The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced that hundreds of thousands of homeowners will be receiving telephone calls reminding them to register for the Basic STAR property tax exemption.

“The deadline of December 31, 2013 is quickly approaching,” warned Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Thomas H. Mattox.  “We’re reaching out to hundreds of thousands of homeowners who haven’t registered with a simple message – act soon to avoid losing this valuable benefit.”

Automatic telephone calls will deliver a short, pre-recorded reminder to homeowners who have not registered for their Basic STAR exemptions:

This is the New York State Tax Department with an important message.  Our records indicate you may lose your Basic STAR property tax exemption, because you have not yet registered with the Tax Department.  STAR can save you hundreds of dollars on your school tax bill.  Please take four minutes and register today at www.tax.ny.gov, or, if you don’t have internet access, call us at (518) 457-2036.

More than 2 million homeowners have registered for Basic STAR.  An additional 620,000 have not registered, including more than 210,000 in New York City alone.  

To ensure that every eligible homeowner registers by the deadline, the Tax Department has participated in hundreds of local registration events, fielded more than 500,000 phone calls, and sent out multiple mailings – directly to taxpayers, as well as to local officials in every city, town and school district.  Statewide the average homeowner saves $700 as a result of the exemption.

The registration – which takes only 2 to 4 minutes online – facilitates Governor Cuomo's 2013-14 Budget initiative to save New York taxpayers millions by eliminating inappropriate exemptions.

The Basic STAR exemption is available on the primary residence of homeowners with incomes under $500,000. The new registration stems from a Tax Department investigation that found thousands of taxpayers receiving STAR exemptions on more than one property.

Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not impacted by the new registration program. 

To register, visit www.tax.ny.gov or call 518-457-2036.  Translators stand ready to assist speakers of all languages via telephone.  The Department is offering extended STAR Hotline hours - 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekdays, and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. 

Map of registration by county

List of registration by municipality

STAR Registration fact sheets are available in 6 languages
English
Spanish
Chinese
Russian
Italian
Korean
Haitian Creole