Chapter 60A of Massachusetts General Law imposes an excise for the privilege of registering a motor vehicle in Massachusetts. If you have a Massachusetts license plate on your car (or in your possession) you must pay Excise tax, a yearly tax, based on the value of the car on which the plate was registered. All bills must be reconciled within 30 days by either payment in full, or abatement in full. The largest Excise tax billing commitment is usually billed in February and due in March. However, you could receive an Excise bill at any time during the year, depending on when you registered your car and when the Registry of Motor Vehicles generates a bill. If you believe you were double billed in one calendar year, look to the year of the bill and the bill number as they may be different.

See the Massachusetts Department of Revenue web-site for more Excise tax information (Google search “Massachusetts Excise Tax”). Be sure to receive a return plate receipt from the Registry should you ever surrender your license plate to the RMV or your insurance company. You are billed Excise tax as long as the license plate is in your possession (not in the possession of the Registry of Motor Vehicles). If you move to another city or state, or if the vehicle is sold, traded, totaled, stolen, contact the Assessing department for abatement information. Assessing’s abatement form is on the back of the bill.

Excise tax information originates with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The address that the license plate was registered to on January 1 determines where the tax bill for that year will be mailed. If you move January 2nd, the bill will still go to the January 1 address. Failure to receive a bill does not excuse you from the tax or fees that accrue on outstanding tax bills. Change your forwarding address with the US Postal Service so that you receive your Excise bills. Contact the Treasurer/Collector’s office if you do not receive a bill. For questions about making payment, contact the Collector’s office. For all other questions, i.e. valuation, other tax questions, contact the Assessing department.

Pay the bill. Read the back of the bill. Contact the Assessing Department. If a tax abatement is granted by the Assessing Department, you will receive a refund of any tax overpaid. You will be responsible for paying fees and interest charges that accrue on unpaid bills even if the Assessing Department grants an abatement of a portion of the tax.

Pay the bill. Read the back of the bill. Contact the Assessing Department. If a tax abatement is granted by the Assessing Department, you will receive a refund of any tax overpaid. You will be responsible for paying fees and interest charges that accrue on unpaid bills even if the Assessing Department grants an abatement of a portion of the tax.

Pay the bill. Read the back of the bill. Contact the Assessing Department. If a tax abatement is granted by the Assessing Department, you will receive a refund of any tax overpaid. You will be responsible for paying fees and interest charges that accrue on unpaid bills even if the Assessing Department grants an abatement of a portion of the tax.

Pay online at City of Newton website. Payment of original excise bills and pink demand bills ($5.00 fee added) are accepted on the City’s website for free via ACH transaction, and for a fee if you pay with credit card.

Payment of Warrant excise bills on our site links to the Deputy Tax Collectors web-site, kelleyryan.com. The fee for ACH transactions is $.50. The fee for credit card transactions is 3.2% or a minimum of $3.00 per bill. Have your bill number and license plate number handy. You can opt-out during the process if you decide the fee is too high.

Payment of the motor vehicle excise is due 30 days from the date the excise bill is issued (not mailed, as is popularly believed). According to Chapter 60A, section 2 of the Massachusetts General Laws, “Failure to receive notice shall not affect the validity of the excise”. A person who does not receive a bill is still liable for the excise plus any interest charges accrued. Therefore, it is important to keep the Registry, local assessors, and the post office informed of a current name and address so that excise bills can be delivered promptly. All owners of motor vehicles must pay an excise tax; therefore, it is the responsibility of the owner to contact the local assessor if he/she has not received a bill.

If an excise is not paid within 30 days from the issue date, the local tax collector will send a demand, with a fee for $5.00. In addition, interest will accrue on the overdue bill at an annual rate of 12% from the day after the due date.

If the demand is not answered within 14 days, the collector may issue a warrant to the deputy tax collector or an appointed agent, which carries another $10.00 fee. The deputy tax collector (or agent) issues a warrant notice at a cost of $12.00. If there is still no response, a final warrant, a service warrant, will be delivered or exhibited to the taxpayer at his/her residence or workplace, at a fee of $17.00. All interest and penalties should be clearly stated on the bill.

