Chapter 74: Annual Inventory of Polls and Taxable Property

The selectmen of each town shall annually make a list of all the polls and shall take an inventory of all the estate liable to be taxed in such town as of April 1.

At the time of making the list of polls and the inventory of estate liable to be taxed the selectmen shall also make an inventory of all lands, buildings and structures which, but for the tax exemption laws of the state, would be taxable as real estate, including all land, but excluding the buildings of the United States, state, county, town, school district or any political subdivision thereof used for public or educational purposes.

I. The taxpayer inventory blank shall be designed to obtain the necessary information in a manner which is convenient for the person completing it. The printing on it shall be at least 10 point type.

II. The blank shall require the person or corporation to be taxed to provide the required information under penalty of perjury. The blank shall require the taxpayer to sign in one place for all information submitted, including any application for eligibility for exemptions.

III. The blank shall require the following information:

(a) A description of all real estate taxable to the person or corporation;

(b) Other information needed by the assessing officials to assess all the taxable property of the person or corporation at its true value;

(c) A census of all persons occupying the premises as of April 1, by name and age.

IV. The blank shall include the following statement:

"You may be entitled to the following tax relief: Elderly or Disabled Tax Lien, or an Abatement. For additional information, contact your selectmen or assessor."

V. The blank shall require owners of land classified as open space to indicate whether any changes in the use of the land have been made.

VI. The blank shall require owners of land classified as land under qualifying farm structures under RSA 79-F to indicate whether any changes in use of the land have been made.

VII. The blank shall require owners of a qualifying historic building under RSA 79-G to indicate whether any changes in use of the qualifying historic building have been made.

VIII. The blank shall require owners of property rented or leased to a qualifying chartered public school facility under RSA 79-H to indicate whether any changes in use of the qualifying chartered public school facility have been made.

I. Any municipality, by vote of its board of selectmen, city council or board of aldermen may elect not to utilize the inventory form or procedure. Such a vote shall automatically exempt all property owners and others within that municipality from all requirements and provisions of law relating to the inventory form.

II. Every municipality so electing shall notify the department of revenue administration in writing, no later than October 1 each year of its decision affecting the following prescribed filing period.

The selectmen or assessors shall cause inventory blanks to be mailed, postage prepaid, to the last known address of all persons and corporations known or believed to own taxable property in their towns and cities or, alternatively, to be hand delivered by such means as the selectmen or assessors shall deem convenient and legally sufficient. Either method of distribution shall occur on or before March 25 of each year.

Every person and every corporation by its president or other person with authority to do so having knowledge of its property and affairs, shall fill out the blank inventory in all respects according to its requirements and sign and make the required declaration thereto, and cause the same to be mailed, postage prepaid, or delivered to the selectmen or assessors on or before April 15.

I. Any person who fails to file a fully completed inventory form on or before April 15, unless granted an extension under RSA 74:8, shall pay a penalty of one percent of the property tax for which the person is liable. In no case, however, shall the penalty be less than $10 or more than $50. No person who fails to file an inventory form shall lose the right to apply for, or appeal the denial of, any other type of tax relief including an appeal under RSA 72:34-a, an appraisal under RSA 75:11, or a land use change tax under RSA 79-A:7. This penalty has all the force of taxation and shall be treated as incident to the tax.

II. If a town fails to deliver the inventory blank, the penalty shall not apply.

III. If the property is transferred during the tax year to a different owner and the inventory blank was mailed or delivered to the previous owner, the penalty shall not apply to the subsequent owner.

All penalties collected under RSA 74:7-a shall be retained for the use of the city or town in which they are collected.

Where no property changes have occurred during the tax year for which the property inventory was filed, the comment "no changes from last year" or "same as last year" shall be deemed acceptable by the assessors or selectmen. Notice of failure to file the property inventory form, or failure to file a complete property inventory form, shall first be sent to the property owner of record as of April 1 before the applicable monetary penalty in RSA 74:7-a shall apply.

If a blank inventory is not mailed or hand delivered to any person or corporation before March 25, or if any person is prevented by accident, mistake, or misfortune from returning the same to the selectmen or assessors on or before April 15, such person or corporation may make such return before June 1.

The declaration required in and by such inventories shall be as follows, to be varied in cases of partnerships, corporations, administrators and the like, to conform to such circumstances: Under penalty of perjury, I (we) declare that, to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief, the foregoing information contains a full, true and correct statement of the real property which I (we) owned as of April 1, ___ in the city/town of __________ .

The selectmen or assessors shall on or before April 1 in each year give public notice of the times when and the place where on or before April 15 they will receive inventories and hear all parties regarding their liability to be taxed. Such notice shall state the times when such hearings shall begin and close and shall be posted in 2 or more public places in the town and shall be published in a newspaper if there is any printed in the town. A hearing commenced on or before April 15 regarding one's liability to be taxed may be continued after that date if there is need therefor.

