Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Abatements

The Law is clear that an Excise Tax bill is your responsibility; Massachusetts General Law Chapter 60A - Motor Vehicle Excise.

You must take one of two possible actions to avoid paying additional charges and possibly jeopardizing your right to operate and/or register a motor vehicle in Massachusetts:

Action Number 1

Pay the your excise bill within thirty (30) days from the date of issue. Make your payment to the City of Taunton:

15 Summer Street
Taunton, MA 02780-3430.

Additional payment information.

Action Number 2

If one of the situations listed applies to your vehicle and your plates have been cancelled or transferred, immediately file an application for abatement with the Board of Assessors. Access the Motor Vehicle Excise Abatement Application (PDF) and instructions are located on the back of your excise tax bill.

  • Sold
  • Traded
  • Moved from Taunton
  • Military personnel who have been assigned to Taunton, but have a domicile in another city or state
  • Stolen
  • Declared a Total Loss
  • Moved From Massachusetts

If you plan to apply for an abatement, you must bring proof of how you disposed of the vehicle along with either your current registration or the return/lost plate receipt issued by the Registry of Motor Vehicles to the Taunton Board of Assessors office. If you have not cancelled your registration, access to the Registry of Motor Vehicle's (RMV) online cancellation request form.

If you have moved to another state, we need the new registration from your new location and the plate return receipt from the Registry in order to process an abatement.

If an abatement is granted, pay the balance due (if any) within 30 days from the original issue date of the bill to the Taunton Treasurer/Collector's Office. Once an abatement has been granted, you will receive an abatement slip showing the adjusted excise due. In addition, the Assessing Department provides the Tax Collector's office a listing of all abatements processed.

Important: If you are unable to apply for the abatement within the 30 day time frame, make your payment to the City of Taunton and then, when you have all the documents necessary to apply for an abatement, bring or mail them to the Taunton Board of Assessors. If an abatement is approved, a refund check for the amount abated will be mailed to you.

Further Information / Questions

Questions regarding the enclosed excise bill should be directed to the Taunton Board of Assessors 508-821-1011. If you have a question regarding payment of this bill, please contact the Treasurer/Collector's Office 508-821-1054.

If your issues cannot be resolved with our office, please visit myRMV Online Service Center.

Contact the Registry of Motor Vehicles directly.

Change your address with the Registry of Motor Vehicles.