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2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 62a - Municipalities; Payment Agreements

Section 62A. Municipalities may by bylaw or ordinance authorize payment agreements between the treasurer and persons entitled to redeem parcels in tax title. Such agreements shall be for a maximum term of no more than 5 years or such lesser period as the ordinance or bylaw may specify and may waive not more than 50 per cent of the interest that has accrued on the amount of the tax title account, subject to such lower limit as the ordinance or bylaw may specify. An ordinance or bylaw under this section shall provide for such agreements and waivers uniformly for classes of tax titles defined in the ordinance or bylaw.
Any such agreement must require a minimum payment at the inception of the agreement of 25 per cent of the amount needed to redeem the parcel. During the term of the agreement the treasurer may not bring an action to foreclose the tax title unless payments are not made in accordance with the schedule set out in the agreement or timely payments are not made on other amounts due to the municipality that are a lien on the same parcel.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 63 - Payments to Treasurer Instead of Purchaser; Certificate of Release

Section 63. The treasurer shall receive money paid to him instead of the purchaser or assignee of a tax title, if the amount tendered equals the amount stated in the instrument of assignment or collector's deed plus additional interest at the rate stated in section 62 from the date of sale or assignment to the date the treasurer receives such payment, and give to the person paying it a certificate specifying the amount paid, the name of the person to whom and the real estate on which the tax was originally assessed, and the registry of deeds and the book and page of the records therein where the collector's deed or evidence of taking and the instrument of assignment, if any, is recorded; and the recording of the certificate in said registry shall extinguish all right and title acquired under the collector's deed or evidence of taking. The treasurer shall forthwith pay over all money so paid, to the person entitled thereto as determined by him, except that he shall retain $10 for the use of the town and shall account to it therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 64 - Absolute Title After Foreclosure

Section 64. The title conveyed by a tax collector's deed or by a taking of land for taxes shall be absolute after foreclosure of the right of redemption by decree of the land court as provided in this chapter. The land court shall have exclusive jurisdiction of the foreclosure of all rights of redemption from titles conveyed by a tax collector's deed or a taking of land for taxes, in a proceeding provided for in sections sixty-five to seventy-five, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 65 - Rights of Redemption; Petition for Foreclosure; Legal Fees

Section 65. Except as provided in section sixty-two, whoever then holds the title to land acquired by a sale or taking for taxes may bring a petition in the land court for the foreclosure of all rights of redemption of said land either after six months from the sale or taking, or in case of a city or town, at any time following the sale or taking if the buildings thereon have been found to be abandoned property pursuant to section eighty-one A, or there has been a certification pursuant to section 81B that the redemption amount as determined pursuant to section 62 exceeds the assessed value of the parcel; provided, however, a petition for the foreclosure of all rights of redemption may be filed at any time following the consent in writing of the record owner. Such petition shall be made in the form to be prescribed by said court and shall set forth a description of the land to which it applies, with its assessed valuation, the petitioner's source of title, giving a reference to the place, book and page of record, and such other facts as may be necessary for the information of the court. Two or more parcels of land may be included in any petition brought by a town, whether under a taking or as purchaser of such title or titles, if such parcels are in the same record ownership at the time of bringing such petition. The land court in each petition filed by a city or town may, upon motion, order the payment of legal fees to a city or town, which amount shall be added to the tax title account of the land to which the right of redemption is being foreclosed; in no event shall the legal fees awarded exceed the actual costs incurred and the judge shall consider the taxpayer's ability to pay said fees in any such fee award.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 66 - Title Examinations; Notice

Section 66. Upon the filing of such a petition the court shall forthwith cause to be made by one of its official examiners an examination of the title sufficient only to determine the persons who may be interested in the same, and shall upon the filing of the examiner's report notify all persons appearing to be interested, whether as equity owners, mortgagees, lienors, attaching creditors or otherwise, of the pendency of the petition, the notice to be sent to each by registered mail and return of receipt required, the addresses of respondents, so far as may be ascertained, being furnished by the petitioner. Such other and further notice by publication or otherwise shall be given as the court may at any time order. The notice, to be addressed ''To all whom it may concern'', shall contain the name of the petitioner, the names of all known respondents, a description of the land and a statement of the nature of the petition, shall fix the time within which appearance may be entered and answer filed, and shall contain a statement that unless the party notified shall appear and answer within the time fixed a default will be recorded, the petition taken as confessed, and the right of redemption forever barred.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 67 - Default

