How to Pay a Tax Bill
In Person
To pay your bill in person, you must visit the Tax Collector's Office at City Hall during regular business office hours, which are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Monday through Friday. We also extend our hours of operation to our public on Mondays until 7:00 pm beginning after Labor Day through June 30th yearly. If you want a receipt for your payment, bring the entire bill to the office and the staff will stamp your copy with the date of your payment.
By Mail
Tax bills (real estate, personal property, and motor vehicle and excise) may be mailed to the Collectors office at 140 Main Street, Marlborough, MA 01752. Please include the remittance copy to ensure that your payment is properly credited.
Water / Sewer and Sewer assessment bills may also be paid by mail to the above address.
Outside Mailbox - Drop Box
There are locked metal boxes located at the front & rear of City Hall. While these boxes were installed to make bill paying convenient when the building is not open, payments may be dropped in this box at any time as the boxes are checked periodically each day during business hours as well. Please be aware of the due date of your bill and the time of day in order to ensure that your payment is credited on time to avoid late charges.
Cash Payments
Please do not send cash by mail, either to the office or the Drop Off Box. If you wish to pay in cash, the safest way to do so is to pay at the Collectors office during regularly scheduled business hours.
Checks
The City of Marlborough accepts only checks that are made payable to the "City of Marlborough". We do not accept checks made payable to a third party, even with an endorsement. Most of the time we can accept personal checks in payment of your bills. The following occasions are exceptions:
- If you are marked at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, you need to pay and clear this “registry mark” with our Deputy Collector Kelly & Ryan Associates at 508-473-9660, or utilize their website by going to Townpay.com.
- If your property is in the process of a tax taking, all pay-off amounts and partial payments must be processed through Brown Legal, PLLC.
Please remember this when you make out your check. If you have post-dated your check, we will ask you to change the date and to initial your change.
On-Line Current Payments – Invoice Cloud
The city offers a secure online invoice portal to allow you a simple, convenient payment solution for checks and credit cards. You can register for an account by accessing our city website WWW.MARLBOROUGH-MA.GOV, then click on “PAY BILLS ONLINE”. If you don’t have access to a computer, you may pay by telephone by calling 844-242-2837. There are convenience fees associated with this service.
On-Line Payments Through Your Bank
If you use your bank's "On-Line" payment such as "Bill Pay" please note that the city is actually sent a paper check, it is not done electronically. It may take up to 7 to 10 days for the Collector's office to receive the check from your bank. Please be sure to use the correct account numbers when entering online, so that we can apply your payments correctly.
Insufficient Funds Checks
Any check which is returned to our office and, for whatever reason, is not honored by the payer's bank, will be subject to the statutory penalty as outlined in Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 60, Section 57A. The penalty is 1% of the face value of the check with a minimum charge of $25.
If your check is returned to us, we will not redeposit it until we have collected the $25 penalty charge. If the penalty is not paid, we will charge back the payment to the appropriate account.
If the insufficient funds check was in payment of a tax bill, and if the payment due date has passed, interest and all other applicable fees will be charged to the account.
Timely Payments
Payments must be received in the Collector's office by the due date in order to be considered "on time". Postmarks are never accepted.
This policy is in accord with the ruling of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on what constitutes "timely payments".