OXFORD — The window for Oxford’s taxpayers to apply for abatement against their reassessed properties will close on March 25.

Property owners are allowed 185 days following the 2023-2024 tax commitment, which was issued on Sept. 22 of last year, to challenge the values assigned during the town’s revaluation, done last summer.

Assessor Colleen Halse, who started working for Oxford less than three months ago, works with each taxpayer questioning the accuracy of their real estate value, helping to review their assessments and fill out abatement applications.

“Most of the preliminary contact has been in the form of submitted abatement applications,” Halse told the Advertiser Democrat. “I’ve only received about a dozen inquiries that did not result in the submission of a formal abatement application.

“Some people realize that they have been under-assessed and others have been able to secure tax relief by submitting homestead exemption applications or applications for Maine’s land use programs, etc.”

Her process has become a routine, as many owners have expressed dissatisfaction with the revaluations done by KRT Appraisal of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

“[Generally] people indicate that both land and building values have increased too much compared to their prior assessments,” Halse said. “I explain that their prior valuations stemmed from 2009 and that the market has changed since then.”

Halse notes that not all properties increased in value. Some stayed about the same or even decreased.

She also advises taxpayers about relief programs they may be eligible for.

“Maine has several property tax relief programs,” Halse said, including the state-run Property Tax Fairness Credit that allows eligible homeowners to receive a $2,000 credit.

There is also the State Property Tax Deferral Program, which works as a lifetime loan for Maine residents 65 and older to cover their property tax bills. The income limit for the deferral program has been increased to $80,000 and raised asset limits. The loan is repaid once the home is sold or becomes part of an estate.

“I’ve also directed residents to other resources as appropriate, like land use programs,” Halse explained. “There are caveats about participation in these programs, i.e., property owners face penalties when land is withdrawn. But they may be appropriate for some property owners to reduce their lax liability if they intend to remain in the programs.”

One popular tax relief program, the Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens, was enacted by the Maine legislature in 2022 only to be repealed the following year. That program froze a homeowner’s property taxes if they had established at least 10 years of residency with homestead exemptions. But it included loopholes that would allow residents to purchase higher assessed homes in other communities while maintaining their previous tax base. The program was only funded for one year; residents who applied before Dec. 1, 2023 can apply the benefit for the current tax cycle only.

Halse has seen a steady stream of abatement requests for both residential and commercial properties. To date, all but one has been approved by Oxford’s Board of Assessors. There are several applications on hold pending additional information.

Residents have until March 25 to apply for abatement.

The Assessor’s office is open the first and third Thursday of each month from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Halse’s email address is assessor@oxfordmaine.org, and her phone number is 207-539-4431, ext. 108.

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