Property tax · Assessment review

A New York assessment challenge runs on the roll calendar.

Start early with the assessor and the parcel facts, then protect the formal deadline. Outside New York City and Nassau County, the ordinary path is tentative roll, RP-524 grievance, Board of Assessment Review, and, when needed, SCAR or an Article 7 proceeding. New York City uses the Department of Finance and Tax Commission instead.

The ordinary challenge

Challenge the assessment, not the tax rate

Usually, an assessment grievance asks the assessor to correct the value or classification on the current tentative roll. It does not argue that the tax rate, school budget, or final bill is too high. Start with the parcel facts and market value, then protect the local filing deadline even if an informal conversation is still underway.

Current roll

The ordinary grievance can reach only the assessment on the current tentative roll.

Outside New York City and Nassau County, Form RP-524 is the usual complaint. Filing is free, a lawyer is not required, and a discussion with the assessor does not preserve the formal right to review.

State grievance procedure ->
Local clock

May 1, the fourth Tuesday in May, and July 1 are common dates, not statewide promises.

Those are the usual tentative-roll, Grievance Day, and final-roll dates for many towns and cities. Shared assessors, villages, cities, Suffolk and Westchester towns, New York City, and Nassau County use important variations. The assessor's current calendar controls.

State property-tax calendar ->
The claim

State the value or assessment you support and show how you reached it.

Use the correct valuation date, accurate parcel facts, genuinely comparable sales, a recent arm's-length purchase, an appraisal, or condition evidence. RP-524 separates excessive, unequal, unlawful, and misclassified assessments, so match the proof to the ground you select.

State RP-524 evidence guide ->
Receive-by date

A mailed RP-524 generally must arrive by Grievance Day; a timely postmark is not enough.

File by the method the assessing unit accepts, leave time for a rejection or technical problem, and keep the full packet plus proof of receipt. A separate assessing village can require a second form and use a different date.

Official RP-524 forms and instructions ->
After the BAR

SCAR and Article 7 are court alternatives, and the ordinary outside-City clock is short.

An eligible owner can use the lower-cost SCAR route only after the required administrative challenge. Outside New York City, court review generally begins within 30 days after the final roll is filed. New York City and Nassau County have their own administrative and court calendars.

New York Courts SCAR guide ->

Ordinary example

A $450,000 assessment on a roll at 80% of value

If credible comparable sales support a $500,000 market value and the accepted local assessment level is 80%, the requested assessment may be $400,000. The file should show the sales, adjustments, valuation date, and ratio instead of asking the board to choose a number.

What changes the answer

Facts that change the answer

The assessing unit
A town, city, county, or assessing village can use a different roll and deadline. New York City and Nassau County do not use the ordinary RP-524 lane.
The kind of error
Bad square footage, overvaluation, unequal treatment, a missing exemption, wrong class, and an unlawful entry call for different proof.
The property and next forum
SCAR eligibility depends on the property and ownership. A commercial parcel or a formal Article 7 case usually needs a different court plan.

Do this next

Next steps

  1. Open the local roll Find the assessor, parcel record, tentative roll, valuation date, and exact receive-by deadline for the property.
  2. Build the RP-524 file Use the current form and instructions, calculate the requested assessment, label the evidence, and save delivery proof.
  3. Use the NYC branch Go directly to the Tax Commission's current form and class deadline instead of trying to adapt the statewide RP-524 route.
  4. Use the Nassau branch Open the Assessment Review Commission's annual filing window and instructions for the county roll.
More property and money paths
NYC property taxSTAREqualization ratesHome & PropertyPlace directoryQuick reference

The useful order outside NYC and Nassau County

  1. Find the assessing unit and its dates.

    Start with the city, town, county, or village that places the value on the roll. A village can issue a separate assessment with a separate grievance. Use the state Municipal Data Portal and the assessor's current notice to confirm the valuation date, tentative-roll date, Grievance Day, and final-roll date.

  2. Check the inventory before the formal window.

    Read the parcel record for square footage, land, buildings, condition, use, tax class, and exemptions. Bring clear documents to the assessor if a fact is wrong. An early informal review can fix a mistake or explain the value, but it does not extend or replace the formal grievance deadline.

  3. Read the current tentative roll.

    Most towns and cities publish it May 1. Confirm the total assessment, taxable assessment, exemptions, estimated market value, and stated level of assessment. Only the assessment on the current tentative roll can be grieved through the ordinary annual process.

  4. Name the claim and the requested assessment.

    RP-524 separates unequal, excessive, unlawful, and misclassified assessments. A market value above what the home could sell for is different from a complaint that the tax bill or local budget is too high. Calculate the assessment you are asking for and do not leave the requested reduction to guesswork.

  5. Build evidence for the correct valuation date.

    Use nearby arm's-length sales of genuinely comparable properties, a recent purchase or listing, a qualified appraisal, dated photos, repair estimates tied to condition, and records that correct the assessor's property facts. Explain important differences in size, location, lot, age, condition, and sale timing.

  6. File the right form by the local deadline.

    Outside New York City and Nassau County, the ordinary form is RP-524, filed with the assessor or Board of Assessment Review. Filing is free and a lawyer is not required. The Tax Department says the form must be received by Grievance Day; mailing it on the deadline is not enough. Keep a complete copy and proof of receipt.

  7. Present a short, organized BAR record.

    Lead with the assessment on the roll, the market value or assessment you support, the ground for review, and the strongest evidence. Bring labeled copies. The BAR may ask questions or request more material, and its written determination should state the result and reasons.

  8. Calendar court review as soon as the roll is final.

    If the administrative result is not enough, immediately check SCAR eligibility and the Article 7 deadline. Outside NYC, both routes generally must begin within 30 days of final-roll filing. They are alternatives, not two rounds: filing SCAR waives the ordinary Article 7 tax-certiorari route for that assessment.

Informal review and formal grievance do different jobs

Before the tentative roll, an assessor can review inventory, condition, sales, and exemption records and explain the local valuation. After the tentative roll, owners can still discuss the assessment, and the assessor and owner may sign a stipulated reduction on or before Grievance Day. A conversation, data-correction request, appointment, or unfinished stipulation does not preserve review rights. File the formal complaint on time unless the signed resolution and local instructions clearly settle the current roll.

The statewide dates are only a frame. March 1 is the usual taxable-status date, May 1 the usual tentative-roll date, the fourth Tuesday in May the usual Grievance Day, and July 1 the usual final-roll date. Suffolk and Westchester towns, assessing villages, other cities, Nassau County, New York City, and municipalities sharing an assessor use important variations. Nassau uses its county Assessment Review Commission and a generally earlier calendar. The local roll and official calendar control.

The evidence should meet the claim

For a typical home-value claim, the strongest file is short and comparable: the current roll entry, the assessor's estimated market value, your supported market value as of the correct valuation date, and several nearby sales with adjustments explained. A recent arm's-length purchase can help. An appraisal should use the correct valuation date. Photos and contractor estimates are most useful when they show a condition difference that the assessor's record or selected sales missed.

Do not build the case around a neighbor's lower tax bill. Exemptions, school districts, special districts, tax classes, and rates can make bills differ even when values are fair. Compare total assessments and market evidence on the same roll, and attach the exemption application or property record when that is the real disagreement.

Equalization is not an individual assessment

The state equalization rate measures the level of assessment for a municipality as a whole. It helps put different municipal rolls on a full-value basis when county and school levies cross boundaries. It does not by itself show that one parcel is overvalued and it does not automatically change that parcel's assessment.

Equalization can still be evidence for an unequal-assessment claim. RP-524 guidance says an owner first supports the property's market value, then applies an accepted measure of the community's level of assessment, such as the state equalization rate, residential assessment ratio, or uniform percentage on the roll. That ratio step and the home's market-value proof are separate pieces of the case.

New York City uses DOF and the Tax Commission

NYC Department of Finance values the property and issues the annual Notice of Property Value around January 15. Use DOF's current Request for Review or Request to Update route for valuation reconsideration, property-description data, or qualifying factual and clerical corrections. The independent NYC Tax Commission is the formal administrative path for a reduction in assessed value and for review of tax class or exemption status.

A DOF request is not a substitute for a timely Tax Commission Application for Correction. The ordinary Tax Commission dates are March 1 for Classes 2, 3, and 4 and March 15 for Class 1. For the 2026-27 roll, the receive-by deadlines moved to 5 p.m. March 2, 2026 and March 16, 2026 because of the calendar. Use the class printed on the notice, the correct annual form, and that year's filing instructions; do not assume the 2026 shift repeats.

SCAR and Article 7 come after administrative review

Small Claims Assessment Review is the lower-cost, more informal court route for eligible owner-occupied one-, two-, or three-family residential property and certain qualifying vacant land; special condo limits apply. New York Courts says the owner must first complete the applicable administrative challenge. Outside NYC, the petition and $30 fee generally go to the county clerk within 30 days after the final roll is filed, followed by the copies listed in the court instructions. NYC SCAR follows a timely Tax Commission application and uses a separate fall deadline.

Article 7 tax certiorari is the formal New York Supreme Court route. The State Tax Department recommends private counsel for it, and the ordinary outside-NYC deadline is also 30 days after final-roll filing. SCAR and ordinary Article 7 review are alternatives because a SCAR filing waives the other route for that assessment. For the 2026-27 NYC roll, Tax Commission Form TC600 says a court proceeding must begin before October 25, 2026 and states no later than October 23 for that year. Court eligibility, service, filing, and deadline rules are strict, so verify the current official instructions promptly after the administrative decision.

Official sources

Reviewed July 14, 2026. Assessment calendars, forms, valuation dates, NYC class deadlines, court eligibility, and service rules vary and can change. Confirm the current roll and deadline with the responsible assessor, review body, Tax Commission, county clerk, or court before acting.

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