October 21, 2013

Legislator Kopel Reminds Residents to Register for STAR Program

Nassau County Alternate Deputy Presiding Officer Howard Kopel would like to remind Nassau County residents of changes to the Basic STAR registration process. All homeowners currently receiving the Basic STAR exemption must re-register with the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance in order to continue receiving the exemption in 2014 and subsequent years. This is part of a new initiative to ensure that tax dollars are not wasted on inappropriate or fraudulent STAR exemptions.

Resident homeowners who currently receive the Basic STAR exemption must re-register with the New York State Tax Department to continue receiving the exemption in 2014 and future years. Homeowners do not need to re-register every year. Based on the information provided in the registration process, the Tax Department will confirm homeowners’ eligibility in future years.

Please note:  Senior Citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not affected by the new re-registration requirement. However, in order to receive Enhanced STAR, seniors must continue to apply annually or participate in the income verification program.

The registration process will ask homeowners to: Provide the STAR code and confirm the property address, provide the names and social security numbers for all owners of the property and their spouses,  confirm that the property is the primary residence of one of its owners [married couples with multiple residences may only claim one STAR exemption], confirm that the combined income of the owners and their spouses who reside at the property does not exceed $500,000, and confirm that no resident owner receives a residency-based tax exemption from another state. The deadline to register is December 31st.