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Important STAR Tax Information for New York Residents


New legislation requires all homeowners receiving Basic STAR Tax exemptions to register with the New York State Tax Department in order to receive the exemption in 2014 and subsequent years.  That’s right, just when you thought you’d done everything necessary to secure your STAR Tax savings on your primary home, New York State is requiring all homeowners filing for STAR Tax savings to register with the New York State Tax Department from 8/19/13 until 12/31/2013 in order to continue receiving the STAR Tax savings.  Property owners wishing to continue to receive school tax relief on their primary residence in New York State MUST file  by year’s end to continue receiving that relief.  Suffolk County residents can see their Suffolk County STAR Tax Savings here.

Basic STAR

  • available for owner-occupied, primary residences where the resident owners’ and their spouses income is less than $500,000
  • exempts the first $30,000 of the full value of a home from school taxes

Enhanced STAR

  • provides an increased benefit for the primary residences of senior citizens (age 65 and older) with qualifying incomes
  • exempts the first $63,300 of the full value of a home from school taxes as of 2013-14 school tax bills

Homeowners will not have to register in order to receive their 2013 STAR exemptions!    And once regestering, homeowners will not have to re-register every year to continue receiving their STAR Tax relief. Based on the information provided in the registration process, the Tax Department will monitor homeowners’ eligibility in future years.

How to register

You can register for the STAR exemption online. You’ll need to:

  • provide a STAR code (The Tax Department will be mailing codes to all Basic STAR recipients; or you can use the STAR code lookup)
  • provide the names and social security numbers for all owners of the property and spouses
  • confirm that the property is the primary residence of one of its owners (married couples with multiple residences may only claim one STAR exemption)
  • confirm that the combined income of the owners and their spouses who reside at the property does not exceed $500,000
  • confirm that no resident owner received a residency-based tax benefit from another state

I hope you find this information helpful.  If you have any real estate questions or concerns, simply drop me a note or call me…  You’ll be glad you did!