Also, under a new law passed in 2002 amending M.G.L. Chapter 90, section 3 1/2, improper registration of a motor vehicle or misrepresentation of the place of garaging may subject the owner to substantial fines (between $200 - $1000 for each offense on each vehicle owned for each taxable year). Criteria has been established to determine residency for taxes (such as sales/use, excise, and even registration) on motor vehicles. Evidence to contest apparent violations of the law must be submitted in an abatement application following receipt of the tax bill, or in the district court following prosecution (for up to three years of owed tax) by state or local law enforcement authorities. The new law may be enforced by the Department of Revenue, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, local board of assessors, and state and local police.

According to a Supreme Judicial Court ruling in April, 1996 and subsequent Registry of Motor Vehicle regulations, cities and towns must issue a final notice to the taxpayer stating that they plan to ask the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to prohibit renewal of his/her registration until the excise bill is settled. If the notice goes unanswered, such a request will be made. The Registrar may then prevent renewal of the vehicle registration along with the owner’s driver’s license until receiving notice that the bill has been paid.

If a taxpayer finds him/herself in this situation and has been refused renewal of a registration or license, he/she may remedy the matter by making full payment on the bill, including all fees and penalties, which will include a $20.00 release fee. Once the bill has been paid, the municipality will give the motorist a receipt to keep and will notify the Registry of Motor Vehicles electronically. At this point you can reregister the vehicle. The City of Newton notifies the Registry of Motor vehicles via our Deputy Tax Collector, who sends electronic releases every 15-30 minutes. Although the Registrar is notified electronically that the matter has been resolved, sometimes there is a delay which is why it is so important to retain one’s receipt.

Vehicle owners should be aware of the fact that the excise tax law (M.G.L. c. 60A) gives tax collectors six years from the date a bill is issued to collect an excise tax bill. However, under Registry regulations, tax collectors have two years from the date of issuance of an excise bill to notify the Registry of nonpayment. The Registry will then electronically mark the driver’s record for non-renewal until the excise is paid. If the tax record does indicate a history of nonpayment, the tax collectors can also mark the driver’s record and institute proceedings to collect for as many years back (in other words, beyond six) as necessary.

For more information or clarification, visit the MA Department of Revenue’s website

Yes, on the City’s website. Do not use your bank’s online bill-pay. Pay Real Estate tax, Personal Property (business) tax, Water and Excise bills on the City’s site via ACH for free. Credit card payments are subject to fees.

Warrant excise bills are accepted for payment via the deputy collector’s site and the link for Warrant Excise directs you there. The Deputy charges $0.50 for ACH payments, and credit card transactions are subject to 3.2% of the bill. Minimum of $3.00 per bill will be charged.

To pay on the City’s site, go to link “Online Bill Payment” at top left. Have your bill in front of you when making a payment.

No, but you can pay bills on the City’s website. It’s free when you pay by ACH transaction (checkbook). Credit card payments are subject to fees.

If you are manually/literally writing out a check, it should be made payable to the “City of Newton.” Put your bill number on the face of your check. Mail your check with the lower section of the Collector’s copy of the bill in the envelope provided.

Please DO NOT use your bank’s online bill-pay to pay your bills. The most cost effective and green method (no paper check is generated) is via the City’s website.

Payments with a remit slip (Collector/bottom portion of bill):

City of Newton
P.O. Box 9137
Newton, MA 02460-9137
You must include the collector’s portion of the bill so that you account is credited correctly by our bank’s lockbox payment service.

Payments without a remit slip (Collector/bottom portion of bill) should be mailed to our office:

City of Newton Treasury
1000 Commonwealth Ave.
Newton, MA 02459.

*Put your bill number, property address, parcel id, and type of bill you are paying on the face of your check. Do not include address changes with your payment. Address changes must be submitted to Assessing Department and/or Water Department. Contact them for their requirements.

