Property tax exemptions: free help, no charge
Many New York homeowners pay more than they have to because they never applied for an exemption they qualify for. I will help you sort out which ones apply to you, at no charge and with no obligation.
The deadline that matters: March 1 in most communities. Exemption applications go to your assessor by the taxable status date. In most towns that is March 1, but some cities and counties use a different date, so confirm it with your assessor. Miss it and you generally wait a full year. The time to look into this is the fall and winter.
Exemptions are separate from a grievance. A grievance argues that your assessment is too high. An exemption takes part of a correct assessment off the tax bill because of who you are or how the property is used. You can have both.
The exemptions most homeowners miss
STAR (school tax relief)
For owner-occupied primary residences, applied to school taxes. Basic STAR has no age requirement. Enhanced STAR is a larger benefit for owners 65 and older with qualifying incomes. If you bought your home in recent years, STAR now comes as a credit (a check or direct deposit from the State), and you must register with the NYS Tax Department yourself. The assessor cannot do it for you. Owners who have had the STAR exemption on the same home since 2015 can keep it. STAR eligibility · Register for STAR
Senior citizens exemption
Reduces the taxable assessment of a senior's home by as much as 50%, generally for owners 65 and older with limited incomes. Each county, city, town, village and school district decides whether to offer it and sets its own income limit, so the answer depends on where you live. It is renewed regularly, and it is the one I see missed most often. Senior citizens exemption
Veterans exemptions
There are several: the alternative veterans exemption for wartime service, the Cold War veterans exemption, and the eligible funds exemption for property bought with pension, bonus or insurance money. Each municipality and school district chooses which to offer. It is not automatic. You must file the application with your assessor, and a veteran who buys a new home has to apply again there.
New in 2026: municipalities may now offer a full exemption on the primary residence of a veteran the VA rates permanently and totally disabled from military service, starting with assessment rolls based on taxable status dates on or after October 1, 2026. Ask your assessor whether your town, county and school district have adopted it. Veterans exemptions
Persons with disabilities and limited incomes
Up to 50% off the assessed value of the home of an eligible owner with a documented disability (for example an SSDI or SSI award letter), within a local income limit. Each municipality and school district decides whether to offer it. You cannot have it and the senior exemption at the same time, but if you qualify for both you choose the better one. Disability exemption
Farmland and forest land
Land in active farm use can qualify for an agricultural assessment, and larger managed woodlots for the forest exemption. Both have acreage, sales or management-plan requirements, and the dollars can be large. If you own a farm or a big wooded parcel, call me. Agricultural assessments
Most exemptions are offered at the option of each county, city, town, village and school district, so two neighbours in different towns can get different answers. The State's full list is in the property tax exemptions section of the Tax Department's site. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice, and your assessor decides every application. If an exemption is denied, the denial can be challenged at the Board of Assessment Review on Grievance Day.
Free, no obligation
Ask me about your exemptions
Tell me where the property is and a little about the owners: age, veteran status, whether it is your primary residence. I will tell you which exemptions you may be missing and what to file. There is no charge for this, and you do not have to be a client.
Prefer the phone? Call 315-876-2262. I read every message myself.
And if the assessment itself is too high
An exemption only helps if the assessment underneath it is right. While I look at your exemptions, I can also check whether you are over-assessed. Get a free analysis or see how a grievance works.