Boston's Fall Tax Bill Is Due November 1

Boston issues its second quarter preliminary real estate tax bill at the start of October. The payment is due November 1, or the first business day following. In 2026 November 1 lands on a weekend, so the payment is due November 2. Both dates sit on the City’s Assessing Calendar, and the payment date comes from M.G.L. c. 59, § 57C, the section a city accepts to bill quarterly.

What a preliminary bill is

The first two bills of the fiscal year are estimates. The City calls them two equal estimate amounts based on the previous fiscal year’s taxes. The statute sets a ceiling on them: the preliminary tax can’t exceed 50 percent of 102.5 percent of the tax payable during the preceding fiscal year. A separate paragraph of § 57C lets a city go above that where the excess represents half the tax accruing from a lost exemption, improvements to the parcel, or the parcel being taxed separately for the first time. The City splits the estimate into two equal bills, which is why the fall bill looks like the summer one.

The four payment dates

In a quarterly city, § 57C makes the preliminary tax payable in two installments, due August 1 and November 1. The third quarter actual bill is issued in late December and is due February 1. The fourth quarter bill goes out April 1 and is due May 1. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to the following June 30. If a due date falls on a weekend, a legal holiday, or a day a municipal office is closed for a weather or public safety emergency, § 57C lets the payment be made on the next day the office is open, without penalty or interest.

When the real number shows up

The third quarter bill is the first one that reflects the actual assessed value and tax rate for the fiscal year. The statute is explicit that rights and remedies which run from the date a bill is issued are governed by that bill. The abatement filing period opens January 1 and closes February 1, the same date the third quarter payment is due, so the actual bill and the window to contest it arrive together.

Interest on a late payment

Section 57C says an unpaid tax becomes delinquent and carries interest at fourteen percent a year, computed from the due date.

The January 1 picture

Massachusetts assesses property at full market value as of January 1 before the fiscal year starts. Ownership, value and condition on that date determine the assessment and to whom the bill is assessed. New structures, additions, demolitions, improvements or alterations that happen after January 1 don’t reach the assessing record until the following January 1. If you bought or renovated mid-year, that’s usually what looks off on the bill.

If you just bought

A new owner may not have seen a prior cycle’s bill at all, and the fall bill may still carry the previous addressee or may be handled by an escrow account they haven’t looked at yet. If you bought here this year, send me the bill and I’ll read it with you. This is general information, not tax advice. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.