Authorizes municipalities to offer a real property tax exemption for active military service members who at any time during the taxable year performed active duty in the armed forces in a combat zone; defines terms; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2068--A
Cal. No. 265
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. SCARCELLA-SPANTON, ROLISON -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veter-
ans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs -- reported favorably from
said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third
reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the
order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a real proper-
ty tax exemption for property owned by certain persons performing
active duty in a combat zone
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new
2 section 458-d to read as follows:
3 § 458-d. Active service exemption. 1. For the purposes of this
4 section:
5 (a) "active military service member" shall mean an individual serving
6 on active duty.
7 (b) "active duty" shall have the same meaning as such term is used in
8 section 101 of title 10 of the United States code.
9 (c) "armed forces" shall mean the army, navy, marine corps, air force,
10 space force, coast guard, or army or air national guard of the United
11 States, or New York naval militia.
12 (d) "combat zone" shall mean areas designated by an executive order
13 from the President of the United States in which the United States armed
14 forces are engaging or have engaged in combat.
15 (e) "military duty station" shall mean the permanent location to which
16 an active military service member is assigned for duty as specified on
17 the individual's permanent change of status orders.
18 (f) "qualified owner" means an active military service member whose
19 military duty station places such active military service member's resi-
20 dence within the boundaries of New York state.
21 (g) "qualified residential real property" means property owned by a
22 qualified owner which is used exclusively for residential purposes;
23 provided, however, that in the event that any portion of such property
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05775-04-5
S. 2068--A 2
1 is not used exclusively for residential purposes, but is used for other
2 purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation and only the remain-
3 ing portion used exclusively for residential purposes shall be subject
4 to the exemption provided by this section.
5 (h) "latest state equalization rate" means the latest final equaliza-
6 tion rate established by the state board pursuant to article twelve of
7 this chapter.
8 (i) "latest class ratio" means the latest final class ratio estab-
9 lished by the state board pursuant to title one of article twelve of
10 this chapter for use in a special assessing unit as defined in section
11 eighteen hundred one of this chapter.
12 2. The governing body of any county, city, town or village may adopt a
13 local law or resolution to provide an active military service member,
14 who at any time during the taxable year performed active duty in the
15 armed forces in a combat zone as documented by a copy of such active
16 military service member's military orders or certified letter from such
17 active military service member's commanding officer, an exemption from
18 taxation on qualifying residential real property up to twenty-five
19 percent of the assessed value of such property, provided, that such
20 exemption shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars or the product of
21 twenty thousand dollars multiplied by the latest state equalization rate
22 for the assessing unit, or in the case of a special assessing unit, the
23 class ratio, whichever is less. Such local law or resolution shall
24 establish a maximum exemption percentage or maximum exempt dollar amount
25 not to exceed the levels outlined in this subdivision.
26 3. The exemption from taxation provided by this section shall be
27 applicable to any county, city, town, or village, but shall not be
28 applicable to taxes levied for school purposes. If an active military
29 service member is currently receiving an exemption under section four
30 hundred fifty-eight, four hundred fifty-eight-a or four hundred fifty-
31 eight-b of this title in any given taxable year, the active duty service
32 member shall not be eligible to receive the exemption under this section
33 during the same taxable year.
34 4. Application for exemption shall be made by the owner, or all of the
35 owners, of the property on a form prescribed by the state board. The
36 owner or owners shall file the completed form in the assessor's office
37 on or before the first appropriate taxable status date. The owner or
38 owners of the property shall be required to refile each year. Appli-
39 cants shall refile on or before the appropriate taxable status date. Any
40 applicant convicted of willfully making any false statement in the
41 application for such exemption shall be subject to the penalties
42 prescribed in the penal law.
43 5. In a city having a population of one million or more, applications
44 for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall be consid-
45 ered timely filed if they are on or before the fifteenth day of March of
46 the appropriate year.
47 6. A local law or resolution adopted pursuant to this section may be
48 repealed by the governing body of the applicable county, city, town, or
49 village. Such repeal shall occur at least ninety days prior to the taxa-
50 ble status date of such county, city, town, or village.
51 § 2. This act shall take effect on the second day of January next
52 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply
53 to real property having a taxable status date on or after such effective
54 date.
