New Law Permits Automatic Renewal of Senior Citizen and Individuals With Disabilities and Limited Income Real Property Tax Exemptions

The applicable exemptions are the Real Property Tax Law (“RPTL”) section 467, Persons Sixty-Five Years of Age or Older exemption and the RPTL section 459-c Persons With Disabilities and Limited Incomes exemption.

The law was enacted to allow eligible recipients of the exemptions to avoid having to travel to assessor’s offices to complete and file the tax exemption forms, especially because the beneficiaries of the tax exemptions are elderly or disabled and at greater risk of infection of Covid.

The law is mandatory for all taxing jurisdictions, but allows each municipality to grant discretion to the local assessor’s office to require an exemption application in circumstances where the assessor believes that the recipient of the exemption has changed his or her primary residence, added another owner to the deed, transferred the property to a new owner, or died.  Real property owners entitled to the exemption may also file a renewal exemption application if they believe they are entitled to a greater exemption amount than was entered on the 2020 assessment roll.

Please contact us if you have any questions about how this new law may affect you.

This is not intended to be legal advice.  You should contact an attorney to review your specific situation.

Kara Cavallo is a Partner with the firm.   She can be reached by phone at 845-764-9656 and by email.