Administering the Enhanced STAR Income Verification Program

The Tax Department annually reviews applicants’ income to determine their eligibility for the Enhanced STAR exemption.

New IVP participants

All older adults who apply for the Enhanced STAR exemption must submit the following to their assessor:

Form RP-425-E, Application for Enhanced STAR Exemption,
Form RP-425-IVP, Supplement to Form RP-425-E (includes the Social Security numbers of all owners of the property and any of their spouses who reside at the property), and
a copy of their state or federal income tax return for the appropriate year (or in the case of applicants no longer required to file income tax returns Form RP-425-Wkst, Income for STAR Purposes Worksheet).

Assessor roles

The first year that a senior applies for the Enhanced STAR exemption the assessor should determine whether the property owner is eligible for the exemption based on income and other eligibility factors.

If the property owner is eligible:

- add the exemption to the applicable assessment roll, and
- promptly enter the information into the IVP Tool or provide the forms to the Tax Department for data entry. (See How to transmit IVP forms to the Tax Department.)

If the property owner is not eligible, mail them a denial letter. Do not enter the property into the IVP Tool.

In subsequent years, for properties that you entered into the IVP Tool:

the property owner should not renew their Enhanced STAR exemption,
the Tax Department will notify you whether the property owner is income eligible for the exemption, and
if you become aware that the property owner is not eligible for Enhanced STAR due to age, ownership, or residency, update the IVP Tool and place the Basic STAR exemption on your roll.

Tax Department roles

Existing IVP participants

The Tax Department will use income data to determine eligibility and notify you whether:

property owners are eligible for the Enhanced STAR exemption,
property owners are eligible for the Basic STAR exemption, or
property owners are not eligible for the Basic or Enhanced STAR exemption.

New IVP participants

The Tax Department will enter the data from Form RP-425-IVP into the system and confirm the income eligibility of the property owners. If we change your determination, we’ll notify you.

In subsequent years, the Tax Department will determine income eligibility. If additional information is needed, the department will contact the property owner directly.

Notifications

The Tax Department will notify you as we make eligibility determinations based on income. In addition:

If the department determines that a property owner is not eligible for the Enhanced STAR exemption, we’ll notify the property owner and provide them with an opportunity to appeal.
If the department determines that a property owner is not eligible for the Basic STAR exemption because their income exceeds $250,000, we’ll notify the property owner and provide them with an opportunity to appeal.

After school taxes are levied

If, after school taxes have been levied, the Tax Department finds a property owner’s eligibility is incorrectly identified on the assessment roll, you should not change the assessment roll in that year. The Tax Department will:

send the property owner either a check or bill for the amount owed, and
notify you and your county director of the incorrect determination.

Appeals

If a property owner disagrees with the Tax Department’s eligibility determination, they may appeal to the department, not to the local board of assessment review. If the Tax Department denies the appeal and the property owner still believes they are eligible, they can then appeal to the State Board of Real Property Tax Services.

Resources

Updated: December 27, 2022