Section 67. After the return day fixed, to be at least twenty days after the time of the actual issuance of notice, the court shall, if satisfied that the notice has been properly given, on motion of the petitioner enter an order defaulting all persons failing to appear and answer, and decreeing that the petition as to them be taken as confessed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 68 - Answer; Offer of Redemption; Hearing

Section 68. Any person claiming an interest, on or before the return day or within such further time as may on motion be allowed by the court, shall, if he desires to redeem, file an answer setting forth his right in the land, and an offer to redeem upon such terms as may be fixed by the court. Thereupon the court shall hear the parties, and may in any case in its discretion make a finding allowing the party to redeem, within a time fixed by the court, upon payment to the petitioner of an amount sufficient to cover the original sum, costs, interest at the time rate of sixteen per cent per annum and all subsequent taxes, cost and interest to which the petitioner may be entitled under sections sixty-one and sixty-two, together with the costs of the proceeding and such counsel fee as the court deems reasonable. The court may impose such other terms as justice and the circumstances warrant.
If the land has been divided by sale, mortgage, upon a petition for partition or otherwise and such division has been duly recorded in the registry of deeds, the court may permit redemption of any of the portions into which the land has been divided, upon such terms as it may deem just and equitable toward all parties and may make a decree under section sixty-nine barring redemption of the remaining portions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 69 - Decree Barring Redemption; Vacating Decree; Petition

Section 69. If a default is entered under section sixty-seven, or if redemption is not made within the time and upon the terms fixed by the court under the preceding section, or if at the time fixed for the hearing the person claiming the right to redeem does not appear to urge his claim, or if upon hearing the court determines that the facts shown do not entitle him to redeem, a decree shall be entered which shall forever bar all rights of redemption. If no innocent purchaser for value has acquired an interest, such decree may be vacated in the discretion of the court upon petition filed by the petitioner at any time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 69a - Decree Barring Redemption; Time for Vacating Decree Entered by Person Other Than Petitioner

Section 69A. No petition to vacate a decree of foreclosure entered under section sixty-nine and no proceeding at law or in equity for reversing or modifying such a decree shall be commenced by any person other than the petitioner except within one year after the final entry of the decree if the decree is entered on or after September first, nineteen hundred and forty-five or within one year after said date if the decree was entered prior to said date. If said foreclosure petition was filed for an unoccupied or abandoned building as set forth in sections one and eighty-one A, or there has been a certification pursuant to section 81B that the redemption amount as determined pursuant to section 62 exceeds the assessed value of the parcel, no petition to vacate a decree of foreclosure entered under section sixty-nine and no proceedings at law or equity for reversing or modifying such a decree shall be commenced by any person other than the petitioner except within ninety calendar days after the final entry of the decree, or within one year of the final entry of the decree, if the decree was entered prior to the effective date of this section. For any decree relating to a property which stands in the name of a deceased person or person under guardianship or conservatorship, a petition may be maintained for reversal or modification of such decree up to one year from the date of decree.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 70 - Validity of Title; Questioning; Decree of Court

Section 70. If a person claiming an interest desires to raise any question concerning the validity of such a title, he shall do so by answer filed in the proceeding on or before the return day, or within such further time as may on motion be allowed by the court, or else be forever barred from contesting or raising the question in any other proceeding. He shall also file specifications setting forth the matters upon which he relies to defeat the title; and unless such specifications are so filed, all questions of the validity or invalidity of the title, whether in form of deed or proceedings relating to the sale or taking, shall be deemed to have been waived. Upon the filing of the specifications the court shall hear the parties, and shall enter a decree in conformity with the law on the facts found.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 71 - Jury Trials; Waiver; Framing Issues

