Skip to main content
New York State Home
Department of Taxation and Finance

Assessment Community Weekly 01/07/19

Welcome to 2019! 

Taxability of fiber optic cable

In light of the Court of Appeals decision in T-Mobile Northeast, LLC v. DeBellis, it is now clear that fiber optic cable is taxable real property. Starting with 2019 rolls, telecommunications ceilings established by our department will include fiber optic cable. The law does not permit us to retroactively amend the 2018 assessment ceilings to include fiber optic cable. Please contact your ORPTS Regional Liaisons if you have any questions about the assessment of public utility mass real property. 

Deadline has passed to renounce the 2018 STAR exemption and switch to the 2018 STAR credit

Generally, homeowners have 10 years to renounce their exemptions. However, property owners who are seeking to renounce a STAR exemption in order to receive the STAR credit for that year must do so prior to December 31 of that year. 

For example, if a property owner wants to receive the 2018 STAR credit but received the STAR exemption on the 2018 assessment roll, the owner is required to have renounced the exemption by December 31, 2018. 

For more on renunciation: STAR exemption removal and renunciation. 

Enhanced STAR IVP reminders

We encourage you to promptly transmit IVP forms to us (or directly enter the information into the online IVP Tool). 

Please ensure that the information on the forms is accurate before transmitting the forms or entering the data. For example:

  • The names and Social Security numbers of all owners and their resident spouses are required. Ensure that the Social Security numbers include nine digits.
  • For properties held in trust, the trust beneficiaries and any resident spouses should be listed as the owners. The trustees should not be listed as owners, and their Social Security number should not be included.
  • For properties held in life estate, one party has a life tenancy (ownership for the rest of his or her life) and another party—the remainderman—will become the owner after the life tenant dies. While the deed may appear to convey ownership to the remainderman, the remainderman will not take title until the death of the life tenant. Therefore, on the IVP forms, the names and Social Security numbers of the life tenants and any resident spouses should be listed as the owners. Remaindermen should not be included on the form.

For more information:

Letters update

We’ve begun mailing Enhanced STAR denial letters to property owners whose income exceeds $86,300. The letter states that the senior:

  • will receive the Basic STAR exemption, as long as they are otherwise eligible;
  • does not need to reapply for Enhanced STAR in 2020 (we will notify the assessor of their eligibility);
  • should send us documentation if they disagree with our income determination; and
  • should contact us with questions—not their assessor—at 518-457-2036.

Judicial cases 

New on Judicial cases:

  • NYCTL 1998-2 Trust v 70 Orchard LLC
  • NYCTL 1998-2 Trust v East 115th St. Assoc.
  • Matter of Adrian Family Partners I, LP v Town of Yorktown
Updated: