Collections

The demand fee increased from $5 to $25 as of January 1, 2009, by a vote of Town Meeting. Effective January 1, 2014, we will no longer be mailing payment reminders before imposing the demand fees on unpaid bills.

The Tax Collector's office is located on the second floor of the Town Hall Building, 16 Lowell Street, and is open Monday to Thursday, 7:30 am to 5:30 pm (until 7 pm on Tuesdays). 

There is also a white drop-off mailbox located outside in the parking lot (at the parking lot's exit) where residents may drop off tax payments, water bill payments, excise bill payments, or any other town business. Payments left in the box will be credited the next business day.

The Town of Reading currently bills on a quarterly schedule. Real estate and personal property tax bills for the fiscal year (July to June) are mailed quarterly. Payments are due by the end of the business day in the Tax Collector's office on August 1, November 1, February 1, and May 1 or the following regular business day if the 1st falls on a weekend. Postmarks are not considered payment in a timely fashion per M.G.L. It is the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that tax bills arrive in the Treasurer or Collector's office on or before the due dates.

There are between six and eight Motor Vehicle Excise tax bill mailings during the year. The largest mailing occurs in February and usually includes all vehicles registered in Reading for over one year. Although collected by the Town, these bills are generated from the records of the Registry of Motor Vehicles as of January 1 of the bill year.