Section 71. Any party may claim a jury trial on or before the return day, or within such further time as may on motion be allowed by the court, but unless so claimed the right to jury trial shall be deemed to be waived. Upon such a claim issues shall be framed therefor in accordance with the practice in the land court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 73 - Costs and Fees; Deposit by Petitioner

Section 73. The petitioner, at the time of filing his petition, shall deposit with the recorder a sum sufficient to cover the costs of the proceedings as estimated by the court, and the fees chargeable by the court as the case proceeds shall be computed in accordance with section thirty-nine of chapter two hundred and sixty-two, so far as applicable, except that the charge for examination of title shall be the actual amount allowed the title examiner by the court. The money paid into court as aforesaid by the petitioner shall be disbursed directly by the recorder for necessary expenses incurred, and the balance of fees chargeable in each finished case shall be paid over quarterly to the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 75 - Practice and Procedure

Section 75. Practice and procedure under sections sixty-four to seventy-three, inclusive, sections seventy-six, seventy-six A, and eighty B, not therein otherwise provided for, shall conform as nearly as possible to the land court practice, rules, regulations and procedure under chapter one hundred and eighty-five insofar as the same may be applicable, except that no memorandum stating the disposition of the case shall be made. Notice of filing the petition shall be recorded in the registry of deeds as provided for in land registration proceedings, and all final decrees shall be recorded.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 76 - Jurisdiction of Land Court; Petition for Redemption

Section 76. In addition to its jurisdiction to allow a party to redeem under section sixty-eight, the land court shall have jurisdiction as to redemption in all cases of taking or sale of land for non-payment of taxes if relief is sought before the filing of a petition under section sixty-five for foreclosure of the right of redemption, and may grant such right of redemption or other relief as justice may require, fixing the terms therefor, or may refuse the same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 76a - Partial Redemption; Divided Lands

Section 76A. If real estate has been divided by sale, mortgage, upon a petition for partition or otherwise and such division has been duly recorded in the registry of deeds, and such real estate has been taken or sold for failure to pay a tax assessed on it as a whole, the land court, upon petition by the owner or mortgagee of any portion thereof, may, after notice to all other persons interested in any portion of such real estate, permit the petitioner to redeem the portion in which he is interested, in the manner provided by section seventy-six, upon such terms as it may deem just and equitable both toward the petitioner and toward such other persons.
If the plat of a proposed subdivision of land taken or sold for failure to pay a tax assessed on it as a whole, in any city or town having a planning board established under section eighty-one A of chapter forty-one, or in any other city or town which has a board of survey and has accepted the subdivision control law, has been approved by such planning board or board of survey and such approval has been filed in the office of such planning board or board of survey, or if, in any other city or town, the plan of a proposed subdivision of land so taken or sold has been duly recorded in the registry of deeds, the land court, upon petition by the owner or mortgagee of the whole of the land or any portion thereof for redemption of any subdivision thereof, may, after notice to all other persons interested in such land, permit the petitioner to redeem such subdivision, in the manner provided by section seventy-six, upon such terms as it may deem just and equitable both toward the petitioner and toward such other persons, provided it finds that such redemption will not adversely affect the interests of the city or town in which such land is situated. Such redemption may be permitted whether the approval of the plat or the recording of the plan was before or after said tax taking or sale.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 76b - Errors or Irregularities in Water, Sewer Use or Municipal Light Rates and Charges

Section 76B. Errors or irregularities in respect to water, sewer use or municipal light rates and charges included in a tax title account, including interest and costs, or in the proceedings relating thereto, shall not render invalid a tax title otherwise valid; but in proceedings under sections sixty-four to seventy-six A, inclusive, such errors or irregularities shall be taken into consideration in fixing the terms of redemption, whether upon petition for foreclosure or for redemption, and the court shall specifically indicate in any decree fixing the terms of redemption any amounts excluded from the account by reason of such errors or irregularities. The city or town in which the land lies shall pay to a person holding such a tax title the amounts so indicated, with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date of redemption and, if the city or town fails to make such payment within three months after written demand therefor made upon the city or town treasurer, such person may recover the same in an action of contract brought against the city or town within one year after the date of redemption. The city or town treasurer shall notify the board or officer in charge of the water, sewer or municipal light department of the amount so excluded by court decree.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 76c - Tax Titles Held by Towns; Notice of Assignments, Redemptions or Foreclosures

