Enacted in 1979, the residential tax exemption is an option for municipalities in Massachusetts under property tax classification that shifts the tax burden within the residential class from owners of moderately valued residential properties to the owners of vacation homes, higher valued homes, and residential properties not occupied by the owner, including apartments and vacant land.

The shift that occurs reallocates the tax burden only within the residential class and does not change the total amount of tax levied on the residential class within the city as a whole.

It shifts the tax burden in two ways: 1) from lower valued to higher valued properties, and 2) from property owned by year-round residents to vacation homes and residential properties not occupied by the owner.

While this was discussed years ago in Framingham, as the real estate market has shifted, we are re-evaluating to see if it might make sense at this point. This will be the only topic of discussion at the City Council meeting on Tuesday October 8^th. Here is the meeting agenda that includes the zoom link.

The Massachusetts Division of Local Services offers this calculator to evaluate options and adjust the proposed exemption percentage to see the impact. They also created this video that explains the evaluation.

Here’s the video of the City Council Finance Subcommittee Meeting on 8/13/2024 where it was most recently presented and discussed.

Here’s the slideshow presentation from the City’s Chief Assessor: