Charitable Exemptions

Property Exempt From Taxation - (Mass. General Laws Chapter 59, Section 5, Cl 3)

Personal property of a charitable organization, which term shall mean
a literary, benevolent, charitable or scientific institution or temperance society incorporated in the Commonwealth and a trust for literary, benevolent, charitable, scientific or temperance purposes if it is established by a declaration of trust executed in the Commonwealth or all its trustees are appointed by a court or courts in the Commonwealth, and if its principal purposes are solely carried out within the Commonwealth or its purposes are principally and usually carried out within the Commonwealth;

Real estate owned by or held in trust for a charitable organization and occupied by it or its officers for the purposes for which it is organized or by another charitable organization or organizations or its or their officers for the purposes of such other charitable organization or organizations; and real estate purchases by a charitable organization with the purpose of removal there to, until such removal, but not for more than two years after such purchases.

A Form 3ABC must be filed with the Assessors office by March 1st or April 1st if an extension is permitted, each year to qualify. If not filed timely the property will be taxable for the fiscal year that the filing represents. For further information, please contact the Assessors Office.