On May 29th, 2012, The City of New York entered a charge on all New York City properties that have a New York State School Tax Relief Program (STAR) exemption.  The STAR exemption is available to residents who earn less then $500,000 per year and own their own residence; and it must be applied for by the resident.

This is a one-time charge for the 2011/12 tax year and is called a “Star Exemption Cap”. New York City has come to the decision that property owners had surpassed the maximums for this tax exemption, and issued a retroactive charge to residents for exceeding the cap.

The “Star Recap Fee” is due on July 1st, and covers the period from July 1st, 2011 to June 30th, 2012. The charge may be as little as $15.00 or as much as $3,000 or more, depending on the exemption given.

Please make sure to tell your clients, friends and family who own property in NYC about this new development, so they are not taken back by surprise should they attempt to sell their property only to find their taxes weren’t paid to date due to this new ruling.

This article is courtesy of CB Title Group, LLC. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice, but rather to provide insight into legal developments and issues that may be useful to our clients and friends. In no circumstance is this article intended to be a full treatment of the above subject matter. Reader is advised to obtain additional information as noted.