NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8812

Senate Bill S8812

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Requires the state to handle the income verification process for the purposes of the senior citizen tax exemption

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Aging Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 20, 2022	referred to aging

2021-S8812 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Aging
Law Section:: Real Property Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §467, RPT L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S3128

2021-S8812 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Shifts the conducting of the income verification process for the purposes of the senior citizen tax exemption from municipalities to the department of taxation and finance.

2021-S8812 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8812

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to requiring the
state to handle the income verification process for the purposes of the
senior citizen tax exemption

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation will require the state to handle all income verifica-
tion necessary to receive the senior citizen tax exemption.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends real property tax law to allow income eligibility of
applicants to be verified annually by the department, and the assessing
authority will not need to request income documentation. At the commis-
sioner's discretion, and with the appropriate assessing authority,
extensions of the enrollment period can be granted on an individual
basis for the Senior Citizen Property Tax Exemption. Any information or

documentation submitted by an applicant will be considered confidential
and can only be disclosed to other necessary individuals for the
performance of duties related to the Senior Citizen Property Tax
Exemption.

Section 2. Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, senior citizens in New York State who qualify for the tax
exemption must visit their local town assessor to apply. With income
verification falling on the local assessors rather than the state tax
department, it can often become an unnecessarily egregious and difficult
process for the applicant. The town assessors do not have the authority
or access to the information that the state tax department has so it
falls to the applicant to have to prove their low-income status. This
legislation takes inspiration from the Enhanced STAR program and lessens
the burden of low-income senior citizens to prove their income to local
assessors and leaves verification to the state.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2021-S8812 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8812
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 20, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Aging
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to requiring  the
   state  to  handle  the income verification process for the purposes of
   the senior citizen tax exemption
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 5 of section 467 of the real property tax law,
 as amended by chapter 309 of the laws of 1990 and as further amended  by
 subdivision  (b)  of  section  1  of part W of chapter 56 of the laws of
 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   5. (A) Application for such exemption must be made by  the  owner,  or
 all  of  the  owners of the property, on forms prescribed by the commis-
 sioner to be furnished by the appropriate assessing authority and  shall
 furnish  the  information  and  be  executed  in  the manner required or
 prescribed in such forms, and shall be filed in such  assessor's  office
 on  or  before  the appropriate taxable status date. Notwithstanding any
 other provision of law, at the option of the municipal corporation,  any
 person  otherwise  qualifying under this section shall not be denied the
 exemption under this section if he becomes sixty-five years of age after
 the appropriate taxable status date and on or  before  December  thirty-
 first of the same year.
   (B)  EFFECTIVE  WITH  APPLICATIONS FOR SUCH EXEMPTION, THE APPLICATION
 FORM SHALL INDICATE THAT ALL OWNERS OF  THE  PROPERTY  AND  ANY  OWNERS'
 SPOUSES  RESIDING  ON  THE  PREMISES  MUST HAVE THEIR INCOME ELIGIBILITY
 VERIFIED ANNUALLY BY THE DEPARTMENT  AND  MUST  FURNISH  THEIR  TAXPAYER
 IDENTIFICATION  NUMBERS  IN ORDER TO FACILITATE MATCHING WITH RECORDS OF
 THE DEPARTMENT.  THE INCOME ELIGIBILITY OF SUCH PERSONS SHALL  BE  VERI-
 FIED  ANNUALLY  BY THE DEPARTMENT, AND THE ASSESSING AUTHORITY SHALL NOT
 REQUEST  INCOME  DOCUMENTATION  FROM  THEM.  ALL  APPLICANTS  FOR   SUCH
 EXEMPTION AND ALL ASSESSING AUTHORITIES SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE
 IN  THIS  PROGRAM,  KNOWN  AS  THE SENIOR CITIZEN PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
 INCOME VERIFICATION  PROGRAM.  THE  COMMISSIONER  MAY,  IN  HIS  OR  HER
 DISCRETION  AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE APPROPRIATE ASSESSING AUTHORITY,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD15266-01-2
 S. 8812                             2
 
 EXTEND ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND AS NECESSARY THE ENROLLMENT PERIOD  OF
 THE  SENIOR  CITIZEN  PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION INCOME VERIFICATION PROGRAM
 FOR PROPERTY OWNERS WHO FAILED  TO  ENROLL  IN  SUFFICIENT  TIME.  WHERE
 APPROPRIATE,  THE  COMMISSIONER,  IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  THE APPROPRIATE
 ASSESSING AUTHORITY, IS FURTHER AUTHORIZED TO REMIT DIRECTLY TO  SUCH  A
 PROPERTY  OWNER  A  PAYMENT IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
 THE TAX BILL THAT THE PROPERTY OWNER ACTUALLY RECEIVED AND THE TAX  BILL
 THAT  THE PROPERTY OWNER WOULD HAVE RECEIVED HAD HE OR SHE ENROLLED IN A
 TIMELY MANNER.
   (C) ANY INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTATION  SUBMITTED  BY  AN  APPLICANT  IN
 CONNECTION  WITH  APPLICATIONS FOR OR RENEWAL OF AN EXEMPTION AUTHORIZED
 UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION TO VERIFY INCOME,
 SHALL BE DEEMED CONFIDENTIAL, AND THE ASSESSOR, ANY MUNICIPAL OFFICER OR
 MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES SHALL BE PROHIBITED FROM DISCLOSING ANY SUCH  INFOR-
 MATION,  EXCEPT FOR ANY DISCLOSURE NECESSARY IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR
 OFFICIAL DUTIES.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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