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Department of Taxation and Finance

Property tax relief credit

Updated information on STAR and property tax relief checks

Note: The Property tax relief credit has expired. Eligible homeowners received property tax relief checks in 2017, 2018, and 2019. However, by law, the program expired after 2019.

If you expect to receive a STAR credit check and have not yet received it, follow the steps below.

  1. Review your school property tax bill. (See examples.) If you received the STAR exemption on your bill, there is no further STAR or property tax relief benefit to receive this year. You are not eligible for the STAR credit in any year you receive a STAR exemption.

  2. See the STAR Check Delivery Schedule. If you did not receive the STAR exemption on your school tax bill, check the delivery schedule and follow any instructions provided.

To learn more about the STAR and former property tax relief credit programs? See our question and answer.

Preparing your income tax return?

The property tax relief credit has expired. However, if you were eligible for the credit in 2017, 2018, or 2019, but believe you did not receive it:

  1. Verify you did not receive a check using our Property Tax Credit Lookup.
  2. Once you confirm you did not receive a check, contact our Property Tax Information Center for assistance.

The property tax relief credit directly reduced your property tax burden if you are a qualifying homeowner. The amount of the credit is a percentage of your STAR savings.

To be eligible in a prior year, you must have:

  • lived in a school district that is complying with the New York State property tax cap,
  • been eligible for either the Basic or Enhanced STAR exemption or credit,
  • had an income of $275,000 or less, and
  • paid school property taxes for the applicable year.

Definition of income for property tax relief

For the property tax relief credit, income is defined as federal adjusted gross income (FAGI) from two years prior, modified so that:

  • the net amount of loss reported on Federal Schedule C, D, E or F doesn’t exceed $3,000; 
  • the net amount of any other separate category of loss doesn’t exceed $3,000; and
  • the aggregate amount of all losses doesn’t exceed $15,000.

For example, for the 2019 property tax relief credit, income eligibility is based on the 2017 tax year.

New York City residents

New York City is not subject to the tax cap and therefore, city residents aren’t eligible for this credit. If you are a New York City homeowner or renter, you may, however, be eligible for the New York City enhanced real property tax credit.

Resources

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