12/13/2021 Assessment Community Weekly
Happy holiday season! We’re starting this week with a reminder and an In Case You Missed It, but don’t miss the bounty of new announcements below!
Reminder: Update your State-Owned Land Unit contact info
Please update your contact information to reach the taxable state-owned land unit:
- email orpts.statelandunit@tax.ny.gov
- phone (518) 457-7724
- fax 518-435-8629
If you have questions, email orpts.statelandunit@tax.ny.gov.
ICYMI: Updates to solar and wind appraisal web content
We’ve added two new sections—Tax Load and Land Value—and many new Q and A’s to our solar and wind questions and answers. Look for the New tag when you’re on the page.
In addition, we’ve updated the instructions to include a tax load calculation example. See the html or printable version.
NYS Tax Return Deceased Report (Report #10)
The updated NYS Tax Return Deceased Report is now available to county directors in the Online Assessment Community. As you’ll recall, while by law the report is only available to county directors, the law also authorizes them to share the report with assessors, tax receivers and county treasurers.
The report lists property owners who:
- are receiving or registered for a STAR benefit, and
- were reported as deceased on a recent New York State income tax return.
The report is for your information; you are not required to take action based on it. If you choose to use it, before making any changes based on the report, you may wish to cross reference it against local information on the Internet or other sources.
If you come across a property owner that is erroneously listed in the report (that is, they’re not deceased), it is almost certainly due to information mistakenly reported on an income tax return. You can notify us at real.property@tax.ny.gov, and we will update the report when it is next published in the fall of 2022.
New webpage regarding STAR and manufactured homes
As you’re aware, beginning in 2022, most manufactured homes will no longer be eligible for a STAR exemption. We created a webpage on the topic for your reference: Law change regarding manufactured homes and STAR.
Four structure codes without corresponding costs
Earlier this fall, we announced the new data collection manuals and associated structure codes. (See Assessor Manuals.)
We updated the RPSV4 reference tables to include four new structure codes that weren’t previously in the system:
- BB3 - Electronic Billboard
- BB4 - Double Sided Billboard
- EC1 – Electronic Charging Station
- SP3 – Solar Panel (1,001 – 10,000 kw)
(See our October 18 edition for database update instructions.)
However, the cost tables will not be updated with those codes until ACES is implemented.
Until you convert to ACES, you can use those codes to capture inventory, but they will not affect your cost values.
Structure codes cheat sheet now available
A two-page printable summary of the structure codes is now available on the Assessor Manuals page.
FYI: Homeowner Assistance Fund
Last week, Governor Hochul launched the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund website. The federally funded program is dedicated to assisting homeowners who are at risk of default, foreclosure, or displacement as a result of a financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you are contacted by a homeowner about the program, you can direct them to the website or to 1-844-77-NYHAF.
Note: The Tax Department does not have a role in this program, so please refer callers to the number above, not to the Tax Department Call Center.