The Massachusetts public tax delinquents list: 90 days' notice, and how to stay off it
DOR can publish the name, town and balance of taxpayers whose unpaid liability is above a threshold set by law and has been outstanding for at least six months. It must warn you first, and there are three reliable ways to stay off.
THE CLOCK — 90 DAYS FROM THE NOTICE OF INTENT TO DISCLOSE
State law requires DOR to send notice by certified mail at least 90 days before disclosing a name. DOR says that if the liability is not resolved within 90 days of the Notice of Intent to Disclose Tax Liability, the name, city or town and amount are posted on its Public Disclosure Tax Delinquents List.
Who can be listed
The statute lets the Commissioner publish a list of taxpayers, individuals and every kind of business entity, who are delinquent in paying their tax liabilities above a dollar threshold written into the law, for a period of six months from when the taxes were assessed. The threshold is a fixed figure in the statute and DOR's guidance repeats it; this page does not quote it.
The list contains names, addresses, the types of taxes, the month and year assessed and the amounts outstanding. DOR's guidance describes what is posted as the name, city or town and liability amount.
DOR posts it publicly. That is the purpose of the list, and it is why the notice before it deserves more urgency than most DOR letters.
The notice, and the 90 days
Before a name is published, the statute requires DOR to mail a written notice by certified mail, at least ninety days in advance, to the taxpayer's last or usual place of business or home. The notice details the amount and nature of the delinquency and the intended disclosure.
DOR calls it a Notice of Intent to Disclose Tax Liability, and its guidance says that if the liability is not resolved within 90 days, the name is posted.
Ninety days is enough time to file missing returns, confirm the balance and put an arrangement in place, if the work starts when the notice arrives rather than near the end.
What keeps a name off
The statute and DOR's guidance between them give four routes, and they fit different situations.
FOUR WAYS A LIABILITY IS NOT PUBLISHED
- Payment in full of the delinquent tax
- A written payment agreement with DOR that is not in default. The statute says taxes under such an agreement are not treated as delinquent for this purpose
- An appeal. The statute excludes a liability the Commissioner certifies is under appeal, or turns wholly on a question of law under appeal in another case
- Hardship status. DOR says that if a name is already on the list and hardship is approved, it is removed
A payment agreement that goes into default loses the protection. Keeping it current matters as much as signing it.
Getting the balance right before agreeing to it
A disclosure notice is a reason to move quickly, not a reason to agree to a figure without checking it. The amount may include penalties that qualify for abatement, periods where a return was never filed and DOR estimated the tax, or assessments that follow federal changes and may themselves be wrong.
Where the tax itself is disputed, the route is an application for abatement within the state's time limits. Where the tax is right but cannot be paid at once, a payment agreement is the usual answer, and for larger balances DOR asks for a Statement of Financial Condition with bank statements, pay stubs, card statements and a written proposal.
Every route starts with the same step: all returns filed. DOR will not consider a payment agreement until they are.
Where this comes from
The statutes behind this page, so you can check any of it rather than take it on trust.
- M.G.L. c. 62C §21(b)(11)
- Authorizes the list: taxpayers delinquent above a threshold set in the statute for six months from assessment. Requires certified-mail notice at least 90 days before disclosure, and excludes taxes under a kept payment agreement or under appeal.
- M.G.L. c. 62C §37
- The application for abatement, the route for a genuine dispute about the underlying tax.
This page explains what the IRS or the Massachusetts Department of Revenue does and cites the statute. It is not advice about your situation, which depends on facts none of this knows. Tell us what your letter says and what date is on it. Please do not send Social Security numbers or tax documents through the form.
DOR payment agreement
A payment plan with the Department of Revenue has two tiers, split by the size of the balance. The smaller tier can be set up online; the larger one needs a financial statement and documents. Both need every return filed first.
DOR hardship status
The state's version of shelving a balance. Where paying anything would leave you unable to meet basic necessities, DOR can put collection on hold. The debt remains, interest keeps running, and it is reviewed periodically.
Notice of Assessment and Final Notice
Three letters, in order: the bill, the demand, and the warning that collection is next. The middle one matters most, because 10 days after it, unpaid and undisputed amounts can be collected by levy.
Massachusetts DOR debt
Resolving a federal balance does nothing for a state one. Massachusetts has its own assessment periods, its own collection powers, its own appeal route and its own personal liability rule for trustee taxes.
Questions about public tax delinquents list.
- Who ends up on the Massachusetts tax delinquents list?
- Taxpayers whose unpaid Massachusetts tax is above a threshold set in the statute and has been outstanding for at least six months from assessment, and who do not resolve it within 90 days of DOR's Notice of Intent to Disclose Tax Liability.
- How much notice does DOR give?
- The statute requires notice by certified mail at least 90 days before disclosure. DOR says that if the liability is not resolved within 90 days of the Notice of Intent to Disclose, the name, city or town and amount are posted.
- Does a payment agreement keep me off the list?
- Yes, while it is kept. The statute says unpaid taxes are not treated as delinquent for this purpose if a written payment agreement exists without default. If the agreement defaults, that protection ends.
- Can I get my name removed?
- DOR says approved hardship status removes a name from the list. Paying the liability or entering a payment agreement also resolves it. Hardship requires being unable to provide basic necessities, and open businesses are not eligible.
- What does the list show?
- The statute allows the names, addresses, types of taxes, month and year assessed and amounts outstanding. DOR describes the posting as the name, city or town and liability amount.
Tell us what the letter says and what date is on it.
Scope and price in writing before anything starts. Where what you need is something we do not do, you will be told that instead.
Please don't send Social Security numbers or tax documents through this form.