I just finished writing to the people who bought homes with me last year. At closing many received the STAR application form, but along with the mortgage info and everything else it could easily get "filed." The deadline to file for exemption and tax relief is March 1st, which is coming up quickly. I wanted to make sure they knew and took action if they were eligible and wanted to do so.
The STAR program (School Tax Relief) was enacted under Governor George Pataki in 1997. It basically takes $30,000 off the assessed value of the primary residence for the purpose of the school taxes. Schools do not "lose" the money...the state makes it up, which, I suppose, means that somewhere we all still pay it.
As homeowners age, and incomes lessen, there is also a senior or "enhanced" STAR program aimed at making taxes more affordable and therefore keeping older people in their homes. The age is 65 and, if eligible, the exemption is $65,300 instead of the $30,000.
I compared two homes - ours and another - to see how much the actual amount is with the basic STAR. A house in Skaneateles School District (either Village or town) that is assessed for $305,000 earns an annual STAR "rebate" of $436. Our house in Jordan-Elbridge Schools is assessed for $244,000...a lot less, right?But our STAR rebate is a whopping $788! We pay a heck of a lot more taxes than in the Skaneateles School District. Of course if you were to find our home and land in the District it would most likely double in value, and we would pay more because of it....(you know I can go on and on about this!)
The important thing to take away from this discussion is to file your STAR application if you haven't already. To see how much you get, once it is filed and to make sure it is on file, go to ongov.net and look up your property. Again, the deadline is March 1st - a week from this coming Tuesday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment