Westchester taxes - how are they billed/applied? (Yonkers: real estate, renting) - Westchester County - New York (NY) - City-Data Forum

U510545 · 07-07-2010, 02:21 PM

This is probably a really dumb question so I apologize in advance.

Excluding Yonkers (with an income tax), how are all of the various Westchester county taxes applied? I know RE tax is a huge one, and that is based on property value. But I see mention of City/County Tax, Gas Tax, Sewer Tax, etc. - how are these applied? Does the City/County just send you a tax bill? Annually? Monthly? How does it work?

Also, are these additional taxes just flat or consumption based, or are they based somehow on income (so, progressive in nature)?

I'm trying to get a handle on a true financial comparison of renting in the city versus owning a home in Westchester, or frankly even renting in Westchester. I've always assumed that walking away from the 3.65% NYC income tax would be a GREAT thing, but I'm wondering if we're literally just going to transfer that $$ to other sources- or worse, INCREASE our burden somehow.

Any explanation would be helpful- thank you!

TDNY · 07-07-2010, 04:06 PM

Well, your property tax is applied depending on the value of your property. I'm not sure what municipality you're referring to, but assuming you've bought property before, your annual taxes should be right in the real estate listing. City, county, and school taxes are included in that number, and are usually billed twice yearly. If you have a mortgage, you can have the mortgage provider pay it for you out of your monthly payment. They put the payments into an escrow account as you pay the monthly bill and then pay the tax bill when it comes due.

I don't pay a gas tax, or a sewer tax, but I have a water bill, and it's all of $150 ish per year.

Your RE broker should have given you this information. My wife is a broker if you need one so if you send me your contact info I can forward it to her if you like. If not, no problem.

U510545 · 07-07-2010, 04:57 PM

Hi, thank you for the reply! So does that mean that the city/county/school, etc. taxes are essentially pegged to the value of your property (and therefore progressive in nature)? Or are they flat taxes? In other words, if you buy something for $500k and something for $1mm, and strip out the actual RE taxes, are all of the other taxes that show up on that RE tax bill going to be the same for those 2 properties, or will one be double the other one? Thank you!

czarinalex · 07-07-2010, 05:25 PM

All your county and local taxes are based upon the assessed value of the home you purchase. They actually have nothing to do with the actual cost of the home. All the various county, real estate, garbage fees, taxes and charges are billed through your local town or city yearly. School taxes are collected in two installments. I think most towns collect in Sept and again in January.

Westchester county does not have an income tax.. only the city of Yonkers has an tax on income for residents and for non residents earning income in Yonkers.

U510545 · 07-08-2010, 08:19 AM

Thanks for the clarification!

havoc315 · 07-08-2010, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by U510545

Hi, thank you for the reply! So does that mean that the city/county/school, etc. taxes are essentially pegged to the value of your property (and therefore progressive in nature)? Or are they flat taxes? In other words, if you buy something for $500k and something for $1mm, and strip out the actual RE taxes, are all of the other taxes that show up on that RE tax bill going to be the same for those 2 properties, or will one be double the other one? Thank you!

It's based on assessed value, which is only indirectly related to actual purchase price. With falling real estate values, many homes are actually assessed above their market values. Which can allow you to challenge the assessment, which may result in lowering your taxes.

Many banks require you to let them pay your taxes, as part of the mortgage. Thus, it is folded into your mortgage payment, the bank puts the tax portion in escrow, and pays it at the appropriate time.

Typically, there are not separate taxes for other county/village/school services. When you see listed property taxes, it should include the county, town/village and school taxes. You pay separate utility bills (including water), but you do not pay separate tax bills for things like garbage removal, sewers, etc. (Of course, some towns don't provide those services, so then you have to privately make arrangements. For example, many homes are not on sewer lines, in which case you need to privately maintain a septic tank).