Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 59, § 61A (2026)

Discovery; failure to comply

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 61A. A person applying for an abatement of a tax on real estate or personal property shall, upon request, exhibit to the assessors the property to which the application for abatement relates and if required by said assessors, shall exhibit and identify such property, and further, shall, upon request, furnish under oath such written information as may be reasonably required by the board of assessors to determine the actual fair cash valuation of the property to which the application for abatement relates including, but not limited to, income and rents received, and the expenses of maintaining such property. Failure of the applicant to comply with the provisions of this section within thirty days after such request shall bar him from any statutory appeal under this chapter unless the applicant was unable to comply with such request for reasons beyond his control or unless he attempted to comply in good faith.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases, 1976–2008 · leading case: Bd. of Assessors of Provincetown v. Vara-Sorrentino Realty Trust, 341 N.E.2d 649 (Mass. 1976).

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Bd. of Assessors of Provincetown v. Vara-Sorrentino Realty Trust, 341 N.E.2d 649 (Mass. 1976). “It appears that the assessors made requests for information under G. L. c. 59, § 61A, 1 and applied to the *694 Appellate Tax Board to dismiss the appeals for alleged failure of the owner to comply.”

Child.'s Hosp. Med. Ctr. v. Bd. of Assessors, 471 N.E.2d 67 (Mass. 1984). “If the assessors require more information than is provided by this notice, they can request it through the mechanism provided by G. L. c. 59, § 61A. However, the assessors cannot “under the guise of [requiring] a form for an application impose upon the taxpayer an obligation to…”

Roketenetz v. Bd. of Assessors, 892 N.E.2d 363 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008). · cites it 2× “Pursuant to G. L. c. 59, § 61A, the board directed him to allow the board access to the interior of his home, for the purpose of viewing its condition.”

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