How to Appeal your Assessment

When to File for Abatement

• After the "notice of tax" which in Hanover is the fall tax bill.
• Deadline for filing - taxpayer must file an abatement application (PDF) with the Assessor's Office no later than March 1st following the notice of tax received in the fall tax bill.

Application for Abatement

The applicant should follow the directions and fill out the application completely. Particular attention should be paid to the reason for the request and the supporting documentation. (i.e.; comparable sales/data errors etc.).

Assessors Office Review

• Following receipt of an abatement application, the Assessors Office will conduct a review of the property's assessment and the application submitted by the property owner.
• The Assessor may request additional information and/or an inspection of the property.
• The Assessor will report the findings to the Advisory Board of Assessors.

Advisory Board of Assessors

• The Advisory Board of Assessors is comprised of three members that are elected at Town Meeting, one Selectmen's Representative and one Alternate Selectmen's Representative. The role of the Board of Assessors is to consider all abatement applications filed by taxpayers in order to determine whether or not an abatement is warranted and, if so, the amount of the abatement.
• The Advisory Board of Assessors schedules and conducts hearings on abatement requests, receives all information and testimony from the abatement applicant and the Assessor, and then grants or denies abatement requests as they feel appropriate based on the information provided.
• All information pertaining to each appeal is forwarded to the members of the Advisory Board of Assessors.

Hearings

• Informal hearings before the Advisory Board of Assessors are conducted as the volume of abatement applications requires.
• The applicant is notified of the hearing date and time. Every effort is made to ensure that the meeting can be scheduled to accommodate the availability of the taxpayer to participate in the hearing.
• The hearing is intended to be a two-way dialogue between the applicant and the Board. Testimony is taken from the taxpayer, and the Board welcomes the provision of additional supporting information by the taxpayer.
• Following the conclusion of testimony received from the applicant and the Assessor, the Board discusses the merits of each request either at the conclusion of all of the hearings scheduled that day or at a later date. After that discussion, the Board votes either to grant or deny the abatement. The Board may also defer a decision and request additional information from the Assessor or taxpayer. A notice of the Board's decision is mailed to the taxpayer.

Abatement Action

• The Advisory Board of Assessors forwards the abatements they have granted on each appeal filed to the Board of Selectmen for acceptance.
• The Board of Selectmen, having delegated the authority to hear and decide appeals, votes to accept the Advisory Board of Assessors' recommendation. The Board of Selectmen does not hold separate hearings to consider further appeals of those recommendations.

Appeal Beyond the Local Level

• If the taxpayer disagrees with the decision and recommendation of the Advisory Board of Assessors, they may file an appeal either with the State of New Hampshire's Board of Tax and Land Appeals (RSA 76:16A) or in Grafton County Superior Court (RSA 76:17), but not with both.
• There is a fee to file beyond the local level: Board of Tax and Land Appeals (PDF) - $65, and Superior Court - $180.
• These appeals may be filed no earlier than:
  1. After receiving the municipality's decision
  2. July 1st following the notice of tax if the municipality has not responded to a request for abatement.
• Deadline for filing is September 1st following the notice of tax.

Abatement of Taxes Due to Inability to Pay

Under the provisions of RSA 76.16 - "Selectmen or Assessors, for good cause shown, may abate any tax assessed by them or by their predecessors. Any person aggrieved by the assessment of a tax and who has complied with the requirements of RSA 74, may, by March 1 following the date of notice of tax under RSA 76:1-a, and not afterward, apply in writing to the selectmen or assessors for an abatement of the tax." Applications of this purpose are available from the Assessing Officials. Confidentiality as to the applicants and the circumstances supporting their request for abatement is considered primary to all Town Officials involved in these applications.