City of Fitchburg Excise Tax: Due Dates, Abatements & Exemptions

If you garage a vehicle in Fitchburg, you owe the city a motor vehicle excise tax each year at a flat rate of $25 per $1,000 of the vehicle’s state-assessed value. The bill comes from the Fitchburg Board of Assessors using registration data from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and payment is due within 30 days of the date printed on the notice. Miss that date and interest, collection fees, and an RMV hold on your registration and driver’s license start stacking up.

How Your Bill Is Calculated

The city does not use what you paid for the vehicle or what it’s worth on the used market. It uses the manufacturer’s suggested retail price when the vehicle was new, then applies a depreciation schedule set by state law:

Year before the manufacture year: 50 percent of list price
Year of manufacture: 90 percent
Second year: 60 percent
Third year: 40 percent
Fourth year: 25 percent
Fifth year and after: 10 percent

Multiply the depreciated value by 0.025 to get the excise.¹

Vehicles registered after January 31 are prorated by month. You pay only for the months remaining in the calendar year, counting from the first day of the month you registered through December. Register on July 10 and you owe six months of excise, not twelve.²

When Payment Is Due

The 30-day clock runs from the date the collector issued the notice, which is printed on the bill and may not match the day you receive it. Not getting the bill in the mail does not excuse a late payment. The excise is still owed.³

Before you pay, match the bill number, plate number, and 17-digit VIN on the notice to the vehicle you intend to pay for. If you own more than one car, a mistyped number can send the money to the wrong account.

How to Pay

Fitchburg processes excise payments through Kelley and Ryan Associates. You can pay online using your bill number, plate number, or driver’s license number; a convenience fee applies.⁴

For in-person payments, the Treasurer’s Office at 718 Main Street takes cash and checks. You can also mail a personal check or money order to the address on the bill. Hold on to your receipt or canceled check. You may need proof of payment at registration renewal.⁵

What Happens If You Pay Late

Interest runs at 12 percent per year from the original due date until the bill is paid in full.³ Collection fees are added at each stage of escalation:

Written demand: up to $30⁶
Warrant issued to a deputy collector: $10
Notice that a warrant has been issued: $12
Serving the warrant: $17
Marking your registration and license for non-renewal at the RMV: $20⁷

If total interest and fees on an overdue bill come to $15 or less, the collector can waive them. Once the total crosses $15, that discretion is gone. No negotiation.⁷

The costliest consequence is the RMV mark. Fitchburg participates in the state’s Non-Renewal Program, which flags both your registration and your driver’s license so neither can be renewed until every outstanding excise is paid.⁸ Most people find out they owe when they try to renew online and get blocked, by which point months of interest and several layers of fees have piled on top of the original bill.

Reducing the Bill With an Abatement

If you sell, trade, total, or otherwise lose the vehicle during the tax year, you can apply for an abatement so you only pay for the months you had it registered. The documents required depend on what happened:

Sale, trade, gift, repossession, or insurance settlement: proof you transferred title (bill of sale, trade-in paperwork, or insurer’s settlement letter) and proof you cancelled or transferred your registration.⁷
Theft: you must have notified local police within 48 hours, surrendered your registration certificate more than 30 days after the theft, and received a cancellation-of-registration certificate from the RMV confirming the theft.⁷
Moved out of state or cancelled registration: a plate return receipt or other RMV documentation showing the plates were surrendered.

Cancelling the registration on its own does not generate a refund. You still have to file the abatement application with the supporting documents attached.⁹

Download the Motor Vehicle Abatement Application from the Fitchburg Assessor’s page or pick one up at 718 Main Street, and submit it to the Board of Assessors.¹⁰ The deadline is the later of three years from the date the excise was due, or one year from the date you actually paid it.⁷ If approved, the amount is credited to your balance or refunded.

Full Exemptions

Two groups owe no excise at all rather than a reduced amount.

Disabled Veterans

Veterans with a 100 percent disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or those the VA has deemed unemployable because of a service-connected disability, are exempt on one passenger vehicle or pickup truck used for non-commercial purposes.¹¹

Active-Duty Military From Another State

Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, active-duty service members stationed in Massachusetts but legally domiciled in another state do not owe Massachusetts excise on their vehicles. The statute defines “personal property” to include motor vehicles and treats excise as covered by the domicile protection. You must already be paying any applicable vehicle taxes or fees in your home state. The same protection extends to qualifying military spouses under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.¹²

Deducting the Excise on Your Federal Return

Because the Massachusetts excise is based on vehicle value rather than a flat fee, the IRS treats it as a deductible personal property tax if you itemize. For 2026, the combined cap on state and local tax deductions, including income tax, real estate tax, and the excise, is $40,400 for most filers and $20,200 if you file as married filing separately. If your state income tax and property tax already fill that cap, adding the excise brings no further benefit.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 60A Section 1 – Excise Tax on Motor Vehicles
2
Mass.gov. A Brief Introduction to Motor Vehicle Excise
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 60A Section 2 – Collection of Excise Tax
4
City of Fitchburg. Online Payment Center
5
City of Fitchburg. Treasurer’s Office
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 60 Section 15 – Fees for Demands and Warrants
7
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle Excise
8
Mass.gov. Non-Renewal Program
9
Mass.gov. Cancel Your Vehicle Registration (License Plates)
10
City of Fitchburg. Assessors
11
Mass.gov. Disabled Veteran Fee and Tax Exemptions
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 4001 – Residence for Tax Purposes