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Listers Office

Office is located at the Royalton Municipal Offices at 2460 VT Route 14. This is not a full time position for the Lister’s, thus there are no regular office hours.

Please call or email to schedule an appointment.

The Town Clerk’s office has property record information regarding the Grand List and individual parcels, and can make this information available.


Lister Duties

The list of all properties in town and their assessments is referred to as the Grand List. The primary duty of the Lister’s Office is to maintain this list as accurately and equitably as possible. The valuation [listing] year runs from April 1 to the following March 31. Thus, for any given year, the owner and condition of a property should be as of April 1.

In addition, the office provides

  • Assessment history information
  • Detailed explanation of the assessment process
  • Property Record Cards
  • Specialized reports
  • Tax maps, which are periodically updated to correspond with survey changes
If you ever have a question about your tax assessment, you are encouraged to make an appointment with one of the Lister’s to review your Property Record Card for accuracy and an explanation as to the current valuation.  A link to the Property Tax Appeals Handbook is also conveniently available as a PDF file.       Tax_Appeal_Handbook_2007

If your property is destroyed or seriously damaged at any point during the course of the tax year, please let us know. You may request an abatement of your taxes for the remainder of the tax year. Details of this process are available through the Town Clerk’s Office.

Statutory Requirements

Most activities and dates are mandated by state statute as follows:

  • April 1 – All taxable real property in town is assessed [listed] at fair market value, adjusted by the equalization ratio(CLA), as determined by the state.
  • April 15 – File the HS-122 Homestead Declaration form with your state income tax form, which entitles you to be taxed at the Homestead School Tax Rate, without a late penalty.  The IN 144 form along with your taxes for the Income Sensitivity Adjustment (state tax credit),for property taxes.  
  • May 1 – Veterans who are residents and 50% or more disabled qualify for a $40,000 reduction on the assessed value of their property. This benefit extends to widows of qualified Veterans. May 1 is the deadline to provide the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs(VOVA) with your application and VA qualification letter. More information at: //http://veterans.vermont.gov
  • May-June – The values for the tax year are finalized by the Lister’s and Assessor and the Abstract of the Grand List is lodged. At this time notices are mailed to all taxpayers who have had changes in their assessed values. Within 14 days, any taxpayer who wants to grieve (appeal) an assessment must contact the Lister’s Office to set up an appointment. Grievances are not limited to only those taxpayers with assessment changes. Any taxpayer may grieve in any year. If you wish to be notified of the grievance time period, you may call our office and request notification.
  • May/June– Grievance appeals begin 14 days after change notices are mailed.
  • October – Tax bills are mailed to property owners as of April 1. Tax due dates are set by the voters at town meeting each year.
  • September 1 –  Deadline for submitting applications to the Land Use (Current Use)Program. More information at: Vermont Department of Taxes - Current Use

  • October 15 – Deadline for filing the HS122/IN144 forms with the state in order to be classified as a homestead property and to be considered for a Income Sensitivity Adjustment (state tax credit), for your property taxes.

Annual Inspections

In addition to the above activities, since the 2009 town-wide reappraisal, the Lister’s drive the roads once a year to look for property changes.  Should a taxpayer refuse an interior inspection, we will rely on old records and an exterior inspection to estimate the interior. This can lead to errors, not always in favor of the taxpayer. If you have questions about this process, please call or e-mail our office. Note that changes to your assessment are a result of data corrections only, not market adjustments.

Tax Maps



Vermont residences are required to file with the Vermont Tax Department a HOMESTEAD DECLARATION And PROPERTY TAX CREDIT CLAIM form each and every year- even if no residences status has changed from year to year.

For information on filing homestead declaration visit Vermont Dept of Taxes - Homestead Declaration

For information on filing a property tax credit claim visit Vermont Dept of Taxes - Property tax credit claim

ROYALTON LISTER OFFICE FREQUENTLY REQUESTED DOCUMENTS



Tax Map Discrepancies

Should there be a discrepancy between our acreage and what you believe you actually own, we will need a recorded survey prior to changing our records. We do want to stress that the tax maps are an approximation of property lines used for listing purposes only. They are not considered a legal document and cannot be used to determine actual boundaries.

Tax Rate Information

For information on Equalization Studies and how they affect tax rates visit Vermont Dept of Taxes - Equalization Studies

Assessment levels as of:                    
Common Level of Appraisal  (CLA): 
Coefficient of Dispersion       (COD):
         
Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
CLA 103.90% 101.7% 100.02% 99.20% 94.98% 95.34% 85.44%
COD 13.59% 13.51% 11.59% 13.81% 12.52% 17.19% 20.66%