Section 76C. Whenever a tax title held by a town shall be assigned, or the land subject to a tax title so held shall be redeemed or the right of redemption thereunder foreclosed, the treasurer shall forthwith send written notice of the assignment, redemption or foreclosure, as the case may be, to the collector and, upon their request, to the assessors.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 77 - Foreclosure by Municipalities; Tax Titles; Covenants Calling for Money Payments by Owners

Section 77. After foreclosure by a town of the rights of redemption under a tax title or taking, as hereinbefore provided, the land shall thereafter be held and disposed of like any land belonging to it and held for municipal purposes, and shall not while so held be assessed for taxes.
Before foreclosure so much of the provisions of any covenant or agreement running with the land as calls for the payment of money by the owner thereof shall not be enforceable against a city or town which is the owner of record of the land under a tax title or taking, except during any period in which the city or town directly or indirectly in any capacity accepts or receives the benefit of such covenant or agreement or of any right or privilege created or affected thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 77a - Sale by Municipalities; Land Acquired Through Foreclosure; Recording Deeds

Section 77A. In case of the sale of land acquired by a city or town through foreclosure under any provision of this chapter, the purchaser shall be required as a condition of the sale to authorize the official or officials executing the deed on behalf of the city or town to record the same, and the expense of such recording shall be paid by such purchaser. Such official or officials shall cause such deed to be recorded in the proper registry of deeds within fifteen days after the execution thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 77c - Deeds Accepted by Municipalities in Lieu of Foreclosure; Taxes

Section 77C. Cities and towns, acting through their legislative bodies, may accept a deed, in which all persons who have an interest in title join as grantors, in lieu of foreclosure to any parcel of land within the city or town which meet the requirements set forth in this section. Upon acceptance and recording of that deed, any real estate taxes and other municipal charges and liens shall be treated as having been paid, and shall be accounted for by the city or town in the same manner as if a tax title foreclosure had been completed. The procedure provided for in this section shall apply only to property upon which there are no other liens or encumbrances other than the liens of the city or town. No grantor under this section may purchase or otherwise acquire from the city or town any parcel of land acquired by the city or town under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 80a - Title to Land Conveyed Under Sec. 79 or Sec. 80; Questioning Barred

Section 80A. Any person, having a right of redemption or any other interest in the land conveyed or purporting to be conveyed under section seventy-nine or section eighty, upon whom service of the notice of sale provided in said section seventy-nine has been made by registered mail, who, prior to the sale, neither redeems the land nor brings proceedings to enjoin the sale, shall, upon the recording of the deed as required by said section seventy-nine or said section eighty, be forever barred from raising any question concerning the validity of the title conveyed thereby, and a statement contained in the treasurer's deed that such service has been made, naming the persons who were served by registered mail, shall be prima facie evidence thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 80c - Title to Land Conveyed Under Sec. 79 or Sec. 80; Curing Defects

Section 80C. When any city or town has conveyed or sold any land under section seventy-nine or section eighty by an instrument in writing conveying or purporting to convey such land, and said instrument is duly recorded in the registry of deeds for the district wherein such land is situated and a period of twenty years elapses after the instrument is accepted for record, and the notice or procedure for the taking and sale or conveyance under this chapter or the instrument or record thereof because of a defect, irregularity, or omission, fails to comply in any respect with any requirement of law relating thereto or the instrument or record thereof shall, notwithstanding such defects, irregularities, or omissions be effective for all purposes to the same extent as though such notice or procedure or the instrument or record thereof had originally not been subject to any such defects, irregularities, or omissions, unless within said period of twenty years a proceeding is commenced on account of such defect, irregularity, or omission and notice thereof is duly recorded in said registry of deeds and indexed and noted on the margin of said instrument of conveyance and in the event of such proceeding, unless relief is thereby in due course granted.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 81a - Land With Unoccupied Buildings; Inspection; Abandonment; Foreclosure of Rights of Redemption

