New York State Homeowners Have You Applied for STAR Yet?

So, if you own a home (and this includes making payments) have you applied for or heard of STAR? School Tax Relief Program?

Well, you might want to double check that you are eligible for it, and if so, make sure you are registered for it.

What is STAR and how can you apply for it in New York State?

What does this do and how can you apply for it? In New York State if you became a home owner after 2015, you can get a check, which you can use toward paying your school taxes. If you have been receiving the STAR credit, before 2015, you can get it as a reduction on the amount you need to pay for your taxes.

How do you know if you are eligible for STAR?

So, how do you know if you are eligible? You need to be living in your primary residence. You know, the one you are living in all the time. The type of dwellings that are eligible are houses, condos, co-ops, farm houses, etc. For the Basic Star exemption there is no age restriction, but for Enhanced Star, you need to be over the age of 65 and that will give you other application requirements.

Do you need to register for STAR more than once? Or is it one and done forever?

Now, if you have registered before, according to the New York State Tax website, you do not need to register again. Every year, you will automatically be re-evaluated and if you are eligible for the tax savings, you will automatically get a credit or get a check.

Wait, How can you find out if you are already registered?

So how can you find out if you are registered? How can you get registered and when will you get a check magically appearing in your mailbox? All of the info is on the New York State Tax website and I have included some links here for you.

Before you start looking at that site, you will want to get one of your tax returns for any one of the last few years, and if you have it a school tax bill.  You will need info off those forms to see if you already have received a check or to see if you have already signed up for the program and are receiving the benefits.