New Property Tax Rebate Checks: What You Need To Know

Blog October 4, 2018 By Admin
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New property tax rebate checks are hitting New Yorkers’ mailboxes. Here’s what you need to know…

New Property Tax Rebate Checks

According to the state over 350,000 rebate checks have already hit the mailboxes of New Yorkers. Around 2 million should go out and be received by the time this round of rebates is fully delivered.

Some are calling it a political ploy, most won’t find it is near enough to make any meaningful difference. Here’s what to look for, some ideas for what to do with your check, and how you can get an even bigger property tax refund…

Better than Last Year?

Last year’s rebate checks were a nightmare. The roll-out and delivery was a disaster. Many weren’t sent out until February of this year.

The bulk of this year’s rebates still haven’t been sent, but it is hoped that a smoother process will mean they are printed and make it in the mail by mid October.

How Much & Who Gets One?

The average amount sent out to property owners this year is just around $350 each.

These property tax relief credits are to go out to New York homeowners whose total household income is $275,000 or less, and whose local school district stayed beneath the tax cap.

The Problems

A lot of people are not happy about these checks. Many believe it is a political ploy intended to influence upcoming elections. To make people feel better about their situation, feel better about certain candidates, and to temporarily create an injection of cash flow in the economy and manipulate spending and data.

Regardless of your political opinions, most would agree these checks are just way too small. Almost to the point of being meaningless. Not to mention the fact they are actually creating more costs for local taxpayers and homeowners due to all the expense in administration, materials, time and mail.

Perhaps most importantly, it is a distraction from individual homeowners’ ability to appeal their property tax bills, achieve really meaningful savings and cumulatively to put more pressure on the broken tax system being fixed.

What to Do with Your Check

Just because these checks are highly controversial doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cash yours. Even if you don’t need it, you can probably put it to better use. Give it to charity, help someone else with their property tax bill, or make a contribution to a candidate you believe will actually do something about the flawed property tax system.

Or maybe you do need to save it towards future tax bills. Or use it towards a trip towards a destination that is actually reducing property tax rates. Believe it or not, they even have some in New York, like St. Lawrence County.

Then get in touch with Property Tax Adjusters, Ltd. to reduce your tax bill for real, and make your home more affordable or more attractive to its next buyers.