Hebron assessor details state-driven change to motor-vehicle valuations, explains who is affected

Suzanne, the town assessor, told the Hebron Board of Selectmen on July 10 that new state legislation effective Oct. 1, 2024, changed how motor vehicles are valued for property-tax purposes and that the change has produced mixed results for taxpayers.

The new method resets values to manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) and uses a fixed depreciation schedule that begins at 90% of MSRP and declines 5 percent each year until a floor of 20 percent is reached (a 14-year path to the floor). The assessor said the change was adopted by the Legislature to smooth large COVID-era fluctuations in used-vehicle values.

Why it matters: The change reduces the total taxable motor-vehicle value on Hebron’s grand list but does not affect every taxpayer the same way. The assessor said overall valuation for motor vehicles in town fell about $4,000,000 after the new schedule was applied, but some vehicles — a limited number, she said — saw increases because their prior assessed values were below their reset MSRP-based values.

Suzanne said specific exemptions are in the statute: personal utility trailers, boat trailers, flatbeds used for tasks like dump runs, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles are excluded from the motor-vehicle list and therefore will not generate motor-vehicle tax bills under the new method. She also noted a statutory minimum assessment for vehicles older than 20 years: such vehicles cannot be assessed below $500. Classic-car registrations that meet DMV rules also receive a $500 fixed assessment under the statute.

The assessor described other technical limits. Towns cannot set the motor-vehicle mill rate higher than a statutory cap for motor-vehicle taxation; for Hebron the assessor cited a cap of 32.46 mills and said the town’s next full revaluation is scheduled for 2026. She recommended that residents who believe their vehicle’s MSRP or model year was recorded in error contact the assessor’s office so staff can verify the entry and the depreciation calculation.

Selectmen asked how the drop in motor-vehicle revenue affects property-tax bills. Suzanne said revenue shortfalls do not disappear; they are reflected elsewhere in the tax levy — typically in real-estate or personal-property mill-rate adjustments — and the town will absorb the change through its usual budgeting process and by the next revaluation.

The assessor said towns were offered a choice of depreciation schedules statewide; Hebron opted for the 90%-to-20% schedule based on peer town feedback and advice from the Office of Policy and Management. Town staff said they plan to add the assessor’s explanatory memo to the meeting minutes and to town communications to correct misinformation circulating on social media.

Less urgent details: Ms. Suzanne told the board that some residents had “sticker shock” because the new method is a reset to MSRP and therefore can raise the assessed value on a few vehicles even as it reduces the townwide total. She also acknowledged it can be hard for residents to accept that an older vehicle might be assigned 20 percent of MSRP for tax purposes, even if market prices for that particular vehicle seem lower.

The selectmen did not take any formal action at the meeting beyond asking staff to place the assessor’s explanatory material into the town minutes and public channels.