Bill Text: NY S01155 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a real property tax exemption for persons sixty years of age or over with an annual household income not exceeding $100,000; directs the state to reimburse municipalities for lost revenues.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S01155 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S01155-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1155 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. OBERACKER, BORRELLO -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Govern- ment AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing a real property tax exemption for certain persons sixty years of age and over The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new 2 section 461 to read as follows: 3 § 461. Persons sixty years of age and over. 1. (a) Real property owned 4 by one or more persons, each of whom is sixty years of age or over, or 5 real property owned by married persons, one of whom is sixty years of 6 age or over with an annual household income not exceeding one hundred 7 thousand dollars, shall be exempt from taxation by any municipal corpo- 8 ration in which located to the extent provided pursuant to paragraph (b) 9 of this subdivision. 10 (b) The exemption provided by this section shall be one hundred 11 percent of the assessed valuation for assessment rolls prepared on the 12 basis of taxable status dates occurring during the year two thousand 13 twenty-five and thereafter. 14 (c) The real property tax exemption on real property owned by married 15 persons, one of whom is sixty years of age or over, once granted, shall 16 not be rescinded by any municipal corporation solely because of the 17 death of the older spouse so long as the surviving spouse is at least 18 sixty years of age. 19 2. Exemption from taxation for school purposes shall not be granted 20 in the case of real property where a child resides if such child attends 21 a public school of elementary or secondary education. 22 3. No exemption shall be granted: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03471-01-5S. 1155 2 1 (a) unless the owner shall have held an exemption under this section 2 for their previous residence or unless the title of the property shall 3 have been vested in the owner or one of the owners of the property for 4 at least twelve consecutive months prior to the date of making applica- 5 tion for exemption, provided, however, that in the event of the death of 6 either spouse in whose name title of the property shall have been vested 7 at the time of death and then becomes vested solely in the survivor by 8 virtue of devise by or descent from the deceased spouse, the time of 9 ownership of the property by the deceased spouse shall be deemed also a 10 time of ownership by the survivor and such ownership shall be deemed 11 continuous for the purposes of computing such period of twelve consec- 12 utive months. In the event of a transfer by one spouse to the other 13 spouse of all or part of the title to the property, the time of owner- 14 ship of the property by the transferor spouse shall be deemed also a 15 time of ownership by the transferee spouse and such ownership shall be 16 deemed continuous for the purposes of computing such period of twelve 17 consecutive months. Where property of the owner or owners has been 18 acquired to replace property formerly owned by such owner or owners and 19 taken by eminent domain or other involuntary proceeding, except a tax 20 sale, the period of ownership of the former property shall be combined 21 with the period of ownership of the property for which application is 22 made for exemption and such periods of ownership shall be deemed to be 23 consecutive for purposes of this section. Where a residence is sold and 24 replaced with another within one year and both residences are within the 25 state, the period of ownership of both properties shall be deemed 26 consecutive for purposes of the exemption from taxation by a munici- 27 pality. Where the owner or owners transfer title to property which as of 28 the date of transfer was exempt from taxation under the provisions of 29 this section, the reacquisition of title by such owner or owners within 30 nine months of the date of transfer shall be deemed to satisfy the 31 requirement of this paragraph that the title of the property shall have 32 been vested in the owner or one of the owners for such period of twelve 33 consecutive months. Where, upon or subsequent to the death of an owner 34 or owners, title to property which as of the date of such death was 35 exempt from taxation under such provisions, becomes vested, by virtue of 36 devise or descent from the deceased owner or owners, or by transfer by 37 any other means within nine months after such death, solely in a person 38 or persons who, at the time of such death, maintained such property as a 39 primary residence, the requirement of this paragraph that the title of 40 the property shall have been vested in the owner or one of the owners 41 for such period of twelve consecutive months shall be deemed satisfied; 42 (b) unless the property is used exclusively for residential purposes, 43 provided, however, that in the event any portion of such property is not 44 so used exclusively for residential purposes but is used for other 45 purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation and the remaining 46 portion only shall be entitled to the exemption provided by this 47 section; 48 (c) unless the real property is the legal residence of and is occupied 49 in whole or in part by the owner or by all of the owners of the proper- 50 ty: except where, (i) an owner is absent from the residence while 51 receiving health-related care as an inpatient of a residential health 52 care facility, as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of the 53 public health law, provided that any income accruing to that person 54 shall only be income only to the extent that it exceeds the amount paid 55 by such owner, spouse, or co-owner for care in the facility, and 56 provided further, that during such confinement such property is notS. 1155 3 1 occupied by other than the spouse or co-owner of such owner; or, (ii) 2 the real property is owned by a spouse, or an ex-spouse, and either is 3 absent from the residence due to divorce, legal separation or abandon- 4 ment and all other provisions of this section are met provided that 5 where an exemption was previously granted when both resided on the prop- 6 erty, then the person remaining on the real property shall be seventy 7 years of age or over. 8 4. (a) For the purposes of this section, title to that portion of real 9 property owned by a cooperative apartment corporation in which a 10 tenant-stockholder of such corporation resides and which is represented 11 by their share or shares of stock in such corporation as determined by 12 its or their proportional relationship to the total outstanding stock of 13 the corporation, including that owned by the corporation, shall be 14 deemed to be vested in such tenant-stockholder. 