By Susan Neul
Of all the costs of owning a home, the one most confusing is often real estate taxes. Not only does the tax rate change every year but so can the imputed value of the house. The tax rate calculation in Becket is determined in the months after the town budget is approved at the end of May. The Board of Assessors, in conjunction with their valuation subcontractor, starts with the budget, which shows how much money it needs to raise. The next step is to update property values. Once they have the new total value of the properties, it is simple math to figure out what tax rate is required to get to the total income needed to pay all the town’s expenses. Of course, there are other sources of income besides residential real estate tax which are worked into the equation.
What is especially confusing is that the tax invoicing is based on a July-1-to-June-30 year, corresponding to the fiscal year of the town, but the actual rate for the year is only arrived at halfway through the fiscal year, in December. This means that the amounts for August and November payments must be guesstimates or placeholders. And if the placeholder turns out to be higher or lower than what the new rate says it should be, the overage or underage is compensated for in the invoices for February and May payments.
This is why the invoices sent out in July 2025 for payments to be made on August 1 and November 1 are called a Preliminary Real Estate Tax Bill. The rate used for these invoices is the previous year’s tax rate plus 2.5%. And then in December, residents will receive the Actual Real Estate Tax Bill that applies the new tax rate but also adds back or takes out over and under payments from what the placeholder was. Keep in mind that the tax rate can change in both directions; it doesn’t always increase. The rate was $9.77 per $1,000 of assessed value in fiscal year 2024 but decreased to $8.76 in fiscal year 2025.
The second part of the equation, and the part most mysterious to homeowners, is how a property value is determined and why it can change over time.
There are 1,702 residential properties in Becket and 1,917 empty lots that must have their valuations kept up to date. It’s a big job, which is why many Massachusetts towns contract out the work to specialized companies rather than maintaining staff and leasing the computer programs required. Regional Resource Group, Inc., based in Leominster, Massachusetts, handles the valuation work for Becket, assisted by town employee Jessica Perotti, who staffs the Town of Becket Assessor’s office. Staff from RRG are also on hand on various days during the week. The CEO of RRG, Harald Scheid, spends a considerable amount of time in Becket overseeing the work.
Those wanting to dig deeper should consider watching the six-part webinar on the Regional Resource Group website (at https://rrgsystems.com/Assessing-101-video-library). And by using the online interactive map AxisGIS (at https://next.axisgis.com/becketma and available on the Town of Becket website), a curious resident can click on their own and any neighbors’ properties and immediately see the valuation rates for the land and the houses.
The valuation process has many layers. Can mistakes happen? Of course! What’s a homeowner to do? The most important step is to keep track of your valuations, which are found in detail on AxisGIS. An unusual increase or decrease should be examined. Data entry errors do indeed happen but, luckily, not often. And it can be useful to look at valuations for neighboring properties to see if the valuations are consistent.
If you discover an issue, you need to file paperwork on it prior to the February 1 due date of the first tax payment on the final tax bill so that the bill can be corrected.
