has overpaid his/her exciseby an amount less that $5.00, no refund maybe made.

TITLE IN THE CASE OF DEATH OF

A SPOUSE

Ch. 90D §15A sets out a rule whereby titleto a motor vehicle owned by a decedentspouse passes on the date of death to thesurviving spouse. The statute declares:

“Upon the death of a married residentowner of a motor vehicle registered asa pleasure vehicle in the commonwealth,and unless otherwise provided in a will,said motor vehicle, if used for suchpurpose, shall be deemed to havebeen jointly held property with rightof survivorship and the interest of saiddecedent shall pass to the survivingspouse. …”

INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION

PLAN

The International Registration Plan (IRP) isa program drafted by the American Associa-tion of Motor Vehicle Administrators to alle-viate certain problems relating to truckingcompanies operating in interstate com-merce. In the absence of this program, suchcompanies are regulated by the severalstates (and/or provinces) in which theyoperate. Each truck must carry plates foreach of these jurisdictions, creating adminis-trative and regulatory problems for the statesand provinces and for the trucking firms.

The IRP eliminates the necessity for multipleplates. Instead, under its provisions eachtrucking company may register its vehiclesonly in its “base jurisdiction.” A company’sbase jurisdiction is that place “where theregistrant has an established place of busi-ness, where mileage is accrued by thefleet and where operational records ofsuch fleet are maintained or can be madeavailable. …” IRP, Art. II §210.

A vehicle registered under the IRP may op-erate with only one registration plate. Regis-tration fees for that plate are apportioned toall of the states (and/or provinces) in whichthe vehicle operates, according to a formulabased on the miles traveled in each jurisdic-tion and on the jurisdiction’s rate formula.

The International Registration Plan does notpossess any independent force of law. To beeffective, it must be adopted by the legisla-ture of each signatory state or province. In1990, with an amendment to G.L. Ch. 90 §2,the Massachusetts Legislature authorizedthe Registrar of Motor Vehicles “to enterinto reciprocal agreements on behalf of thecommonwealth … to enter into and becomea member of the International RegistrationPlan.” Massachusetts officially entered theplan on January 1, 1994.


— A —abandonment, 24abatement certificate, 26abatement of interest, 26, 32abatements, 10–11, 23–24, 26, 32action in contract, 34address to which bill should be mailed, 13administrator, 12–13affidavit of sending, 12agricultural purposes, 22Akers Motor Lines v. Tax Commissioner, 20amended license, 14antique automobiles, 33appeal of assessors’ decision, 27Appellate Tax Board, 18–19, 21, 27, 32application for abatement, 23–24articles of incorporation, 17assessment by Commissioner of Revenue, 11assessments on plates, 20association, 10, 12, 35authorization to print bills, 9automatic stay, 34–35

— B —Bankruptcy Court Form B10, 34bankruptcy, 32, 34–35base jurisdiction, 35batch, 10, 30bills, 9–11, 14–15, 25, 30, 34Bordeau v. Registry of Motor Vehicles, 26Brunette v. Assessors of Southampton, 18–19, 21bulk purchasing valuation books, 10

— C —calculation of the excise amount, 8, 11calendar year, 7, 11, 14–15, 17–19, 24–26cancellation of registration, 23, 25–26Casey v. Gallagher, 12certificate of abatment, 26certificate of insurance, 23certification of physical loss, 19Certification of Service of Warrant, 29certified receipt, 31–32Ch. 40 §21(13), 31Ch. 58 §8, 10, 13–14, 24Ch. 58A §6, 27Ch. 59 §5(35), 15, 21Ch. 59 §8A, 22

Ch. 59 §18, 21–22, 33Ch. 59 §38, 21Ch. 59 §60, 33Ch. 59 §69, 32Ch. 60, 12–13, 26, 29–32Ch. 60 §2B, 30Ch. 60 §3, 12Ch. 60 §15, 26, 31–32Ch. 60 §16, 29Ch. 60 §20, 26Ch. 60 §36, 13Ch. 60 §92, 29Ch. 60A §1, 8, 17–20, 23–25, 29, 33Ch. 60A §2, 12, 14–15, 27Ch. 60A §2A, 30, 34Ch. 60A §3, 29Ch. 60A §6, 10Ch. 60A §7, 32 Ch. 90, 7–8, 12–14, 22, 33, 35Ch. 90 §1, 7, 22, 33Ch. 90 §2, 12, 35Ch. 90 §2A, 12Ch. 90 §3, 8Ch. 90 §5, 7, 33Ch. 90 §6A, 33Ch. 90 §9, 22Ch. 90 §26A, 13Ch. 90 §33, 14Ch. 90 §34A, 8Ch. 90D §2, 12Ch. 90D §4, 12Ch. 90D §15A, 35Ch. 140 §32G, 34Ch. 197 §9, 12Ch. 260 §2, 34change of address, 13–14Chapter 151 of the Acts of 1993, 34charity, 17chassis, 9Cherry Sheet, 9, 31Civil Relief Act, 20Clause Third, 17clearing non-renewal marks, 30clerical error, 14collection agency, 30–31collection fees, 26, 32collection remedies, 29collector fees, 31

Index

commercial vehicles, 7common carriers, 15computer valuation, 9consular officers, 21corporation, 10, 12, 17customarily kept, 10–11, 15, 20

— D —date of mailing, 12, 15dealer, 8–9, 19–20, 33death of a spouse, 35decedent, 12–13, 35declaration of trust, 17default valuations, 9definition of calendar year, 7definition of motor vehicle, 7demand, 13, 29–30deputy tax collector, 29diplomas, 17diplomats, 21distribution of bills or billing information, 10domicile, 20

— E —electronic valuation, 9error clear, 31–32executor, 12–13exemptions, 17–18, 20–22, 33exhibition of warrant, 29

— F —failure to receive bill, 13failure to receive demand, 29false report of theft, 26farm plate exemption issues, 21farm tractors, 21–22farm trailers, 22farmer, 19, 33fees, 13–14, 26, 31–32, 35fixed equipment, 9foreign dignitaries, 21Form #10094, 13Form 126A, 19Form 146, 26Form 166A-60A-7, 32Form C19, 23, 25–26former prisoners of war, 18

— G —garaged out of state, 11granting an abatement, 23, 26

— H —handicap plates, 19handicapped persons, 18harvesters, 7

— I —IGR 89-215, 29IGR 90-219, 29IGR 92-206, 24IGR 94-202, 13information required for placement of, 30information, 9–11, 14, 30–31insurance coverage selection sheet, 10interest on abated taxes, 32interest, 12–14, 26–27, 32–33, 35International Registration Plan, 35issuance of a warrant, 29

— J —jointly registered in two states, 20junk yard, 24–25

— L —labels for address changes, 14leased vehicle, 12lessee, 12, 18lessor, 12list price, 8–9, 24, 27Lost Plate Affidavit, 23, 26

— M —MAAO, 10machinery attached to a motor vehicle, 15mailed to wrong address, 13mailed to wrong person, 14mailing after issuance date, 11mailing, 11–13, 15, 23, 29–31manufactured housing unit, 34manufacturer’s suggested retail price, 8manufacturer, 8–9, 19, 21, 24, 27, 33marks, 30–31minimum abatement, 23minimum assessment, 11minimum refund, 35minors, 12mobile home, 34month of transfer, 25monthly abatement report, 26Motorcycle Blue Book, 9–10motorized bicycles, 7move out of state, 25move to new address, 13

— N —NADA, 9–10, 21Needham v. E. J. Bleiler Equipment Co., 20non-domiciliary servicemen, 20non-electronic valuation, 9non-office staff, 31non-renewal, 30–32, 34–35non-resident, 8

Index 38

non-veterans, 19notice of warrant, 29, 31notification od change of address, 13notification of valuation correction, 27

— O —on-line access to non-renewal, 30, 32overvalued vehicle, 24owner, 8, 10, 12–13, 19, 21–22, 24–26, 30, 34–35owner-contractors, 7, 33

— P —partial payment, 30partnership, 10, 12payment due date, 11penalty for utilizing vehicle with, 19period of assessment, 7permanent records, 26person to whom bill should be assessed, 12personal property tax, 15, 21, 24, 34personal property valuation, 21personal use, 19place of assessment, 10place of garaging, 10place where payment is due, 14Plate Return Receipt, 23, 25preparation of bills or billing information, 9principal place of business, 10, 13, 20principally garaged, 10prisoners of war, 18privilege of registering, 7processing an abatement, 26Proof of Claim, 34proration, 11, 23public record, 33pulled or towed, 7

— R —rate, 8–9, 12, 22, 27, 35re-registration, 25reciprocal agreements, 35recommitment, 15recovered stolen vehicle, 26refunds, 32registered in two states, 20registrant moves, 13–14, 25registration periods, 8repair plates, 19repairmen, 7residential address, 10, 13role of the Division of Local Services, 10role of the Registry of Motor Vehicles, 9

— S —schools, 17servicemen, 20

Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, 20special mobile equipment, 33special plates, 19–20, 33spouses of former prisoners of war, 18State Tax Form 146, 26State Tax Form 156, 26State Tax Form 166A-60A-7, 32State Tax Form 2 or 2HF, 21State Tax Form 266, 29State Tax Form 276, 29statute of limitations, 34stolen vehicle, 26subrogation, 24subsequent registration in same year, 25Supreme Judicial Court, 12, 20, 26, 30

— T —Tax Form 275, 29theft, 26timely filed, 19, 23–24timely paid, 11–12, 14, 31totaled vehicle, 24tow trucks, 19trailers, 7, 9, 21–22trains, 7transfer title and cancel registration, 24transporters, 7trolleys, 7Truck Blue Book, 9–10trust, 17two year limitation on placing marks, 30

— U —uncollectible excise, 32

— V —valuation manuals, 21valuation of personal property, 9vanity plates, 7vehicle identification number, 9vehicles leased to charities, 17vehicles leased to private schools, 17vehicles subject to excise, 7Veterans Administration, 18veterans, 18–19Vienna Convention, 21

— W —warrant, 15, 29–31who may place marks, 31window pricing sticker, 9Wright v. Collector and Treasurer of Arlington, 30wrong address, 13, 32wrong person, 14


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