09/20/2021 Assessment Community Weekly

STAR change coming in 2022 for most manufactured homeowners

Beginning in 2022, most manufactured homeowners receiving a STAR exemption will be required to switch to the STAR credit to continue receiving a STAR benefit. This includes the following, as long as the manufactured home is included in the landowner’s assessment:

• manufactured homes in parks, and
• manufactured homes located on land that is otherwise owned by someone else.

Exception: Manufactured homes that are receiving an exemption other than STAR, such as a veterans or senior citizens exemption, should be separately assessed from the landowner. Therefore, they can continue to receive a STAR exemption.

We expect to be able to automatically switch most impacted manufactured homeowners directly to the STAR credit without any action on the owners’ part.

In cases where we are unable to automatically switch the owner to the STAR credit, we will send them a letter with specific instructions to register for the STAR credit.

In addition, we will include an informational notice in our mailings to manufactured home park owners.

We will share the letters and notice with you later this year before we begin mailing them.

Benefits to manufactured homeowners

There are two benefits that many homeowners will receive as a result of this change:

• The STAR credit for manufactured homes is based on a minimum full value of $20,000. Manufactured homes with an assessed value below that amount will receive an increased benefit beginning in 2022.
• Manufactured home park owners will no longer be entitled to a 2% administrative fee for passing STAR exemption savings along to unit owners.

ICYMI: Second Preliminary Solar and Wind Appraisal Model

On Friday, we published a second preliminary appraisal model. For the details, see Preliminary Solar and Wind Appraisal Model #2.

The deadline to comment on Models #1 and #2 is Friday, October 1.

Model #2 is a potential alternative to the previously published preliminary model. Model #1 and Model #2 incorporate different assumptions regarding revenue and expense factors.

Following review of the comments received during the comment period (see below), the final appraisal model may incorporate assumptions from both. In addition, the final model may adopt the format of Model #1 or Model #2, or some combination thereof.

Note: The second model is broken into two spreadsheets:

• one for solar between 1 MW and 5 MW (VDER), and
• one for solar larger than 5 MW and wind greater than 1 MW (Tier 1).

The first model, released on August 2, includes all projects in one spreadsheet.

Homeowner receiving inappropriate STAR exemption benefit?

After school tax bills have been issued, we occasionally hear of instances where a property owner who is receiving a STAR exemption benefit they’re not entitled to or who should have received the Enhanced exemption but received Basic (or vice versa). Here are some examples:

• The assessor didn’t apply changes from the Final Roll Corrections Report, and now some homeowners are receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption rather than Basic (or vice versa) on their school tax bills.
• The assessor didn’t grant the Enhanced STAR exemption because the assessor believed the property owners didn’t meet the residency, age, or ownership requirements. Now the assessor has information to confirm they are eligible for Enhanced.
• The assessor removed a Basic STAR exemption in error.

If you have a similar case, first consider whether it can be addressed locally via a corrected school tax bill or correction of errors.

If it cannot be fixed locally, email the details to real.property@tax.ny.gov. We have the authority to issue bills for inappropriately granted STAR benefits and to issue a check for an exemption benefit that should have been received.

Reminder: State aid due date

If you conducted a 2021 reassessment and your final roll date is July 1, the deadline to apply for state aid is October 1. For details and application forms, see Aid for cyclical reassessments.

New judicial case

We’ve added In Rem Tax Foreclosure Action No. 52, etc. to Judicial cases.