No! It is the least cost effective method for your city and it generates a paper check. When you pay your bills using your bank’s online bill payment service, the Collector’s portion of the bill (the remit slip in your possession) is not enclosed with the paper check that is generated by your transaction. Upon receipt of the check, typically a week or more after you initiate the payment, we must then manually determine where to apply your check. This wastes City resources. Posting errors occur when “account” field does not contain the current “bill” number. Paying on the City’s site eliminates this manual posting process, the paper, and the errors as the City receives the information via electronic format. When you enclose the remit slip with your check and return both in the envelope provided with the bill, City dollars are also maximized as payments are processed by our bank’s lock-box service.

If you paid with your bank’s online banking and your payment is not credited to your account within two weeks, a written request for research must be accompanied by a copy of the canceled check, both front and back. Your online transaction with your bank produces a paper check without the remit portion of the tax bill. The paper check is posted manually to the “bill number” you provided in the “Account” field. Fax, mail or e-mail us the copy. Fax: (617) 796-1343, 1000 Commonwealth Ave. 02459, or treasury@newtonma.gov In the future, do not use your bank’s online banking to pay City bills. Pay on City’s site instead.

If you paid by check, a copy of the cancelled check must be provided along with a letter of request that we research your misapplied payment. Fax, mail or e-mail us the cancelled check copy.

If you paid by cash, the original receipt (copies not accepted) from your cash transaction must be provided along with a letter of request that we research your misapplied payment. It is best not to mail the original receipt so it does not get lost in the mail.

If you paid via the City’s website, please provide a copy of the email receipt issued as a result of the online transaction. Occasionally a customer will enter the incorrect bill number and pay someone else’s bill.

If charges have been incurred they will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

If your real estate tax account shows a payment that you or your mortgage company or closing attorney did not make, you should make your tax payment as required so there is a credit available for the City to refund the mistaken payor. If any payment(s) posted to your account was/were in fact erroneous, it is conceivable that you may be contacted in the future for reimbursement by the payor(s) who made the payment(s) in error, or by the City of Newton. If you have an escrow account with your mortgage company, be aware that it may be affected by any payment errors made by third party payors. Mortgage companies and banks sometimes make payment errors. We do not bill them, they electronically choose the accounts upon which they wish to pay.

Citizen's Self Service. View Your Bills and Payment History Online.

Or:

A written request, a $5.00 fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope (with 2 stamps) should be forwarded to our office. Requests are processed in the order of receipt. If you visit our office to drop off your request, please have your written request, the $5.00 fee and your self addressed stamped envelope (2 stamps) with you when you arrive. We will mail you the researched information at our earliest convenience, normally within 5 business days. Cashiers are primarily responsible for accepting payments, so please be understanding and do not expect our cashiers to engage in researching your payment history for you while you wait.

If your check bounces, you will be responsible for a $25.00 fee in addition to the amount of the check that is returned, plus any accrued interest/fees.

Please see the Refund Policy available on our Treasury web-site page entitled ”Refund Requests for credit Balances.” The policy explains what is needed to receive a real estate tax refund.

A Municipal Lien Certificate (MLC) lists the outstanding tax and water bill liabilities on a property at a particular point in time. Please forward a check and a self addressed stamped envelope to the Treasury Department, Attn: MLC Request.

Costs vary:

• $50.00 Single, two, three family residences and condominiums
• $50.00 Tax exempt (Ch 121A)
• $200.00 Residences of four or more units.
• $300.00 Commercial, mixed use, industrial

A supplemental tax bill is issued to property owners that had construction resulting in an increase in market value (assessment) of more than 50% on the parcel. Contact Assessing department or see Assessing’s FAQs for more information.

Failure to receive your property tax bill does not excuse you from payment of taxes, or from the interest and fees that accrue on the outstanding balance(s). A tax bill is generated and mailed for every parcel in the City. It is the responsibility of the property owner to pay taxes regardless of receipt of a bill. Contact the Treasury Department to have a duplicate bill mailed to you. By operation of law, the name of the record owner as of January 1 of the previous fiscal year must be on the tax bill. New property owners can have their name added to the bill (shows as “c/o” on the bill) by contacting the Assessing Department assessing@newtonma.gov (617) 796-1160.

Contact Treasury/Tax Collection treasury@newtonma.gov. A request for a duplicate bill will not change your address for future bills. Tax bill address changes must be submitted to the Assessing department. Water bill address changes to the Water/Sewer department. Contact the respective department for their formal requirements. Treasury does not maintain address databases. Do not send address changes with your payment.

A tax bill is generated for every parcel in the City. Please note that mortgage companies typically take tax payment funds from your escrow account a month before the tax due date in order to pay your taxes on time. Look at your mortgage statements a month before the tax due date and compare it with the amount the city has billed you. Mortgage companies and tax servicing companies receive an electronic file from the City, they choose the accounts they wish to pay upon and return the marked file to the city with their remittance. The city posts the file, updating the real estate tax accounts as paid. We do not bill mortgage companies. For more information see the FAQ: Someone else paid my real estate taxes, what should I do?

A tax bill is generated for every parcel in the City. Please note that mortgage companies typically take tax payment funds from your escrow account a month before the tax due date in order to pay your taxes on time. Look at your mortgage statements a month before the tax due date and compare it with the amount the city has billed you. Mortgage companies and tax servicing companies receive an electronic file from the City, they choose the accounts they wish to pay upon and return the marked file to the city with their remittance. The city posts the file, updating the real estate tax accounts as paid. We do not bill mortgage companies. For more information see the FAQ: Someone else paid my real estate taxes, what should I do?

The Collector collects what the Assessor assesses. By law we must send a tax bill. If you believe you were billed in error, please contact the Assessing Department assessing@newtonma.gov (617) 796-1160.

Please see the Refund Policy available on our Treasury web-site page entitled ”Refund Requests for credit Balances.” The policy explains what is needed to receive a Real Estate tax refund.

If you recently purchased a newly developed condominium (one unit of a two- family or three-family, or new construction for example), you should realize that the tax collector’s office may not have your unit listed as a condo, and that your property may still be assessed as a master parcel. If so, you are sharing a tax bill with your neighbors until the Assessing department splits the parcel giving you your own parcel ID. Contact Assessing to determine when your unit will be separately assessed.

If your check bounces, you will be responsible for a $25.00 fee in addition to the amount of the check that is returned, plus any accrued interest/fees.

Credit balances are generally not refunded during the middle of the fiscal year because all bills have not yet been issued or paid. A double payment or overpayment will be credited towards the next quarter tax due. If there is an overpayment on the May installment (4th quarter), or a credit balance exists after the May 1 tax installment is paid, please read and follow the instructions of our Refund Policy on our website. In most cases a refund will automatically be refunded to the record owner at the end of the fiscal year. Credits do not automatically move forward from one Fiscal Year to another.

By operation of law, tax bills are mailed to the address of the property owner listed in the Assessor’s database. Compare the information your mortgage company provided to you on your statement regarding City Tax Paid (the actual amounts not the projections) with the amount the City is billing. Mortgage companies typically take funds from your escrow account a month before the tax due date and credit funds to the City on the due date. If the amount the mortgage company took from your escrow account is not the amount the City has billed you for taxes, contact your mortgage company and inform them of their mistake. If you want to know if your mortgage company paid your taxes, look to your mortgage statement before the due date, look to the next quarter tax bill for any outstanding or delinquent tax amounts, or contact the Collector’s office two weeks after the due date (to allow time for all payments to be posted).

The City of Newton mails tax bills to the mailing address the property owner has on file with the Assessing Department. The City does not send tax bills to individual mortgage companies. If your mortgage company requires a paper bill, send them the one you received. They may also contact our office for a duplicate bill, the fee of which is $1.00. Mortgage companies and tax servicing companies receive an electronic file containing all of the tax accounts in the City (approximately 30,000 accounts). They then choose the accounts upon which they wish to pay. They return the marked file to the City and remit payment to Treasury. Upon verification that the amount on the file equals the amount remitted, the City posts the electronic file, updating the individual tax accounts with the payment amount.

Pink Real Estate Demand notices are the initial step towards Tax Title Foreclosure. Taxes have not been paid. If you received a Demand notice, you should not ignore this bill. Please see FAQ: What if my payment was not credited to my account?

If you received a bill and there is a statement of Prior Years Tax Outstanding, this means there are taxes and/or utility bills past due on the property from a prior year, or that there is a Tax Title on the property (Tax Title means lien). Contact our office for an exact pay-off amount as interest continues to accrue daily. Mail your payment on a separate check to the Tax Collector’s office indicating what you are paying Tax Title, 41A tax deferral, past due tax, etc. For betterments, contact the Assessing dept. for payoff information and then forward check and appropriate paperwork to Treasury. The PO box (our bank’s lockbox service) is for current bills only. Lockbox only processes current bills with a remit slip/collector’s portion of bill.

Important: Do not send Prior Year Tax, Tax Title, Beterment, or 41a Deferral payoffs to the PO Box with your current year tax payment!

If your mortgage company pays your taxes, forward them a copy of the bill to put them on notice of the outstanding taxes or lien. Please also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on both Tax Title and Certificates of Redemption.

The Community Preservation Act surcharge, approved by the voters of the City of Newton beginning in Fiscal Year 2002. This surcharge is 1% of the total property tax due for the parcel and is used for the acquisition and preservation of open space, recreational land, affordable housing, and historic properties. See Assessing FAQs for more detailed information.

An abatement is a reduction in a Real Estate valuation based on a correction to the assessed valuation. Contact Assessing for abatement information.

An elderly exemption is a reduction in a Real Estate tax due based on certain age and income requirements set forth by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Contact Assessing for elderly exemption information.

When Real Estate taxes are not paid on time and in full, a lien is placed on the property by operation of law. The City of Newton perfects this lien by commencing Tax Title procedures. Thereafter, an Instrument of Taking is filed at the Registry of Deeds (or Registry District). Now a matter of public record, the City’s interest in those unpaid tax dollars, interest fees and costs constitute a recorded lien on the property. This lien is a cloud on the title. This means that when the property is re-financed or sold, the City’s lien must be paid to have good title to the property. Usually, the lien amount (with 16% interest) is paid by the Settlement Agent/Closing Attorney. Upon payment of the Tax Title lien in full, a certificate of Redemption is issued by the City. This document must be filed at the Registry of Deeds (or Registry District) to remove the cloud on the title. The Certificate of Redemption removes the lien and clears the title to the property. See Mass. General Law, Chapter 60, Section 53 for more information.

A Certificate of Redemption is given if requested after providing a legible copy of the taking, proof of payment and a $25.00 fee. Please contact the Treasury Department @ treasury@newtonma.gov for assistance with takings, redemptions and releases.

After the pink Real Estate Demand bill is issued and not paid, this letter is mailed to the taxpayers as a courtesy. Failure to pay will lead to a Notice of Tax Taking advertisement in the Newton Tab, and a public notice posting in City Hall and the Main Library. By operation of law the City must advertise and post notices. The fee for the advertisement is added to the outstanding tax bill. If not paid, a lien is placed on the property and the fees associated with recording the lien are added to the bill. In addition to the pink Demand bill, the courtesy mailing, the newspaper advertisement, and the posting in public places, all subsequent real estate tax bills have a dialog box that serves to give notice to property owners of any Prior Year Tax Outstanding amounts or Tax Title amounts outstanding. For more information, see Mass. General Law, Chapter 60, sec. 37, 53, 54, 55 and 60 and the FAQs on Tax Title and Certificates of Redemption.

City of Newton Parking
P.O. Box 590363
Newton, MA 02459-0004

You can pay online here.

You can pay by mail with check or money order, payable to City of Newton Parking, at P.O. Box 590363, Newton, MA 02459-0004

You or an authorized person may bring your ticket and payment to the Parking window at the Treasury Department, 1000 Commonwealth Ave., Newton, MA 02459-1449 between 8:30am-5:00pm M-F. Extended hours on Tues til 8pm.

