Long Island Property Tax Grievance

Long Island Property Tax Grievance Information – Process & Deadlines

Nassau County Filing Deadline: Originally March 1, 2024 – Extended to March 18, 2024

Suffolk County Property Tax Grievance Filing Deadline: Third Tuesday in May (May 21, 2024)

As a Long Island commercial property owner, you may be concerned that the tax assessor has over-assessed the value of your property. How do you know for sure?

Are you thinking about grieving your commercial property taxes in Nassau or Suffolk County but are not sure where to start? Do you own property in both counties? It is important to understand that the tax grievance process is different for Nassau & Suffolk. Here is all the information you need!

• As a commercial taxpayer on Long Island, you pay among the highest real estate taxes in the country. This makes it even more important that you file a tax grievance with the taxing municipality.

• On LI, the taxing municipality is different depending upon whether your property is located in Suffolk County or Nassau County:

• Nassau County property owners pay their taxes to the County.
• Suffolk County property owners pay their taxes to their specific town; Town of Huntington, Islip, Babylon, Brookhaven, Southampton, East Hampton, Southold, Smithtown, Riverhead, and Shelter Island.

• In both Nassau & Suffolk counties, if your property is located within a village you may be assessed additionally from the village.

There are other differences in tax filing for Nassau and Suffolk commercial properties:

• In Nassau County if you file a tax grievance and are successful, you can refile again the next year.

• In Suffolk County, once you obtain a reduction for properties owned within the county, the county agrees to hold the assessment at the reduced rate for the next three years. This locks in your rate, for better or worse, so it’s best to lock in at a lower rate, which can save you a lot of money over the next few years.

• The process of filing is different in Nassau County than in Suffolk County. Nassau County has an Assessment Review Commission (ARC) in place that handles the initial grievance.

• In Suffolk County, the initial appeal is handled by the Board of Assessment Review (BAR). Additionally, each Town in Suffolk handles the appeal process differently and has different requirements depending upon the assessor’s requirements and the town attorney’s requirements.

• Administrative laws in place in Nassau County differ from those in Suffolk County.

• Nassau County has instituted a recent law which applies to all Class 4 Commercial property owners. This law requires that a percentage of those taxpayers’ payment be held in separate accounts until the tax appeal is resolved.  If a refund is owed to the taxpayer, Nassau County will pay from the monies held in the DAF Account.  If the refund is less than the amount held, the additional funds shall be sent to the taxing jurisdiction.

• This Disputed Assessment Fund (“DAF”) has also resulted in a substantial increase in tax rates throughout Nassau County.

Given these differences, and the potential complexities of the grievance filing, it is recommended to work with a property tax expert. Filing a grievance and challenging your property tax assessment is a process called tax certiorari. Realty Tax Challenge (RTC) can help you grieve your Nassau or Suffolk County property tax assessment to achieve real estate tax reductions and potentially a tax refund. Our highly experienced staff has been helping Long Island and NY State commercial property owners reduce their real estate taxes every day for over 25 years. We are the best and most knowledgeable in the business at understanding real property values and have achieved over $50 million in real estate reductions for our clients.

The one common issue, whether you live in Nassau or Suffolk, is that you are likely over assessed and paying too much for your taxes.

We can provide a no-cost consultation to determine whether your LI commercial property is over assessed and whether you should appeal. Working with an experienced consultant like Realty Tax Challenge is the best way to increase the likelihood of success.

There is no upfront fee to grieve your real estate taxes for your commercial property through RTC. Once we have obtained a successful reduction, our fee is taken out of your return so there is nothing to lose:

• Your taxes will never be increased as a result of your filing a grievance. They can only go down. It is actually against New York State law for taxes to be raised due to a grievance filing.

• The value of your property WILL NOT go down, your value will increase if your tax assessment is lowered.

• It is always worth it to have RTC professionally grieve your Long Island commercial property taxes. There is NO FEE until we have obtained a successful reduction, so we will make sure you get the best reduction possible!

• We manage the full process for you – from the initial grievance application, submission of all supporting documents and any required appearances before the Town’s Board of Assessment Review (BAR) or the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission (ARC).

• Even if you have been denied previously, it has no impact on a new grievance application. Comparable values change each and every year, so you should file an appeal annually.

If you own commercial property in Long Island, you are eligible for formal review of your assessment. Commercial properties include office buildings, warehouses, hotels and motels, funeral homes, malls and department stores, supermarkets, Big Box stores, retirement and assisted living communities, hospitals, self-storage facilities, golf clubs, country clubs, movie theaters, recreational facilities, auto dealerships and more.

We handle the filing of tax grievances on behalf of businesses and corporations throughout Nassau & Suffolk Counties, including:

Nassau County: Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Bayville, Carle Place, Cedarhurst, East Hills, East Meadow, East Rockaway, East Williston, Farmingdale, Floral Park, Freeport, Garden City, Great Neck, Hempstead, Hewlett Bay Park, Hicksville, Inwood, Island Park, Kensington, Lake Success, Lawrence, Long Beach, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manorhaven, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Merrick, Mill Neck, Mineola, Munsey Park, Muttontown, New Hyde Park, North Hempstead, North Hills, Oceanside, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Oyster Bay, Plainview, Plandome, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Roslyn, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Sea Cliff, South Floral Park, Syosset, Thomaston, Uniondale, Upper Brookville, Valley Stream, Westbury, Williston Park, Woodbury

More information on Nassau County Property Tax Grievance

Suffolk County: Towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, South Hampton, and Southold

More information on Suffolk County Property Tax Grievance

When you work with Realty Tax Challenge, we will guide you through the complete process. After providing the initial set of details, you can relax and wait for us to update you on the status of your application. Once we have successfully obtained your Nassau County or Suffolk County commercial property tax reduction, we will also work to obtain a tax refund for your overpaid taxes and ensure that your property tax bills are correct.

Ready to speak with a tax assessment consultant? Call us at 914-348-9473, email us at info@propertytaxrefund.com, or fill out the contact form to begin the process. We can answer any questions you have, and get you started on the tax grievance process right away!