New York State Real Property Tax Law, section 467, gives local governments and public-school districts the option of granting a reduction on the amount of property taxes paid by qualifying senior citizens. This is accomplished by reducing the taxable value of residential property owned by seniors by 50%.

To qualify, seniors generally must be 65 years of age or older and meet certain income limitations and other requirements. For the 50% exemption, the law allows each county, city, town, village, or school district to set the maximum income limit at any figure between $3,000 and $50,000.

In addition, there are three sliding-scale options that municipalities may adopt to provide a benefit to seniors with incomes greater than the local maximum. Under these options, qualifying seniors may receive the exemption if their income is below:

$55,700 for a 20% exemption,
$57,500 for a 10% exemption, or
$58,400 for a 5% exemption.

For the purposes of this exemption, income is defined as your federal adjusted gross income (FAGI) as reported on your income tax return(s) for the “applicable income tax year” (defined below) and subject to the following revisions:

1. Social Security benefits not included in your FAGI are considered income, except where a locality has opted to exclude them from income.
2. Distributions from an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity included in your FAGI are not considered income, except where a locality has opted to include them in income.
3. Medical and prescription drug expenses of an owner that were actually paid for and not reimbursed or paid by insurance may be deducted from income where a locality has opted to allow them to be deducted.
4. If an owner is an inpatient in a residential health care facility, the amount paid for care at the facility by that owner (or by that owner’s spouse or co-owner) may be deducted from income.
5. Any tax-exempt interest or dividends that were not included in your FAGI is considered income.
6. The net amount of loss claimed on federal Schedule C, D, E, F, or any other separate category of loss cannot exceed $3,000, and the total amount of all losses claimed cannot exceed $15,000.

Please check with your local assessor or the clerks of the local governments and school district to determine which local options, if any are in effect.

*Denotes those taxing jurisdictions that have extended age limit to allow individuals who are 64 years of age by taxable status date and who will be 65 by December 31st of the same year.