Quick survey will help task force analyze property tax policy

Concerns that increasing property taxes make Acton less affordable for some in our community led the Select Board in 2023 to adopt a tax relief option under state law known as the residential tax exemption (RTE).

The RTE is available to all homeowners for whom the home is the owner’s primary residence as of January 1. No age, income, or asset limits apply. Renters benefit only if a landlord living in the same property passes the tax reduction along to tenants; inversely, renters are hurt if the increased property tax is passed along. In addition to the RTE, other, more targeted programs offer tax relief to those in special need. 

Under Acton’s RTE, 10% of the average assessed residential value is deducted from the assessed value of each eligible home before its tax bill is calculated. It reduces the tax bill in RTE-eligible homes assessed below $2.3 million and increases the tax bill for homes above that value. Almost 90% of RTE-eligible homes in Acton are valued below $2.3 million. 

To better understand how property taxes and the RTE affect individual households in Acton, the Select Board created a seven-person task force.  Its charge is to advise on the RTE’s impact and analyze possible alternatives to enable elders to stay in their homes and accommodate households across a broader income spectrum.

We have developed a townwide survey to better understand the impacts of this policy. The anonymous survey is open to all residents, homeowners and renters alike. It seeks to determine how effective the RTE is in achieving the Select Board’s objectives, the extent to which housing costs — especially property taxes — represent a financial burden, and how significant that burden is in residents’ deliberations about whether to remain in town. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. 

All Acton residents have received a postcard with a link to the online survey, which is available at bit.ly/ResTaxSurvey. Paper copies are also available at the Town House, both libraries, and the Council on Aging. The survey will run until December 19.

Residents’ participation in this survey will help the Tax Relief Evaluation Task Force gain the broadest understanding of the impacts of property taxes and housing costs in our community. We look forward to hearing from you.