15 (b) That proportion of the assessment of such real property owned by a 16 cooperative apartment corporation determined by the relationship of such 17 real property vested in such tenant-stockholder to such entire parcel 18 and the buildings thereon owned by such cooperative apartment corpo- 19 ration in which such tenant-stockholder resides shall be subject to 20 exemption from taxation pursuant to this section and any exemption so 21 granted shall be credited by the appropriate taxing authority against 22 the assessed valuation of such real property; the reduction in real 23 property taxes realized thereby shall be credited by the cooperative 24 apartment corporation against the amount of such taxes otherwise payable 25 by or chargeable to such tenant-stockholder. 26 5. Every municipal corporation in which such real property is located 27 shall notify, or cause to be notified, each person owning residential 28 real property in such municipal corporation of the provisions of this 29 section. The provisions of this subdivision may be met by a notice or 30 legend sent on or with each tax bill to such persons reading "You may be 31 eligible for tax exemptions for persons sixty years of age and over. 32 Such persons have until month.........., day......., year......, to 33 apply for such exemptions. For information please call or write....", 34 followed by the name, telephone number and/or address of a person or 35 department selected by the municipal corporation to explain the 36 provisions of this section. Each cooperative apartment corporation shall 37 notify each tenant-stockholder thereof in residence of such provisions 38 as set forth in this subdivision. Failure to notify, or cause to be 39 notified any person who is in fact, eligible to receive the exemption 40 provided by this section or the failure of such person to receive the 41 same shall not prevent the levy, collection and enforcement of the 42 payment of the taxes on property owned by such person. 43 6. Application for such exemption shall be made by the owner, or all 44 of the owners of the property, on forms prescribed by the commission to 45 be furnished by the appropriate assessing authority and shall furnish 46 the information and be executed in the manner required or prescribed in 47 such forms, and shall be filed in such assessor's office on or before 48 the appropriate taxable status date. Notwithstanding any other provision 49 of law, any person otherwise qualifying under this section shall not be 50 denied the exemption under this section if such person becomes sixty 51 years of age after the appropriate taxable status date and on or before 52 December thirty-first of the same year. 53 7. An application for such exemption may be filed with the assessor 54 after the appropriate taxable status date but not later than the last 55 date on which a petition with respect to complaints of assessment may be 56 filed, where failure to file a timely application resulted from: (a) aS. 1155 4 1 death of the applicant's spouse, child, parent, sibling; or (b) an 2 illness of the applicant or of the applicant's spouse, child, parent, 3 sibling, which actually prevents the applicant from filing on a timely 4 basis, as certified by a licensed physician. The assessor shall approve 5 or deny such application as if it had been filed on or before the taxa- 6 ble status date. 7 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other 8 provision of law, a county with an annual taxable status date of January 9 first or January second and with a population of one million or more, 10 may, at its option and by amendment or adoption of a local law or ordi- 11 nance, authorize its assessor to accept applications for the exemption 12 from real property taxes authorized pursuant to this section on a date 13 later than such county's statutory deadline date for receiving applica- 14 tions for such exemption. Any application filed later than such statuto- 15 ry deadline date which is in compliance with such local law or ordinance 16 amended or adopted pursuant to this subdivision and which meets all 17 other necessary requirements for granting the exemption authorized by 18 this section shall be deemed to have been timely filed prior to such 19 statutory deadline date, and any individual or individuals for whom such 20 an application has been filed shall be granted such exemption and shall 21 receive such exemption on the assessment rolls prepared for such county 22 on the basis of the taxable status date immediately preceding the date 23 such application was filed. 24 9. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other 25 provision of law, in a city having a population of one million or more, 26 applications for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall 27 be considered timely filed if they are filed on or before the fifteenth 28 day of March of the appropriate year. 29 10. (a) The exemption granted pursuant to this section shall remain in 30 effect until discontinued in the manner provided in this section. 31 (b) The assessor shall discontinue any exemption granted pursuant to 32 this section if it appears that: (i) the property may not be the primary 33 residence of the owner or owners who applied for the exemption, (ii) 34 title to the property has been transferred to a new owner or owners, 35 (iii) the owners fail to satisfy the income limitations, or (iv) the 36 property otherwise may no longer be eligible for the exemption. 37 (c) Upon determining that an exemption granted pursuant to this 38 section should be discontinued, the assessor shall mail a notice so 39 stating to the owner or owners thereof at the time and in the manner 40 provided by section five hundred ten of this chapter. Such owner or 41 owners shall be entitled to seek administrative and judicial review of 42 such action in the manner provided by law, provided, that the burden 43 shall be on such owner or owners to establish eligibility for the 44 exemption. 45 11. Any conviction of having made any wilful false statement in the 46 application for such exemption, shall be punishable by a fine of not 47 more than one hundred dollars and shall disqualify the applicant or 48 applicants from further exemption for a period of five years. 49 12. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 50 provisions of this section shall apply to real property in which a 51 person or persons hold a legal life estate or which is held in trust 52 solely for the benefit of a person or persons if such person or persons 53 would otherwise be eligible for a real property tax exemption, pursuant 54 to subdivision one of this section, were such person or persons the 55 owner or owners of such real property.S. 1155 5 1 § 2. The state shall reimburse municipalities for all revenue lost as 2 a result of real property tax exemptions granted pursuant to section 461 3 of the real property tax law, as added by section one of this act. The 4 comptroller shall provide an application procedure and promulgate rules 5 and regulations for the processing of claims by municipalities. 6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
