INTERVIEW / VIDEO / PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

The NYS Tax Department will register homeowners receiving the Basic STAR exemption at a special registration event in Syracuse next week.

WHERE:         Lobby of the Senator Hughes State Office Building, 333 E. Washington St., Syracuse

WHEN:            Tuesday, October 29, from 12pm to 5pm

Tax Department experts will be on hand to walk homeowners through the registration process and answer questions.  To register, which usually takes only 2 to 4 minutes, homeowners should bring the names and social security numbers for all property owners and their spouses to the meeting.

The STAR Registration program impacts 91,929 Basic STAR recipients in Onondaga County (66% of whom have registered to date), and 2.6 million homeowners statewide. Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not impacted.

The registration facilitates Governor Cuomo’s initiative to protect New Yorkers from fraud and waste in the STAR Program.  The average homeowner saves $700 as a result of the Basic STAR exemption, which is available on the primary residence of homeowners with incomes under $500,000. 

The registration deadline is December 31 in order to continue receiving the exemption in 2014 and thereafter.  Homeowners without Internet access or with questions should call 518-457-2036.

NOTE to reporters, Web editors, photographers -- Call the Tax Department press office for more information at (518) 457-7377 or visit the STAR Registration media center at http://www.tax.ny.gov/press/star_media.htm