Taxation In Massachusetts

Massachusetts has four types of taxes: individual taxes, business taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes.

Tax reductions in Massachusetts

Massachusetts allows for tax reductions based upon different factors.

Forest Tax Program Chapter 61

Forestry, agriculture, and recreation

'
Chapter 61
'' is a voluntary current use program designed by the Massachusetts Legislature to tax real property in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at its resources value rather than its highest and best use (development) value. Landowners who enroll their land in the program receive property tax reductions in exchange for a lien on their property.

There are three types of Chapter 61 programs:

Chapter 61
Forest Lands and Forest Products

Chapter 61A
Agricultural and Horticultural Land

Chapter 61B
Recreational Land

Chapter 61 Forest Lands and Forest Products

Under Chapter 61, in order to qualify for the Chapter 61 program, a parcel of real property must be at least contiguous and under the same ownership. Prior to approval, the landowner must establish a forest management plan for the affected property and have it approved by a state certified forester. Only the wooded and undeveloped portions of the land may be enrolled in the program. The tax reduction is based upon the market value of the potential forestry products the land can produce.

Chapter 61A Agricultural and Horticultural Land

Under 61A, the property for agricultural use must be at least 5 acres, and the reduction in tax is based on the market value of farm products the land can support. The land may also be used for forestland, but, if so, the landowner must produce a 10-year forest management plan.

Chapter 61B Recreational Land

Under 61B, the property for open space and recreation must be at least 5 acres. The tax reduction is 75% of its assessed value, and working with forest management is optional. The land must "available to the general public or to members of a non-profit organization including a corporation organized under chapter one hundred and eighty."

History of Chapter 61

Chapter 61 was passed by the MA General Legislature on Nov. 7, 1978 and it was amended in 2006.

Right of first refusal

Chapter 61B grants municipalities a right of first refusal on land that is classified as recreational, thereby allowing municipalities to purchase the land before it's sold or converted to a non-recreational use.

In 2017, when th
Allendale Country Club
in the Town of North Dartmouth, MA wanted to sell, the town, with the Right of First Refusal, purchased the land assessed $5.8 million, for $3.2 million. The golf course was retained as a country club under the same name but open to the public, at more affordable rates.

In 2022, the town of Tisbury, MA, refused to purchase a portion of land that th
Mink Meadows Golf Club
a 61B club, had decided to sell. A buyer was found for the parcel and the funds from the sale was used to replace the club's irrigation system and to do environmental work to improve their saltwater ponds and freshwater ponds.

Assessment method for taxation of golf courses

In Chapter 61 Section 2, Massachusetts designates golf courses as eligible for current use assessment as a type of open space or recreational land use. Under Section 38, it is assessed as commercial property.

Controversy surrounding 61B

Belmont, MA

In the Town of Belmont, attention turned t
Belmont Country Club
tax-exempt since 1945, which received close to $4 million in tax breaks in the last ten years. On November 13, 2023, the Town of Belmont held a town hall meeting which approved a citizen-brought motion by a vote of 229-3, with one abstention, to end the 61B exclusion for the Belmont Country Club. The citizens, taxpayers, were dissatisfied that the Belmont Country Club had received more than $4 million in tax breaks in the past ten years due to Chapter 61B provisions.

The Home Rule Petition, which seeks to exclude the town o
Belmont
from the provisions of 61B, was filed in the 194th session (2025) a
Bill HD.1618
a bill entitled "An Act updating the tax treatment of recreational lands in the town of Belmont." The bill is co-sponsored b
Rep. Brownsberger
an
Rep. Rogers
It is currently awaiting a hearing date with th
Joint Committee on Revenue

Swampscott, MA

On Monday, March 11, 2024, at a town hill meeting i
Swampscott, MA
the vote was in favor of exempting th
Tedesco Country Club
from the provisions of 61B, a discussion that was led by Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. A Home Rule Petition that seeks to exclude the town o
Swampscott
from the provisions of 61B was filed in the 194th Session (2025) a
Bill H.3917
a bill entitled "An Act updating the tax treatment of recreational lands in the town of Swampscott." The bill was co-sponsored b
Rep. Balinsky Armini
an
Rep. Crighton
It is currently awaiting a hearing date with th
Joint Committee on Revenue

Newton, MA

Attention in Newton, MA, is being turned to its three golf courses, the Brae Burn Country Club
Woodland Golf Club
an
Charles River Club
of Auburndale. Newton City Councilor Vicky Danberg has stated, "I can tell you very few people have sympathy for the poor golfers from these clubs who are crying poverty." Former president of Newton's firefighters' union Frannie Capello said Newton's country clubs will often open up their courses once a year to the city's firefighters. While firefighters much appreciate that, he said, he didn't think it was worth the revenue lost to the city, citing the City 's struggle to find ways to pay for much needed repair of fire stations. Responded one reader, “No one is asking them to fold, and given the wealth of the members, that will never happen. All anyone is asking is that they pay their fair share, just like small local businesses and residents do.”

Other Towns

Th
Wellesley Country Club
in Wellesley was criticized in 2011 for its embrace of the 61B tax subsidy.

Massachusetts country clubs taking advantage of the 61B tax are also in Framingham and in Marlborough, such as th
Marlborough Country Club
A private golf course, Marlbouro Country Club is, however, open to the public Mondays and Tuesdays. The tax-exempt Sankaty Head Golf Club Inc. is open to the public during its off-season, from October to May. A private golf course in Needham, th
Needham Golf Club
has 61B status for the golf course acreage and has also designated "Residents’ Days” for Needham residents who are not members of the club. It also supports the community with its non-profit Needham Golf Club Charities (NGCC) by providing funding to various Needham-based community and charitable organizations.

Not all Massachusetts golf clubs ask for the tax break. The Country Club, in Brookline, with two golf courses, does not. Th
Oakley Country Club
an 88-acre golf club in Watertown MA, pays its full tax bill.

Sustainability, 61B, and Golf Courses

Some have questioned whether golf courses promote the benefits to the environment of land "retained in substantially a natural, wild, or open condition or in a landscaped or pasture condition or in a managed forest condition under a certified forest management plan approved by and subject to procedures established by the state forester in such a manner as to allow to a significant extent the preservation of wildlife and other natural resources, including but not limited to, ground or surface water resources, clean air, vegetation, rare or endangered species, geologic features, high quality soils, and scenic resources" that the 61B law intended to protect.

Audubon International, for example, has developed a
Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses
(ACSP), which provides guidance on six key environmental components:

• Site Assessment/Environmental Planning

• Wildlife and Habitat Management

• Chemical Use Reduction and Safety

• Water Conservation

• Water Quality Management

• Outreach and Education.
MassGolf
a 501(c)3 organization formed in 2018 and one of the largest state golf associations in the United States, promotes the ACSP program; 14 golf courses in Massachusetts have received this certification and are abiding by its guidelines. MassGolf also has a
Monarchs in the Rough
program which numerous public and private golf courses in Massachusetts and elsewhere have completed and received certification.

The program and certification is also endorsed by the United States Golf Association (USGA), which itself has its own program to promote sustainability that deal with topics such as written evironmental management plan, a proactive maintenance facility that minimizes risks To the environment, maintaining water quality that is good for wildlife and the environment that includes a vegetated buffer around water features that provide habitat for wildlife, and a undertaking tree inventory assessment.

References

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 61 Classification and Taxation of Forest Lands and Forest Products.

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