BILL NUMBER: S7335
SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to enhanced
eligibility requirements of STAR
 
PURPOSE:
To assist senior homeowners to receive timely benefit of the enhanced
STAR exemption or credit.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends section 425 of the Real Property Law to allow a
recently retired homeowner to use his or her most recent tax return,
rather than the return from two years before, in applying for the
Enhanced STAR benefit.
Section 2. Effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, if a senior homeowner who had been earning over the threshold
for eligibility for the Enhanced STAR benefit retires, perhaps leaving
social security as his or her sole income, that homeowner will have to
wait two years, with drastically reduced income, before he or she will
be eligible for Enhanced STAR. For example, a person who retired Decem-
ber 31, 2024 would not be eligible for Enhanced STAR benefits until the
2026-27 school year. The additional Enhanced STAR reduction would not be
available for either the 2024-25 or the 2025-26 school years, even
though current income would otherwise make such homeowner eligible.
This bill helps to remedy this situation by allowing a recently retired
homeowner to use the most recent tax information to potentially advance
eligibility by one year.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to school years
commencing on or after the first of January next succeeding the date on
which it shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S7335: 425 real property tax law