05/20/2024 Assessment Community Weekly

ICYMI: STAR Credit Direct Deposit and new Homeowner Benefit Portal now available statewide! 

After a successful pilot of the STAR Credit Direct Deposit program last year, the direct deposit option is now available to STAR credit recipients statewide. 

To enroll, credit recipients will log into the new Homeowner Benefit Portal, which is also how new homeowners will register for the STAR credit. In addition, the portal provides STAR applicants and recipients with much more functionality than they previously had, such as:

• checking the status of their property tax registrations;
• viewing, editing, or closing their registrations;
• ensuring their information is accurate and complete; and
• taking action to resolve issues.

With the launch of the portal, the previous STAR registration application is no longer available. We have updated our relevant webpages to assist with this transition.

How to access the portal

Homeowners with existing Tax Department Individual Online Services accounts can now find the Homeowner Benefit Portal under Real Property Tax after they log in. Other homeowners will be prompted to create an Individual Online Services account to get started.

Homeowners without access to the Internet can continue to register for STAR by calling our representatives at 518-457-2036, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Homeowners cannot enroll in STAR Direct Deposit over the phone.

Note: An Online Services account is separate from your Online Assessment Community user ID and password. If you don’t have an Individual Online Services account, you will need to create one to access the Homeowner Benefit Portal. You can only access registration information regarding your own properties in the portal; you will not be able to access the registrations of other homeowners.

If you receive questions from homeowners about the new portal, please direct them to call our representatives at 518-457-2036, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Stay up to date with property tax legislation

With the end of the NYS legislative session slated for June 6, we can expect to see more property tax-related bills passed by the Senate and Assembly. Stay abreast of bills that have passed both houses by visiting Current status of property tax-related legislation.