If payment is not received after 21 days, your fine is increased as provided by law.

You must pay your outstanding ticket balance in full. Personal checks are not an accepted payment method for marked tickets. Please see FAQ "How do I pay a parking ticket?" for more information.

Once you have paid in full, you must contact the parking payment clerk at 617-796-1337. You may be eligible for an electronic release. If you are ineligible for an electronic release, you can obtain a paper release form by visiting the Parking window at the Treasury Department, 1000 Commonwealth Ave., Newton, MA 02459-1449.

City of Newton Parking

You may report a defective meter at newtonma.gov > select Newton311 tab > select Parking tab

A parking ticket appeal must be submitted within 21 days of receipt of ticket. To submit an appeal, go to the city website newtonma.gov > select Newton311 tab > select Parking tab > select Parking Appeal.

This is the second step after receiving a denial of the appeal.

See FAQ “How do I appeal a parking ticket?” for the first step. If denied, you can submit a hearing request on the city website. To submit a hearing request, go to the city website newtonma.gov > select Newton311 tab > select Parking tab > select Parking Ticket Hearing. You will be assigned a date and time to appear, at which time you must present new information not previously provided in the original written appeal. The Appeal Officer will render a decision in writing within 14 days.

You may file a formal appeal with the Middlesex Superior Court.

All City ordinances are available here. Ordinances are updated frequently.

The City of Newton is on a quarterly tax system and taxes are due 4 times per year. Tax due dates are the first business day of August, November, February and May. If the first falls on a weekend or holiday, taxes are due the following business day.

The City Council sets the tax rate by December.

Please visit the Tax Rate web page

Fiscal Year begins July 1 and ends June 30th.

The bill due August 1st covers July 1st through September 30th. (Preliminary Tax bill)

The bill due November 1st covers October 1st through December 31st. (Preliminary Tax bill)

The bill due February 1st covers January 1st through March 31st. (Real Estate Tax bill)

The bill due May 1st covers April 1st through June 30th. (Real Estate Tax bill)

Real estate tax is the actual tax for the Fiscal Year. In December, the Assessing Department assesses the tax for the year and the amounts paid on the Preliminary bills are subtracted from the tax. The RE tax is due in two installments (February and May).

Real Estate and Personal Property outstanding balances are subject to 14% interest and Water 6% according to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59, sections 57 and 57C. The Tax Title interest rate is 16% under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 60, section 62. Excise interest rate is 12% under MGL 60A, section 2.

No. Bills are considered paid when received by the Treasurer. Postmark dates on envelopes are not accepted as the date of payment. All payments are to be received by the Treasury office by the due date. Payments are processed the day they are received. Late payments will incur interest/penalties.

No. Future-dated checks (a.k.a post-dated checks) are not accepted.

Preliminary tax bills are estimated bills. The estimate is based on the actual net tax bill of the previous fiscal year. The preliminary tax is due in two installments (August and November). Formula: Actual for previous FY x 2.5% = X. (Actual + X) divided by 4.

Tax bills and water bills are mailed one month before the due date. Real Estate, personal property and water bills are mailed quarterly (4 bills per year). Contact the Water department with billing frequency and related questions. Excise is billed once a year, the majority of which are mailed in February. See Excise FAQs for more information.

The Assessing Department maintains the tax bill mailing address database. The Water department maintains the water bill mailing address database. Contact each respective department for their requirements. Treasury does not maintain mailing address databases. Do not send address changes with your payment.

Yes, $1.00/bill. Pay duplicate bill fee(s) with a separate check.

The Treasurer & Collector’s office is located in Newton City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Ave., (First floor (@ Commonwealth Ave. side of building), 02459. Newton City Hall is located across from the Newton Free Public Library, and is flanked by Walnut St., Homer St., and Commonwealth Ave.

Yes, parking is available in the parking concourse in front of City Hall, and at Newton Free Public Library @ Homer Street.

