School property tax hikes on Long Island capped at 2% for 2026-27, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says

Increases in 2026-27 school property taxes on Long Island will be capped at 2% for the fifth consecutive year, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Wednesday.

The state tax cap, which was established in 2012, limits local tax increases to either the rate of inflation or 2%, whichever is lower. For years, the cap has put limits on how much districts can raise locally through property taxes.

The cap has been 2% since 2022. The latest inflation figure, posted for December by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, was 2.7%.

“School district and municipal officials must continue to find ways to deliver services efficiently as they deal with higher costs and the potential impact of federal actions,” DiNapoli said in a news release.

The tax cap applies to 675 school districts, including the 124 on Long Island, where school taxation makes up roughly two-thirds of homeowners’ property tax bills.

The 2% cap establishes a statewide base line but actual allowable tax levy increases will differ by district. Factors such as payment in lieu of taxes, debt service and spikes in pension costs, among others, could change the final percentage voters see in their district’s budget presentation before the vote in May.

The cap could also be pierced if a district wins a supermajority vote of 60% or higher on its proposed budget. Very few Island districts attempt to do that, however, as it poses a much higher risk of the budget failing to pass.

State aid questions

Tim Eagen, superintendent of the Kings Park district and president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, said the trending down of inflation was a good sign.

“Over the last five years, inflation has outpaced the tax cap by [roughly] 12%, which has really put the strain and the crunch on school districts that made budgeting complicated,” he said.

Eagen also noted what he called “uncertainty in supply chain” this year due to tariffs.

“In some cases, districts have priced out construction and the bids are coming in 20, 25, 30% above what we had expected,” he said. “That's another thing that Long Island school districts are struggling a little bit with right now.”

Eagen and others said they are also waiting to see the coming state budget proposal, which Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to release next week. That proposal includes state funding for public schools.

"We're going to eagerly thumb through the governor's budget," he said. "In the end, it really comes down to what does state aid look like?"

Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, echoed that sentiment.

“A lot is going to depend on the state budget and what they propose with education aid, what they propose legislatively, and if there's new costs that are passed along to school districts,” he said. 

Regional taxpayer advocate Fred Gorman, of Nesconset, called the tax cap a fair balance that allows districts to operate in an environment of rising costs without significantly raising homeowners’ tax bills.

“It makes school districts live within their means, but it also gives them some sort of growth and money that allows them to continually operate in an environment where things cannot remain the same,” he said. “The tax cap allows you to live here. It keeps expenses down to a limit that makes it survivable for someone on a fixed income.”