Bill Text: NY S00026 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Increases the enhanced STAR property tax deduction for tax for final assessment rolls to be completed after two thousand twenty-six; provides a total exemption from school taxes for certain persons eighty years of age and older.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO AGING [S00026 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00026-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           26

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. TEDISCO, BORRELLO, HELMING, PALUMBO, RHOADS -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee on Aging

        AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to increasing the
          enhanced  STAR  property  tax  deduction  and  to  providing  a  total
          exemption for school taxes for certain persons eighty years of age and
          older

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Two STAR
     2  Act".
     3    § 2. Clause (C) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision  4
     4  of  section 425 of the real property tax law, as amended by section 3 of
     5  part E of chapter 83 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
     6    (C) For final assessment rolls to be completed [in each ensuing  year]
     7  between  two  thousand  four and two thousand twenty-six, the applicable
     8  income tax year,  cost-of-living-adjustment  percentage  and  applicable
     9  increase  percentage  shall  all be advanced by one year, and the income
    10  standard shall be the previously-applicable income standard increased by
    11  the new cost-of-living-adjustment percentage. If there should be a  year
    12  for  which  there  is no applicable increase percentage due to a general
    13  benefit increase as defined by subdivision three of  subsection  (i)  of
    14  section  four  hundred  fifteen  of title forty-two of the United States
    15  code, the applicable increase percentage for purposes of  this  computa-
    16  tion  shall be deemed to be the percentage which would have yielded that
    17  general benefit increase.
    18    § 3. Clause (C-1) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of  subdivision
    19  4 of section 425 of the real property tax law is relettered clause (C-2)
    20  and a new clause (C-1) is added to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00141-01-5
        S. 26                               2

     1    (C-1)  For  final  assessment rolls to be completed after two thousand
     2  twenty-six, the applicable income  tax  year,  cost-of-living-adjustment
     3  percentage  and  applicable increase percentage shall all be advanced by
     4  one year, and the income standard shall be twice the previously-applica-
     5  ble  income  standard  increased  by  the  new cost-of-living-adjustment
     6  percentage. If there should be a year for which there is  no  applicable
     7  increase  percentage  due  to  a  general benefit increase as defined by
     8  subdivision three of subsection (i) of section four hundred  fifteen  of
     9  title  forty-two  of  the  United  States  code, the applicable increase
    10  percentage for purposes of this computation shall be deemed  to  be  the
    11  percentage which would have yielded that general benefit increase.
    12    §  4.  Section 425 of the real property tax law is amended by adding a
    13  new subdivision 4-b to read as follows:
    14    4-b. Senior citizens total exemption. For final assessment rolls to be
    15  completed after two thousand twenty-six, a total exemption for  property
    16  owned  by  senior  citizens  shall  be provided where the property owner
    17  satisfies the requirements of clause (C-1) of subparagraph (i) of  para-
    18  graph  (b) of subdivision four of this section and all of the owners are
    19  at least eighty years of age or older as of the date of  the  applicable
    20  final assessment roll, or in the case of property owned by spouses or by
    21  siblings,  one  of the owners must be at least eighty years of age as of
    22  that date and the property must serve as the primary residence  of  that
    23  owner.
    24    (a)  As  used  in this subdivision, the term "siblings" shall have the
    25  same meaning as set forth in section four  hundred  sixty-five  of  this
    26  article.
    27    (b)  An application for a total exemption pursuant to this subdivision
    28  shall be filed within the same time frames and in the same manner as  an
    29  application for the enhanced STAR exemption pursuant to subdivision four
    30  of this section.
    31    (c)  Exemption  from taxation for school purposes shall not be granted
    32  in the case of real property where a child resides if such child attends
    33  a public school of elementary or secondary education, unless the govern-
    34  ing board of the school district in which the property is located, after
    35  public hearing,  adopts  a  resolution  providing  for  such  exemption;
    36  provided  that  any  such resolution shall condition such exemption upon
    37  satisfactory proof that the child was not brought into the residence  in
    38  whole  or  in substantial part for the purpose of attending a particular
    39  school within the district. The procedure for such  hearing  and  resol-
    40  ution  must  be  conducted separately from the procedure for any hearing
    41  and local law, ordinance or resolution conducted pursuant  to  paragraph
    42  (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred sixty-five of this title.
    43    § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 425 of the real proper-
    44  ty  tax law, as amended by section 1 of part E of chapter 83 of the laws
    45  of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
    46    (a) Overview. There shall be [two] three variations of  the  exemption
    47  authorized  by  this  section:  (i)  an  exemption for property owned by
    48  persons who satisfy the criteria set forth in subdivision three of  this
    49  section, which shall be known as the "basic" STAR exemption[, and]; (ii)
    50  an  exemption  for  property  owned  by  senior citizens who satisfy the
    51  criteria set forth in both subdivisions three and four of this  section,
    52  which  shall  be  known  as  the "enhanced" STAR exemption; and (iii) an
    53  exemption for property owned by senior citizens who satisfy the criteria
    54  set forth in subdivision four-b of this section. The exempt  amount  for
    55  each  assessing  unit  shall be determined annually as set forth in this
    56  subdivision, by multiplying the "base figure" by the  locally-applicable
        S. 26                               3

     1  "sales  price  differential  factor," if any, multiplying the product by
     2  the appropriate "equalization factor" for the assessing  unit,  and,  if
     3  necessary,  increasing  the  result to equal the applicable "floor." The
     4  result is then rounded to the nearest multiple of ten dollars.
     5    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to assess-
     6  ment rolls completed on and after January 1, 2026.