A Lower Assessment Means Lower Tax Bills

How Can A Grievance Save You Money?

Lowering the value used for multiplying by the tax rates for your property will result in a lower bill.

It really is that simple. Would you rather pay taxes on a higher, or lower, value?

The question is: what is a fair market value, and how does that compare with your Assessed Value?

The only way to request a reduction is the grievance process, and there is a limited time window in which to act.

How are the Tax Rates Determined?

Basically, you divide the total tax levy by the total taxable assessed value for the jurisdiction.

Lets use a fictional district, The PTA School District, for an example.

At the PTA School, the annual budget is $1 Million, and half of that is covered by State Aid (a different set of taxes that we can't help you with).

So, the tax levy is now $500,000 that will need to be collected from property owners in the district.

There are only 10 properties in our fictional district, so if we divide the $500,000 evenly that means that each owner will need to pony up $50,000.

While that may sound fair at first, what if I told you that in our district there are 2 properties that are mansions, and the rest are bungalows?

Determining an equalized tax rate

Let's say each mansion is worth $4 Million, and each bungalow is worth $250,000.

$50,000 a year in School Taxes on a $250,000 bungalow seems a bit unreasonable‐ even on Long Island‐ that's a 20% tax rate!

Meanwhile, the mansion owners would be paying only 1.25% ‐ clearly an unfair distribution of responsibility.

How do we fairly divide up our $500,000 property tax levy when there is such a difference in property values?

Assessments, when done correctly, apportion the taxes relative to the value of the properties in the district such that more valuable properties will be responsible for a larger portion of the taxes.

Have a look at the sidebar on how we determine fair tax totals for our very own School District.

Taxable or Total Assessed Value?

There is a difference, and both values are used in different calculations, for this case it is the Taxable Assessed Value.

Taxable Assessed Value takes into account exemptions, you can't tax what's exempt, as opposed to Total Assessed Value which reflects the sum of all Assessed Values prior to any exemptions.

Every time we mention exemptions, which you can read up more about what's available on the New York State website, we are compelled to state that exemptions are entirely separate from the Property Tax Grievance service we provide, this link is provided as a courtesy‐ we cannot assist you in applying for or determining eligibility for these benefits.

How is Assessed Value Determined?

It was probably determined a while ago, and unless you have filed for a permit or were granted a reduction, it likely hasn't changed.

Each year, in most Suffolk Towns, the Level of Assessment is adjusted each year to account for changes in the market value‐ not the assessed value.