If you are a resident of New York State, and you own property in New York State, and you pay your property taxes in New York State, you are eligible for formal review and assessment. There are two levels of review for your property.
Administrative Review
- An Administration review is initiated after a formal decision has been made. An Administrative review upholds or overturns a decision already made.
- Administrative reviews focus on the following:
- Questions of policy and procedures, or the possible misapplication of regulations or instructions.
- The “grievance” process is conducted at the municipal level.
Judicial Review
- A judicial review grants power to the court to adjudicate the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official.
- In order to pursue judicial review, you must go through administrative review for property taxes in New York State.
- Judicial review includes two options:
- Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) – a low-cost option that is more informal than a formal Tax Certiorari proceeding, which can be time consuming and expensive. SCAR can be available to most home owners.
- Tax Certiorari proceedings in the State Supreme Court – In order to pursue this option, you should contact an attorney.
Before taking the initiative to pursue formal review of your assessment, you should take the steps to determine if you are being assessed fairly:
Step One: Assess your estimate of the market value of your property (Assessment ÷ level of assessment = assessor’s estimate of market value)
Step Two: Develop an estimate of the market value of your property (You may wish to contact an appraiser or other real estate professionals)
Step Three: If you believe your assessment is too high, you may wish to contest your assessment.
- If you are assessed fairly, but you feel like your taxes are too high, you may wish to address this matter to the taxing jurisdictions that impose taxes in your community.
Here are some secrets that can help you lower your property Taxes in New York.
- Appeal your property assessments
Between 30% – 60% of homeowners are paying a higher property tax rate than they should be paying, due to bad property assessments. Yet, only 1 out of 10 of these home owners ever contest that assessment on their property taxes in New York.
Gather data about all the other similar neighborhood properties, and compare them with your property. Once you compare your rate with the rates of your neighbors with similar property, you will have a better idea on whether or not you are paying a fair assessment on your property tax in New York State.
- Receive tax credit on certain improvements
An indirect way to reduce and offset your property tax in New York State, is to apply tax credits. You can be surprised by the amount of money homeowners can claim from the IRS at the end of each year if credit is due to that homeowner. If you apply these improvements to your home, you could save money on your property tax in New York by hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Three homeowner tax credits include:
- Home Improvement Loan Interest – Home improvement loans of 100,000 or less are tax deductible
- Energy-Efficiency Tax Credit – Improving your home to become more energy efficient, such as new efficient windows, HVAC, insulation, or storm doors can account up to $500 in tax credit.
- Renewable Energy Tax Credit – Green improvements, like installing solar panels can give you a 30% tax credit in your costs of buying or installing.
Reminder* Tax breaks may change frequently, so consult a tax professionals to discuss what is available to you.
- Tax Breaks
Standard ordinary tax breaks can save you lots of money. There are multiple and different tax credits afforded to you as a homeowner who pays property tax in New York. You should talk to your tax professional about shielding part of your home valuation from taxes. Ask what Credits you are eligible for as a senior or veteran. Some city and states are different in offering additional tax breaks and property tax reductions that are not listed here. But check with your local county clerk’s office or to a tax professional about more ways you can reduce your property tax in New York.