All correspondence should be mailed to:

City of Newton
Treasurer/Collector’s Office
1000 Commonwealth Avenue (1st Fl.)
Newton, MA 02459

Do not include address changes with Treasury correspondence. Mail address changes to the Assessing department and/or Water department. Contact each department for their specific requirements.

If your check bounces, you will be responsible for a $25.00 fee in addition to the amount of the check that is returned, plus any accrued interest/fees.

Please see the Refund Policy available on our Treasury web-site page entitled ”Refund Requests for Credit Balances.” The policy explains what is needed to receive a Real Estate tax refund.

The A next to the meter reading means that his is an automative reading trasnsmitted to City Hall, C is Customer Read, V is a visual read by a City Technician, E is an estimate and M is a manual adjusted read, Occasionally, the meter reading equipment does not transmit a valid read and Billing Office estimates a bill. However, if you have more than two estimates in a row, you should contact the Service Department at 617-796-1640 Mon-Fri 7 Am-3PM to make an appointment to have your rtm and meter connection checked.

Contact the Water Department at (617) 796-1040. The Treasurer/Collector does not read meters, determine the water/sewer bills, or adjust water bills. Unpaid bills are subject to 6% interest per Mass General Law and City of Newton ordinance. The Treasury office merely collects what that the Water Department bills. We do not adjust bills.

The Meter Transmission Unit (MTU) is the grey fixture on the outside of your home, which is wired to your meter. The MTU transmits the reads from your home to a main receiver so that the MCM software can provide the reads for billing.

A bill will be estimated if a read is not pulled into the file at the time of billing. There could be some disconnect between the meter and the MTU (meter transmission unit). That is why we requested on all estimated bills (orange in color) to call Service at 617-796-1640 between the hours of 7 am to 3 pm, Monday - Friday to schedule an appointment with a technician to investigate your meter and MTU.

Actual readings are obtained each day via an automated meter reading (AMR) system. If the meter transmission unit (MTU) is not functioning, you will receive an estimated bill based on previous usage. If your property is equipped with the AMR system and you receive an estimated bill, please call the Service at 617-796-1640 between 7 am to 3 pm, Monday – Friday to schedule a technician to investigate your meter and MTU.

All estimated bills are computer generated. The system takes four like periods and averages them all together. Like periods are the same time frame (i.e. quarterly billing cycles) in the last 4 years.

Your sewer charge is calculated based on the water consumption at your property. Sewer rates are higher than water rates due to the cost incurred by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) in the treatment of sewerage prior to discharging into the Boston

If after Service goes to the property and obtains a read from the meter and investigates the estimated read, you may qualify for an abatement. If you do qualify for an abatement, an adjustment is made and you will receive a letter, via mail, in 7-14 days from the date that Service went to the property. It is the owner’s responsibility to pay the bill in full by the due date to avoid any interest charges

In the basement of your house or in a utility closet at the water main shut off. In some cases, the meters are in an outdoor manhole. It is a brass colored pipe meter with an odometer type read.

You can view your bill and payment history via Citizens Self Service. A request for a duplicate bill will not change your address for future bills. Tax bill address changes must be submitted to the Assessing department. Water bill address changes to the Water/Sewer department. Contact the respective department for their formal requirements. Treasury does not maintain address databases. Do not send address changes with your payment.

By operation of law we must charge and collect interest at the rate of 6% per annum on all outstanding water balances.

You may have used more water than you realized, especially if it is during the summer months. In addition, your last bill might have been estimated, or there may be a leak in your home. One way to verify if the bill is correct is to read the water meter. If the reading is equal to or appropriately greater than the read to which you were billed, then the water was used. If the read is less than the billed read, please call the Billing Office at 617-796-1040 Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00, with the actual read from your meter. This would have been the result of a bad electronic reading.

If a meter is broken, it slows down and then eventually stops. Industry experience indicates that a "positive displacement" meter runs sluggish and will stop registering use. It is impossible for a meter to speed up. It can only register when water passes through it.

If you have a credit balance on your water account it will be used with the next billing. Should you require a refund, see our Refund Policy for instructions. If you have a collection or payment issue, contact the Treasury/Tax Collector’s office.

These acronyms stand for Sewer Lien, Water Lien, Sewer Lien Interest, and Water Lien Interest. When water bills are not paid in full and on time, past due charges are moved from the water account billing system and put to the real estate billing system. Mortgage lenders are notified these liens via the electronic billing file they receive. The interest rate on real estate bills is 14% whereas the interest charged on past due water is 6%. For more information, see FAQ: What are the interest rates for past due bills?

If you are selling your house, the Business Office of the Utilities Division will prepare a final statement, which will indicate the costs associated with the consumption between the last time your meter was read and the meter reading which you call into the Business Office. To get this statement, you must read your meter, have the new owners name and cell phone number, an email address or fax number in which the statement can be sent, and call the Business Office at 617-796-1040. This interim statement will be emailed or faxed the next day after 12:00 noon.

An interim reading is calculated to determine what additional charge would apply due to water usage between the most recent bill and the reading date that either the broker or seller calls in. The City expects that buyers and sellers will take all necessary steps to make adjustments for this water usage at the time of closing.

We will not prepare an interim statement when there have been one or more estimated bills until the equipment is repaired and an actual read is obtained by our repair technician.

The Water/Sewer Billing Office puts notice on every bill which is bolded and appears in the middle of your bill, requesting the customer to call Utilities at 617-796-1640 and schedule an appointment to have this issue addressed. The Utilities Division will make every effort to schedule an appointment to have the issue resolved in a timely manner however due to schedule adherence the Utilities Division may be able to schedule your appointment until after the closing date. If this happens we suggest that money be put in escrow until the equipment is repaired and an actual read has been reported to the Water and Sewer Division of the Public Works Department.

Interim statements will not be provided for multi units who share a water meter, rentals of any kind such as apartments and business’s.

Monies calculated on an Interim Statement will not at any time be provided verbally over the phone.

Applications for a renewal or new service for Water and Sewer lines can be obtained at the Engineering Department at City Hall. You file an application for an "estimated" amount of the cost of doing the replacement or new service. With applications for new service, please provide a plot plan and have the Engineering Department approve the location address and provide the Parcel I.D. (the Section, Block & Lot). The application will not be processed without Engineering approval. The application then goes to the Service Department to be estimated and is sent back to the billing office to be processed. You will then receive an "estimate", which must be paid in advance to be placed on the list to schedule the work. For Water Services, you must hire a private contractor for excavation of the trench.

Printed on everyone's bill are the words "Elderly O and Elderly W". If you are over 65, own the property as a primary residence, and have an income of less than $60,000 annually, and have been approved for either of these discounts by the Assessor's office, the amount discounted will appear next to these words. It is a 30% discount off your water bill.

Discolored or rusty water may occur as a result of a few different events. If a fire hydrant has been opened for routine testing ("flushing,"usually performed in the month of October), or if City street sweepers have opened the hydrant to fill their trucks, residents nearby may experience dirty or discolored water. In addition, if a main water or sewer line develops a leak, or construction is ongoing near you, you may also experience dirty or discolored water as a result of the main water line being shut down, then brought back online, stirring up sediment in the course of this process.

We recommend that you do not run your hot water immediately, since this will draw the dirty water into your hot water tank. To clear the water, we suggest you run the cold water for a time (10 minutes at most, at one time), ideally later in the day when other surrounding residents will also be doing the same - running the cold water to eliminate the dirty water from the system - since the more homeowners run their cold water, the faster it will flush through the piping and clear up for everyone.

If you notice dirty water in the course of washing clothes, do not put the clothes in the dryer, as this will set stains from the discolored water. The Water/Sewer Business Office has a supply of a rust and stain remover called Iron Out, which you may obtain for free by picking up a bottle at Customer Service Dept in City Hall's main rotunda while supplies last. Please call ahead to confirm that this is still available: (617) 796-1000.