Grieving Taxes in Suffolk County (2011) (Huntington: assessment, refund, best)

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by LongIslandCitizen

Hey Elke how do you know when the STAR benefit kicks in?

It depends on when you bought/applied. Deadline to apply was March 1st for the new taxes effective Dec. 1st (in Suffolk); Huntington has the info on their website.

[minesbroken]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

Each of the taxing districts in which a property is located calculates their property tax rate, which is the budgeted expenses (less any inter-governmental transfers) divided by the sum total of the assessed value in that district, and this property tax rate is then applied to an individual property's assessed value to arrive at the property tax paid to that specific taxing district.

A property's total property tax bill is the sum of the property taxes levied by the several taxing districts in which a property is located.

If many properties in a taxing district see a decline in their fair market value and this is accompanied by a decline in their assessed value, and if the various taxing districts' budgets stay the same, or, as more likely, increase, then the property tax rate will rise by the combined increase in the property tax rate and the absolute value of the decrease in the assessed value.

seems silly, when I buy something at a store they tax a percentage of the purchase price, when I make money they tax a percentage of my earnings, When you own a property they tax your Blah blah blah based on the assessed value in the district of blah blah blah and government blah blah blah...based on how much your mayor needs to pay his bently payment blah blah blah and the teachers unions suck out of the county blah blah blah....
seems too complicated, why don't they just take a percentage of the fair market value and call it a day!

[LongIslandCitizen]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

It depends on when you bought/applied. Deadline to apply was March 1st for the new taxes effective Dec. 1st (in Suffolk); Huntington has the info on their website.

I files last February before the deadline...How do you know when it kicks in, will my mortgage company advise me or will I eventually get a check and new payment adjustment. Danke

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by LongIslandCitizen

I files last February before the deadline...How do you know when it kicks in, will my mortgage company advise me or will I eventually get a check and new payment adjustment. Danke

Bitte

If you filed in February, it should be reflected in your 2011 taxes.
No, you won't get a check, because it's not retroactive, but your mortgage payment will be adjusted. Timing of the adjustment depends on when your lender recalculates escrow.
Most towns will send the homeowner a copy of the RE tax bill - the original will go to the lender so they can make the payments; my first half is due on January 10th

What town are you in?

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by minesbroken

seems silly, when I buy something at a store they tax a percentage of the purchase price, when I make money they tax a percentage of my earnings, When you own a property they tax your Blah blah blah based on the assessed value in the district of blah blah blah and government blah blah blah...based on how much your mayor needs to pay his bently payment blah blah blah and the teachers unions suck out of the county blah blah blah....
seems too complicated, why don't they just take a percentage of the fair market value and call it a day!

Because they can't take as much as they want that way. There would be a definitive limit. They want a blank check ... many ways to juggle the numbers around so they get what they want out of us.

[Konig1985]

Originally Posted by i_love_li_but

because they can't take as much as they want that way. There would be a definitive limit. They want a blank check ... Many ways to juggle the numbers around so they get what they want out of us.

+1

[procfreq]

I don't know what the .88 on your tax bill is, but it is not the 2010 (valuation date of July 1, 2010) RAR for the town of Huntington. The 2010 RAR has not been determined yet; I have had several recent emails with the town tax assessor about this exact topic. I also just did an extensive search of the TOH and NY ORPS websites and can find no indication on either of what the 2010 RAR is in any location.

Similarly, because the RAR is NOT KNOWN yet, any grievances filed for homes with close-dates AFTER the 2009 valuation date of 7/1/2009 (like mine) are being handled by the town based on their best guess of what the new RAR would be. Frustrating. How do I know whether to accept a settlement offer or go to court if the new RAR is unknown?

[procfreq]

http://www.orps.state.ny.us/cfapps/M...fm?swis=472600

Looks like these are not typically issued until the end of February

[michelabella]

What do you need to bring with you to the town hall when applying for STAR?

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by michelabella

What do you need to bring with you to the town hall when applying for STAR?

A working pen and your Property Tax Map Number, which you can find on your tax bill.

If you go to Town Hall (I believe your new home is in the Town of Huntington), enter the long "hallway" make a left at the front desk, and then the first right, immediate first right door says "Assessor's Office". Enter and on the wall to your left you will find the applications for STAR - blue for Basic and pink for Enhanced.
Fill out and leave there

If you prefer to save a trip and mail it, go to the site http://town.huntington.ny.us/ , click on "online library" on left; under the heading Assessor click on 8th line down and you can print the PDF file for form RP-425, the application for Basic STAR. Complete and mail to
Assessors Office
Town Hall
100 Main St.
Huntington, NY 11743

If you can't put your hand on your tax bill, go to the Town site (see above), click on "Property Info" on left, click on "Accept" on Disclaimer Notice page, click on "Property Tax Record", click on "Address" and enter your street address (house number and name of street - no suffix!), hit "Search" and voila, you should get to your tax records or several similar address and you'd have to find yours. If necessary, click on the tax map info and there you have it
Tax Map # is right below the words "Town of Huntington" and the name(s) on the right hand side on top shows name and address as listed on the Town records. You can also find the SD on the page.

phew - hope this helps


Here's an explanation of the current NYS STAR Program. Note: they now have an income maximum!

New York State's School Tax Relief (STAR) Program provides property tax exemptions (also known as homestead exemptions) for New York homeowners. Basic STAR is available to anyone who owns and lives in his or her own home and earns less than $500,000. Enhanced STAR is available to senior homeowners whose incomes do not exceed $79,050.