Section 81A. Whenever a city or town shall have purchased or taken land for non-payment of taxes under section forty-three or fifty-three, respectively, and the treasurer of said city or town has reason to believe that the buildings located thereon are unoccupied, he shall forthwith request the inspector of buildings, or such other person designated by the mayor or board of selectmen to perform the duties of the inspector of buildings as defined in section six of chapter one hundred and forty-three, to inspect the buildings. Said inspection may be in addition to and need not be in conjunction with the inspection as performed by the inspector of buildings pursuant to said section six, and shall not preclude a city or town from taking any action prescribed in said chapter one hundred and forty-three, relative to said land.
If the inspector of buildings determines that said buildings are abandoned property he shall notify the record owner, and, if appropriate, the mortgagee in possession or lessee, of his finding. Such notice shall include a statement that the inspection was conducted at the request of the local treasurer and that the failure of the record owner, or other interested party, to correct the conditions described in the notice within thirty days of receipt or publication of the notice will result in proceedings to foreclose the record owner's right of redemption. Such notice may be served in the manner required by law for the service of subpoenas on witnesses in civil cases or may be published. The inspector of buildings shall also, at the time of service or publication, post a copy of the notice in two or more convenient public places.
If at the expiration of the 30–day period, the inspector of buildings is of the opinion that action has not been initiated to correct the conditions described in the notice, the inspector shall immediately make an affidavit, under penalties of perjury, that the buildings on the land have been found to be abandoned property. The affidavit shall include therein the facts and circumstances which formed the basis of the inspector's findings, and a copy of the notice served on the record owner, or if service was by publication, an account of the steps taken to locate the record owner and a copy of the published notice. The affidavit shall be submitted to the treasurer and, when recorded at the registry of deeds for the district wherein the land lies, shall be prima facie evidence of such facts.
Upon the recording of the affidavit the treasurer shall bring a petition in the land court pursuant to section sixty-five for the foreclosure of all rights of redemptions of said land.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 81b - Purchase of Land or Taking of Land for Nonpayment of Taxes Under Sec. 43 or Sec. 53; Redemption Amount Exceeds Assessed Value; Foreclosure of Rights of Redemptions

Section 81B. Whenever a city or town shall have purchased or taken land for nonpayment of taxes under section 43 or 53, and the treasurer of the city or town certifies that the redemption amount as determined pursuant to section 62 exceeds the assessed value of the parcel, the treasurer shall make an affidavit of such certification which shall be recorded in the registry of deeds for the district wherein the land lies. Upon the recording of the affidavit, the treasurer shall bring a petition in the land court pursuant to section 65 for the foreclosure of all rights of redemptions of the land.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 82 - Notice to Holder of Invalid Tax Title; Release of Interest

Section 82. If a collector has reasonable cause to believe that the title to land sold for non-payment of taxes or of assessments, a lien for which is enforceable by a sale of land, is invalid by reason of an error, omission or informality in the assessment or sale, he may, within two years after the date of the deed of such land, give notice to the record holder of the tax title, requiring him, within thirty days thereafter, to release any interest which he may have in such land under said deed, and to receive from the town the amount paid therefor with interest at ten per cent or to file with the collector a written statement that he refuses to release such interest. Such statement, if recorded in the registry of deeds, shall release the town from any liability upon the warranty in said deed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 83 - Failure to Release Interest; Recording Affidavit of Notice by Collector

Section 83. If, within thirty days after such notice, such holder of the tax title does not comply therewith, the collector shall cause a copy thereof, with an affidavit by himself or by a disinterested person of the service thereof and of the facts in the case, to be recorded in the registry of deeds. A note of reference to the record of said copy shall be made on the margin of the record of the collector's deed therein referred to; and from the time of such record the interest payable by reason of a breach of warranty in such deed shall cease, and all right and title acquired under such deed shall be held to be released. The collector shall give notice of such proceedings to the town treasurer, who shall, on reasonable demand, pay over out of any funds in his hands the amount due in respect of said deed to the person entitled thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 84 - Reassessment or Collection of Taxes Where Title Invalid; Disclaimer by Municipality of Title

