MILLIONS of Americans are owed checks worth up to $1,500 in just weeks under an ongoing STAR program as phase two begins.
In order to get your hands on the cash, you must meet just four requirements.
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A state-run school tax relief program, called STAR, is handing out its second round of benefits to homeowners this summer and fall.
The program, launched nearly three decades ago, helps millions of eligible Americans to pay their school property taxes.
There are two main tiers of benefits – Basic and Enhanced, based on age and income.
Benefits are delivered as either a STAR credit or a STAR exemption to New Yorkers each year, depending on how long a resident has been enrolled in the program.
For the Basic STAR credit, which generally ranges from $350 to $600, the property must be the primary residence and the homeowners’ household income must be under $500,000, or less than $250,000 for the exemption.
While new homeowners in New York no longer qualify for the exemption, those who have been receiving it since 2015 can continue to receive it for the same primary residence.
There is no age requirement to qualify for Basic STAR.
What is STAR?
STAR is a School Tax Relief program rolled out in New York beginning in 1998.
While the program was initially created to offer financial aid to senior homeowners, it was quickly expanded to benefit other school district taxpayers who owned residential property.
Qualified homeowners are given a partial property tax exemption thanks to the program.
The Basic and Enhanced STAR exemptions reduce the amount that homeowners in New York would otherwise owe on their property tax bills.
Most STAR recipients save several hundred dollars on their property taxes each year.
Source: RCS
On the other hand, Enhanced STAR is a larger benefit for homeowners age 65 and older who have a household income of $107,300 or less for the 2025 to 2026 school year.
A $110,750 income cap is in place to be eligible for next year’s benefits.
These seniors usually receive an Enhanced STAR credit between $700 and $1,500.
The credit is handed out as a check or direct deposit from the state and can increase by up to 2% annually while the STAR exemption lowers a homeowner’s school tax bill directly.
Nearly three million New York homeowners will receive tax relief from June through November thanks to the STAR program’s more than $2.2 billion pot, according to Governor Kathy Hochul.
The eligible types of property include:
- Houses
- Condominiums
- Cooperative apartments
- Manufactured homes
- Farm houses
PROGRAM PROGRESS
Governor Hochul announced the start of phase two of the STAR program’s benefit season in a news release on Tuesday.
Qualifying homeowners in areas with school taxes due in August or September will begin receiving their STAR benefit in the next few weeks and into the fall, according to the announcement.
STAR Eligibility Requirements
Basic STAR
- Residency: The property must be the primary residence of an owner
- Age: No age restriction
- Income: $500,000 or less for the STAR credit and $250,000 or less for the STAR exemption
- Ownership: The property must be owned by the eligible applicant(s)
Enhanced STAR
- Residency: The property must be the primary residence of at least one age-eligible owner
- Age: 65 or older
- Income: $107,300 or less for 2025 benefits and $110,750 or less for 2026 benefits
- Ownership: The property must be owned by the eligible applicant(s)
Source: New York Department of Taxation and Finance
“The STAR program provides needed school tax relief to millions of New York homeowners — and the program is now in full swing,” said Hochul.
“During a time of financial uncertainty due to funding cuts by Republicans in Washington, my administration is putting money back in the pockets of families with check and credit deliveries continuing to go out to hundreds of thousands of homeowners statewide.”
During the first phase of the program, STAR credits and checks were already distributed to communities with school tax deadlines in June and July.
This included areas such as New York City, Yonkers, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.
Per Hochul’s office, Long Island receives the greatest amount of benefits, with $698.4 million going to 582,000 homeowners.
Over 400,000 residents in the Mid-Hudson region will see $488.5 million total, and Western New York will receive $178.5 million for 320,000 people.
Other Americans in nine US states will see tax relief – they get to keep every dollar as income tax gets the boot.
Plus, select homeowners will save $719 on property taxes after a new policy passed in a key state.
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