Option 2: STAR Income Verification Program
Supply your Social Security Number(s) and authorize the New York
State Department of Taxation and Finance to verify your income
eligibility each year (starting no sooner than 2004). If you
choose this option, you do not need to submit an application and
copy of your tax return(s) to the assessor every year. To choose
this option, you must complete form RP-425-IVP and submit it to
the assessor along with a traditional STAR application and the
necessary income tax return(s) by the application deadline.
Q. Where do I get the STAR application?
A. STAR applications are available from your
local assessor. The applications also can be found on the internet.
Q. How will I know my STAR application has been
approved?
A. Assessors are required to notify applicants
if their STAR application has been denied. If you mail your
application to the assessor, it is suggested that you should send it
by registered mail, return receipt requested. If you hand-deliver
it, it is suggested that you request a receipt. When the tentative
assessment roll is made available to the public, you can check to
make sure that you will be receiving the appropriate STAR exemption.
Q. How will I know how much STAR is saving me in tax
dollars?
A. Along with unprecedented savings, the STAR
program creates a Property
Taxpayers' Bill of Rights that ensures property owners are
better informed than ever about their taxes. As part of the STAR
program, you will receive a school property tax bill or other notice
that will clearly state the amount of the STAR exemption and your
tax savings.
Other information on the tax bill will include the market value
of your property; the percent of market value used in assessing
property in your community; the total tax levy and percent change
from the prior year; information about how to challenge your
assessment if you believe it is too high; the uniform percentage of
value being used in the assessing unit and the full value of each
property. Property owners can also use this information to help
decide whether their properties are being assessed fairly and
correctly.
Q. Does STAR apply to all taxes on my property?
A. No. The STAR exemption applies only to school
district taxes. It does not apply to property taxes for other
purposes, such as county, town or city (except in Buffalo, New York
City, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, where it also applies to city
taxes).
Q. What types of properties are eligible for the STAR
tax cuts?
A. STAR will reduce school property taxes on
your primary residence only. There is no one single factor that
determines whether a property is your primary residence, but factors
such as voting, vehicle registrations, and length of time spent each
year on the property may be relevant. Your local assessor may ask
you to provide proof of residency with the application. In addition,
the assessor may occasionally request proof of residence after the
exemption has been granted, to verify that the property remains your
primary residence.
Q. What if part of my property is used for other than
residential purposes?
A. If the property is an eligible type of
property such as a one-, two-, or three-family home, and is the
owner's primary residence, it is eligible to receive the exemption
if the non-residential use is just incidental. It is the
responsibility of your local assessor(s) to make this determination.
In addition, in the case of a mixed-use property where the
property is used partially as the owner's primary residence, and
partially for some other use, the portion of the property used as a
residence would be eligible for STAR. Again, it is the
responsibility of your local assessor(s) to make this determination.
Q. I currently receive the low-income senior citizen
exemption. Can I receive the STAR benefits and still keep my other
exemption?
A. Yes. STAR requires that assessors apply the
existing exemption and any other applicable exemption to the
property's assessed value before applying the STAR exemption. This
will result in greater tax savings for eligible homeowners.
In addition, low-income senior citizen homeowners who receive the
existing Senior Citizen exemption automatically qualify for the
Enhanced STAR exemption. As a result, they need only to file and
qualify for the Senior Citizen exemption, and they will receive both
that exemption and the Enhanced STAR exemption. The initial
application form is RP-467,
which also can be downloaded from ORPS's Internet home page by
clicking on "Forms
and Publications."
Q. What is the definition of income for the Enhanced
STAR Exemption?
A. The combined income of all of the owners and
of any owner's spouse who resides on the premises may not exceed the
STAR income standard (maximum) for the applicable income tax year
(for 2008 assessment rolls, income is based upon the 2006 income tax
year). Income is defined as federal "adjusted gross
income" [AGI] as reported on the applicant's federal or State
income tax return, less the "taxable amount" of total
distributions from individual retirement accounts or individual
retirement annuities, both of which are commonly known as
"IRAs".
Q. Is there a deadline by which I must file the
application form?
A. Yes. However, deadlines vary across the
state. Contact your local assessor for the STAR application deadline
for your area. Telephone numbers for your assessor are available in
the "blue pages" of your local phone book. You also can
call the toll-free number listed at the end of this pamphlet, or you
can access a complete statewide listing of assessors.
Q. Where do I file the STAR application form?
A. WITH YOUR LOCAL
PROPERTY ASSESSOR. Do not file the application with the State
Office of Real Property Services, the Governor's Office, or any
other State agency.
Q. Are senior citizens required to prove their age?
A. Yes, but only with the initial application
for STAR benefits. The law requires satisfactory proof of age, such
as a birth certificate or baptismal certificate. If those documents
are unavailable, a hospital birth record, an affidavit of age from
the Social Security Administration, marriage record, passport,
military record, immigration documents or other reliable records
that prove age are acceptable. Remember, for property owned by a
husband and wife, or by siblings, only one of them has to be at
least 65 years old as of December 31 of the year in which the
exemption will begin.
Q. Can the Enhanced exemption be granted to nursing home
residents who own their homes?
A. Yes, provided that no one other than the co-owner(s)
or spouse resides on the premises.
Q. Can a surviving spouse who is not 65 years old
continue to receive the Enhanced exemption?
A. A surviving spouse can retain an existing
Enhanced STAR exemption provided that she or he is at least 62 years
old as of December 31 of the year in which the exemption will
continue.
Q. How does STAR work for cooperative apartments and
mobile homes in mobile home parks?
A. Persons living in either of these types of
properties first must file a STAR application with their local
assessor, just like any STAR applicant. Assessors must provide a
breakdown of the exemptions to the cooperative manager or park owner
so that proper amounts may be credited to the appropriate parties.
Q. How is STAR administered where property is in a
trust?
A. The ownership of property is split when it is
placed in trust: the trustee is the legal owner; the beneficiary is
the beneficial owner. However, for STAR purposes, the trust
beneficiary is treated as the owner. Thus, if senior citizens create
a trust and convey their home to their children as trustees, and the
seniors remain in the home as the beneficiaries of the trust, then,
for STAR purposes, the owners of the home are the seniors, not their
children. Therefore, the seniors would be able to get the STAR
benefits.
Q. How is STAR administered where property is in a life
estate?
A. The life tenant is deemed to own the
property; so STAR eligibility is based on the life tenant's
qualifications. A life estate generally is created by a deed. Often
ownership is transferred to another party with life estate use
reserved for the prior owner(s) or another party. In other cases, a
life estate is expressly granted by one party to another. In either
case, in the eyes of the law, as long as the holder of the life
estate is alive, the property is "owned" by him or her.
Q. What if I buy a new home?
A. Your STAR tax exemption is not transferred
automatically. You will have to apply for the exemption on your new
primary residence.
Q. Where can I get more information about the STAR
Program?
A. Please contact your local
property assessor , or call toll-free 1-888-NYSTAR5
(1-888-697-8275) for your local assessor's telephone number. Please
note that this is an 888 number, not an 800 number. You also can
contact the County
Director of Real Property Tax Services in your county.
Information also is available from the State
Office of Real Property Services (ORPS).
Revised June, 2007