Section 84. If the collector has reasonable cause to believe that a tax title, held by a town under a sale or taking for non-payment of a tax, is invalid by reason of any error, omission or informality in the assessment, sale or taking, he may disclaim and release such title by an instrument under his hand and seal, duly recorded in the registry of deeds. If the invalidity of a tax title so disclaimed and released or of a tax title released under section eighty-two or eighty-three was caused by an error, omission or informality in the assessment, the collector shall, upon the recording of such disclaimer and release or after obtaining from the holder of the deed a release of his interest or after causing a copy of the notice to be filed and recorded as provided in section eighty-three, forthwith notify the board by which the tax or assessment was laid, which shall forthwith reassess it as provided in section seventy-seven of chapter fifty-nine. If such invalidity was caused by an error, omission or informality in the proceedings of the collector, he shall, after the recording of such disclaimer and release, or after obtaining such release or after filing or recording such copy, forthwith collect the unpaid tax or assessment in conformity to law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 84a - Certificates of Invalidity; Refunds to Tax Holders

Section 84A. If a tax title is for any reason adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the clerk, upon request, shall issue a certificate to that effect. The treasurer of the city or town where the land affected by such a tax title is situated, upon receipt of a release by the holder of said title of all the interest which he may have under his tax deed, together with such a certificate, shall refund to such holder the amount paid therefor but not exceeding the amount received by the city or town, with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum for a period of not exceeding two years from the date of the tax deed. The treasurer shall forthwith record said release in the proper registry of deeds, and thereupon, if the said invalidity was caused by an error, omission or informality in the assessment of the tax, the treasurer shall notify the board by which the tax or assessment was laid, which shall forthwith reassess it as provided in section seventy-seven of chapter fifty-nine; and if such invalidity was caused by an error, omission or informality in the proceedings of the collector, the treasurer shall thereupon notify the collector who shall forthwith collect the unpaid tax or assessment in conformity to law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 85 - Taxes Paid by Co-Tenants; Lien on Co-Tenants' Interest

Section 85. A tenant in common or joint tenant, who pays the entire tax assessed upon land held jointly or in common, shall have a lien upon the interest of each of his co-tenants, to secure the payment to him of the proportion of such tax payable by each of said co-tenants respectively, with the costs of enforcing the same; but any person whose tax has been so paid by his co-tenant shall have the same right to recover it back if illegally assessed as he would have had if the tax had been paid under a protest by him in writing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 86 - Enforcement of Lien of Co-Tenant

Section 86. Such lien may be enforced in the manner provided in chapter two hundred and fifty-four for enforcing liens on buildings and land under written contracts for the erection, alteration, repair or removal of buildings or structures; but shall be dissolved, unless the person desiring to avail himself thereof, or some one in his behalf, subscribes and makes oath to a certificate setting forth a description, sufficiently accurate for identification, of the property intended to be covered by the lien, the names of the several co-tenants and the interest of each therein, the amount of the tax paid, and the amount due from each co-tenant, and within thirty days after the day of payment of said tax records such certificate in the registry of deeds, and unless a bill in equity to enforce the lien is commenced within sixty days after the date of recording said certificate. Such lien shall have priority over all liens and encumbrances arising after the filing of the certificate required by this section, but shall not be valid against a mortgage actually existing and duly recorded prior to the recording of said certificate, or against any lien existing under section one or section three of chapter two hundred and fifty-four prior to the filing of the certificate. No person except the co-tenant who paid the tax, or a person claiming by, through or under him, shall be made a party plaintiff in a bill brought under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 87 - Directions to Collectors; Ordinances or By-Laws

Section 87. A city or town may, by ordinance or by-law, respectively, direct whether its collector shall exercise the power of sale or the power of taking to enforce the lien for taxes; and in default of such ordinance or by-law the collector may exercise either power at his discretion; but the passage of any such ordinance or by-law shall not render invalid any proceedings then pending.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 88 - Tax Lists and Warrants; Posting by Sheriff or Deputies

Section 88. When the tax list and warrant of the assessors is committed to the sheriff or his deputy, he shall forthwith post, in some public place in the town, an attested copy of said list and warrant; and shall make no distress for a tax within thirty days thereafter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 89 - Fees of Sheriff for Collecting Taxes

Section 89. If a person pays his tax within said thirty days, the officer shall receive from him for his fees five per cent on the sum assessed; but if a tax remains unpaid after said thirty days, he shall collect it by distress or imprisonment, or by sale of land as a collector would do. The officer may also levy his fees for service and travel in the collection of each person's tax, as in other cases of distress and commitment, or sale of land.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 90 - Treasurer as Collector; Warrants

Section 90. If a city or town appoints its treasurer as collector of taxes, he may issue his warrants to collect to a deputy collector, returnable in sixty days, requiring him to collect any and all taxes due. Such warrants shall be substantially in the same form and shall confer the same powers as warrants by assessors to collectors.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 91 - Foreign Corporation; Non-Resident; Failure to Pay Taxes; Restraint on Business

Section 91. When any foreign corporation or non-resident person, doing business in the commonwealth, shall for sixty days neglect, refuse or omit to pay a tax lawfully assessed and payable, any court having jurisdiction in equity may on petition of the collector of taxes of the town where the tax is assessed restrain said corporation or person from doing business in the commonwealth until said tax, with all incidental costs and charges, shall have been paid. Service of process upon any such petition may be made by an officer duly qualified to serve process, by leaving a duly attested copy thereof at the place where the business is carried on.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 92 - Deputy Collectors; Appointment and Removal; Bookkeeping; Reports; Deposit and Transfer of Funds

Section 92. Any officer authorized to collect taxes may appoint and remove such deputies as such officer deems expedient. Each deputy so appointed shall keep a cash book, in which such deputy shall enter all sums so collected, specifying the total amount of each tax collected, all interest, charges and fees received, the name and address of each party from whom money was received and the date of each such receipt. They shall prepare a report to the collector of all uncollected warrants issued to the deputy at least once a month. Such deputies shall give bond for the faithful performance of their duties, in such sum and in such form, and subject to such conditions, as the commissioner may prescribe, and shall have all the powers of collectors. Any such deputy shall, at least weekly, either turn over sums collected to the collector, or deposit said funds into an account which is separate from any other account of that community, or any other community, for the purpose of clearing checks and earning interest on deposits. The deputy shall have no authority to withdraw amounts from this deputy deposit account except the deputy's fees due under section fifteen. The collector shall transfer funds which have cleared from such account to the town treasury at least once a week along with any interest earned and may retain any fees of the collector and deputy and pay over such fees to the collector or deputy, unless such fees belong to the municipality.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 93 - Money Due Taxpayer From Municipalities; Withholding for Delinquent Taxes

Section 93. The treasurer or other disbursing officer of any town may, and if so requested by the collector shall, withhold payment of any money payable to any person from whom there are then due taxes, assessments, rates or other charges committed to such collector, which are wholly or partly unpaid, whether or not secured by a tax title held by the town, to an amount not exceeding the total of the unpaid taxes, assessments, rates and other charges, with interest and costs. The sum withheld shall be paid or credited to the collector, who shall, if required, give a written receipt therefor. The person taxed or charged may in such case have the same remedy as if he had paid such taxes, assessments, rates or other charges after a levy upon his goods. The collector's rights under this section shall not be affected by any assignment or trustee process or attorney's lien.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 94 - Accounts and Receipts of Collectors; Exhibiting on Request of Municipal Officers

Section 94. The aldermen or selectmen may require the collector once in two months to exhibit to them a true account of all money received on the taxes committed to him, and to produce the treasurer's receipts for all money paid into the treasury by him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 95 - Credits and Payments to Collectors

Section 95. The collector shall be credited with all sums abated; with all sums committed and thereafter apportioned under section thirteen of chapter eighty; with the amount of all assessments not apportioned to subsequent years which have been committed under section four of chapter eighty and subsequently recommitted to him to be added to the annual tax on the land; with the amount of taxes for which a judgment has been rendered by any court in favor of the city or town; with the amount of a claim for taxes allowed in favor of the city or town in bankruptcy or receivership cases; with the amount of taxes assessed upon any person committed to jail for non-payment of his tax within two years from the receipt of the tax list by the collector, and who has not paid his tax; with any sums which the town may see fit to abate to him, due from persons committed after the expiration of two years; with all sums withheld by the treasurer of a town under section ninety-three; subject to the provisions of sections forty-eight and fifty-five, with the amount of the taxes and costs, charges and fees where land has been purchased or taken by the town for non-payment of taxes; and upon certification in accordance with section sixty-one, with the amount of subsequent taxes which have become part of the terms of redemption in any tax title held by the town. When a collector is credited with the amount of taxes assessed upon any person committed to jail for the non-payment of his tax, who has not paid his tax, said collector shall also be paid and credited with the fees and charges which have become a part of said taxes and to which he or the officer acting under his warrant is entitled. Upon filing for record or registration a statement under section 37A that a sale or taking cannot be legally made, the collector shall transmit a copy of the recorded statement to the city auditor, town accountant or officer having similar duties, who shall record the taxes that are the subject of the statement as taxes in litigation, and the collector shall be credited with those taxes until the time the collector must sell or take the land under that section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 96 - Removal of Collectors

Section 96. If a collector becomes incapacitated by reason of mental illness, absconds or removes from the town or in the judgment of the aldermen or selectmen is about to so remove or is otherwise unable to discharge his duty, or if he refuses on demand to exhibit to the aldermen or selectmen his books, vouchers and accounts of collections as provided in this chapter, the aldermen or selectmen may remove him from office.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 97 - Accounts, Records, etc., of Collectors; Audits; Deposit With Assessors; Uncollected Tax Lists

Section 97. If a collector ceases to hold the office of collector for any reason, all his accounts, records and papers, including his warrant, which relate to the assessment and collection of taxes in his town shall, forthwith after an audit thereof has been made by a competent accountant, be deposited by him, or his executor or administrator, or any other person into whose possession they may come, with the assessors of such town, who thereupon shall turn over his uncollected tax lists to his successor, together with their warrant, which shall cover the uncollected accounts of the original commitment as shown on said lists and shall also turn over all his accounts, records and papers, including his warrant, so deposited with them, except said lists, to the clerk of said town. If the collector is his own successor, he shall complete the collection of the taxes as a part of the duties of his new term of office and not as a part of the duties of his former term of office.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 98 - Back Taxes; Actions to Recover

Section 98. No action to recover back a tax shall be maintained, except as provided in sections sixty and eighty-five, unless commenced within three months after payment of the tax nor unless such tax is paid either after an arrest of the person paying it, a levy on his goods, a notice of a sale of his land, a written protest signed by him, or a withholding of money due him under section ninety-three. In an action founded on an error or irregularity in the assessment or apportionment of a tax, only the amount in excess of the tax for which the plaintiff was liable shall be recoverable; and no sale, contract or levy shall be avoided solely by reason of such error or irregularity.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 99 - Collectors; Failure to Exhibit Accounts or Receipts

Section 99. A collector who neglects or refuses to exhibit accounts or to produce receipts, as required under section ninety-four, shall forfeit to the town two and one half per cent of the sums committed to him for collection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 100 - Collectors; Failure to Turn Over Accounts

Section 100. Violation by a collector, former collector, or an executor or administrator of a collector or former collector, of any provision of section nine, twelve or ninety-seven shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IX - Taxation › Chapter 60 - Collection of Local Taxes › Section 105 - Forms

Section 105. Forms to be used in proceedings for the collection of taxes under this chapter and chapter 59 and of assessments which the collector is authorized or required by law to collect shall be as prescribed by the commissioner. In any case where the commissioner prescribes a form, the form may be completed or maintained electronically.