§ 496. Voluntary renunciation of an exemption. 1. A property owner who
wishes to give up his or her claim to an exemption on one or more
preceding assessment rolls may renounce the exemption in the manner
provided by this section.

2. An application to renounce an exemption shall be made on a form
prescribed by the commissioner and shall be filed with the county
director of real property tax services no later than ten years after the
levy of taxes upon the assessment roll on which the renounced exemption
appears. The county director, after consulting with the assessor as
appropriate, shall compute the total amount owed on account of the
renounced exemption as follows:

(a) For each assessment roll on which the renounced exemption appears,
the assessed value that was exempted shall be multiplied by the tax rate
or rates that were applied to that assessment roll, or in the case of a
renounced STAR exemption, the tax savings calculated pursuant to
subdivision two of section thirteen hundred six-a of this chapter.
Interest shall then be added to each such product at the rate prescribed
by section nine hundred twenty-four-a of this chapter or such other law
as may be applicable for each month or portion thereon since the levy of
taxes upon such assessment roll.

(b) The sum of the calculations made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
subdivision with respect to all of the assessment rolls in question
shall be determined.

(c) A processing fee of five hundred dollars shall be added to the sum
determined pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, unless the
provisions of paragraph (d) of this subdivision are applicable.

(d) If the applicant is renouncing a STAR exemption in order to
qualify for the personal income tax credit authorized by subsection
(eee) of section six hundred six of the tax law, and no other exemptions
are being renounced on the same application, or if the applicant is
renouncing a STAR exemption before school taxes have been levied on the
assessment roll upon which that exemption appears, no processing fee
shall be applicable.

3. After computing the total amount due on account of the renounced
exemption, the county director shall return the form to the applicant
with the total amount due noted thereon. A copy of such form shall be
provided to the assessor, and in the case of the STAR exemption, to the
commissioner. Within fifteen days after the mailing of such form, the
applicant shall pay the total amount due as shown thereon to the county
treasurer, who shall issue a receipt for such payment. After deducting
the processing fee, the county treasurer shall distribute the amount
collected among the affected municipal corporations according to the
taxes and interest owing to each, provided that in the case of the STAR
exemption authorized by section four hundred twenty-five of this
article, the amount collected, including interest, shall be paid to the
state in the manner directed by the commissioner.

4. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, in a city
with a population of one million or more, an exemption may be renounced
on a form prescribed by the commissioner of finance, and the duties
imposed by this section upon the county treasurer shall be performed by
the commissioner of finance.