For The Procrastinators: STAR Tax Exemption Deadline Extended

The deadline to re-register for the New York State Tax Relief Program (STAR) has been extended into March, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz informed Sheepshead Bites. The original deadline was on New Year’s Eve, so if you were too busy to do it before, here’s your second chance.

Back in August 2013 we reported that homeowners who receive a Basic STAR property tax exemption will need to register with the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance to keep getting the STAR exemption in 2014 and beyond. Basic STAR exempts the first $30,000 of a home’s value from school taxes. Applicants only qualify if the the home is a primary residence and the family’s total income is less than $500,000 a year. The whole business of re-registering was employed to prevent fraud and to protect property taxpayers.

At the time, the State Tax Department mailed detailed instructions to all current Basic STAR recipients on how to register. The department will once again mail out these instructions for those who missed the original deadline.

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz’s office sent out an email blast with this information:

I want all of my constituents to know that the New York State Tax Department is now extending its original deadline, letting homeowners sign up for STAR now through early March, the stop-off point in which the Tax Department notifies local assessors who haven’t yet registered to remove the exemptions.

Procrastinators beware: this will be the department’s last attempt to get people to register. You will also need to give “reasonable justification”  for why you couldn’t register the first time around.