10/06/2025 Assessment Community Weekly

Simplifying the STAR program

Beginning in 2026, seniors no longer need to apply to their assessor to qualify for Enhanced STAR. In addition, only one resident owner of the property—regardless of the relationship of the owners—must be at least 65 years of age as of December 31 of the benefit year. 

We understand that seniors may be coming to you with questions. What should you do? Advise homeowners this simple change may make it easier to receive Enhanced STAR.

You can let homeowners know that we will notify them—and your office—if they qualify for an Enhanced STAR exemption. And we’ll send a new letter to Basic STAR exemption recipients who may be eligible for the Enhanced STAR exemption. We’ll also launch a new webpage about the STAR changes shortly, and we’ll provide you with a printable handout to explain the changes.

Exemption recipients will not need to apply online. However, we encourage them to confirm their information is up to date in the Homeowner Benefit Portal. 

Additionally, we ask that you continue to enter information into the IVP tool as you have in the past, as it becomes available to you. We anticipate continued use of this tool through the end of 2025.

Reminder: The Assessor and Director Hotline is only for you and your staff

Don’t provide the Assessor and Director Hotline telephone number, or internal ORPTS’ contact information, to property owners. Taxpayers with questions on their STAR credits should call the STAR helpline at 518-457-2036. To avoid waiting for a representative, that number includes an option for taxpayers to receive a call back.

For the shortest wait times, please advise homeowners to call first thing in the morning. Our representatives are available weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To find out when we'll issue checks and direct deposits for your area, use our STAR Credit Delivery Schedule lookup.

Important: Our Contact Center representatives cannot provide a specific delivery date. Your homeowners may receive a check or deposit before or after their neighbor or family member. To see whether we've already issued a STAR credit, or to see prior years' credits, they can use our Property Tax Credit Lookup tool.