Upon the return of such inventory, the selectmen shall assess a tax against the person or corporation in accordance with their appraisal of the property therein mentioned, unless they shall be of the opinion that it does not contain a full and true statement of the property for which such person or corporation is taxable.

If any person or corporation shall willfully omit to make and return such inventory, or to answer any interrogatory therein contained, or shall make any false statement therein; or if the selectmen or assessors shall be of opinion that the inventory returned does not contain a full and correct statement of the property for which the person or corporation is taxable; or that the person making the same has willfully omitted to give required information, or has made false answers or statements therein, the selectmen or assessors shall ascertain, in such way as they may be able, and as nearly as practicable, the amount and value of the property for which the person or corporation is taxable, and shall set down to such person or corporation, by way of doomage, 4 times as much as such property would be taxable if truly returned and inventoried.

If any selectman or assessor shall willfully omit or fail to perform any duty imposed upon him by the provisions of this chapter, or by other laws pertaining to taxation, or shall willfully fail to enforce or willfully violate any of the provisions thereof, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

The selectmen, or any of them, may make personal application to any inhabitant of the town, to any person having the care of personal property taxable therein, and to the officers of any corporation, for an account of the polls and ratable estate for which they are liable to be taxed.

Whoever, upon request made to him by an assessor or collector of taxes of any town in the performance of his official duty, refuses or neglects to give his true name shall be guilty of a violation.

Whoever transfers any stock in any bank for the purpose of evading taxation, or to prevent its being taxed to the real owner thereof in the town in which he resides, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person. Any fines collected hereunder shall inure to the use of the town in which such stock ought to be taxed.

I. If the selectmen or assessing officials are unable to obtain consent to enter property for the purpose of obtaining information necessary to complete any inventory under this chapter or appraisal under RSA 75, they may obtain an administrative inspection warrant under RSA 595-B.

II. [Repealed.]

I. In order to properly equalize the value of property under RSA 21-J:3, XIII, an inventory of property transfers shall be filed with the department of revenue administration and with the municipality where the property is located for each transfer of real estate or interest in real estate. Each form may include the following information:

(a) The buyer's and seller's names and post transaction addresses and the name and address of a contact person if the buyer or seller is a trust or corporation.

(b) A description of the exact location of the property by town, street, and the assessor's map, lot, and block number.

(c) The acreage included in the sale.

(d) An accurate description of the property included in the sale, the neighborhood where the property is located, and the type and style of the property sold.

(e) The buyer's ownership interest in the property.

(f) The sale price, date of transfer, and the amount mortgaged.

(g) The description of the type of transfer that has taken place.

(h) The amount of personal property included in the sale price.

(i) Whether the property was previously occupied and whether the property will serve as the buyer's primary residence.

(j) The financing arrangements made to purchase the property to be answered at the option of the buyer.

(k) Whether any concessions were made in the sale.

(l) Whether the property was in current use.

(m) Whether land use taxes were considered in the sale.

(n) The buyer's dated signature certifying that the information indicated on the form is true.

II. The inventory of property transfers required by this section shall be filed with the department of revenue administration and with the municipality where the property is located by the purchaser, grantee, assignee, or transferee, no later than 30 days from the recording of the deed at the register of deeds or transfer of real estate, whichever is later. Persons required to file the inventory of property transfers who willfully fail to file or willfully make false statements on the forms shall be guilty of a violation.

III. No deed, recording a transfer of real estate or any interest in real estate, executed before October 1, 1995, shall be required to comply with this section.

IV. Failure to comply with this section shall not be construed to cloud title.

V. Any information provided to the department or the municipality pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the right-to-know law, RSA 91-A.

VI. Municipalities receiving inventories pursuant to this section shall forward the buyer's and seller's names and post transaction addresses to the supervisor of the checklist in such municipalities to facilitate periodic maintenance of the voter checklist.

I. In order to properly determine the value of property under RSA 72:8-c, an inventory of telecommunications poles and conduits shall be filed with the department of revenue administration and with the municipality where the property is located by each owner of telecommunications poles and conduits. Each form may include the following information:

(a) Name and address of a contact person if the owner is a trust or corporation.

(b) Detailed description of the telecommunication poles using most recent readily available information held by the owner.

(c) Description of conduits using most recent readily available information held by the owner.

(d) The filer's dated signature certifying that the information indicated on the form is true.

II. The inventory of telecommunications poles and conduits required by this section shall be filed with the department of revenue administration and with the municipality where the property is located by the owner of telecommunications poles and conduits no later than July 1. Persons required to file the inventory of telecommunications poles and conduits who willfully fail to file or willfully make false statements on the forms shall be guilty of a violation.

III. Any person or corporation required to file an inventory of telecommunications poles and conduits shall be subject to the provisions of RSA 74:12.