State urges homeowners to sign up for STAR tax break

Thirty-one percent of eligible Long Islanders have yet to register for the basic STAR tax break, so state officials will help homeowners sign up this week.

That percentage represents 175,092 people who may miss savings that average $700 statewide under the School Tax Relief Program, state tax officials said.

Tax department staff will hold a STAR registration event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Perry B. Duryea State Office Building, 250 Veterans Memorial Hwy. in Hauppauge.

The deadline to apply is Dec. 31.

Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption don't have to register again. Seniors who currently aren't receiving the enhanced STAR tax break may apply for it, getting savings that can be as much as $3,000 a year.

About 2.7 million homeowners statewide are eligible for the basic STAR exemption, but 800,000 of them have yet to apply, state tax officials said.

The state this year began requiring even current, basic STAR recipients to register again after a tax department study found tens of thousands of property owners getting breaks on multiple homes and vacation homes.

The registration events being held across the state this week are the first of their kind since the STAR program's inception 15 years ago, state officials said.

In New York City, 47 percent of eligible recipients, or 266,727 homeowners, have not signed up for STAR, according to state data. City residents may register 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Shirley A. Chisholm State Office Building, 55 Hanson Place in Brooklyn.

The Basic STAR exemption is available on the primary residence of homeowners with incomes under $500,000.

Homeowners may also register by phone at 518-457-2036 or online at tax.ny.gov, a process that takes two to four minutes, state officials said.