NY Real Prop Tax L § 459-C (2021)
2021 New York Laws RPT - Real Property Tax Article 4 - Exemptions Title 2 - Private Property 459-C - Persons With Disabilities and Limited Incomes.

§  459-c.  Persons with disabilities and limited incomes. 1.  (a) Real property owned by  one  or  more  persons  with  disabilities,  or  real property owned by a husband, wife, or both, or by siblings, at least one of whom has a disability, or real property owned by one or more persons, some  of  whom qualify under this section and the others of whom qualify under section four hundred sixty-seven of this title, and whose  income, as  hereafter defined, is limited by reason of such disability, shall be exempt from taxation by any municipal corporation in  which  located  to the  extent  of  fifty  per  centum of the assessed valuation thereof as hereinafter provided. After a public hearing, the governing board  of  a county,  city,  town  or  village  may  adopt  a  local law and a school district, other than a school district subject to article  fifty-two  of the  education  law,  may  adopt  a  resolution  to  grant the exemption authorized pursuant to this section.  (b) Any local law or resolution adopted pursuant to paragraph  (a)  of this  subdivision  may  be  amended, or a local law or resolution may be adopted, to provide an exemption so as to increase  the  maximum  income eligibility   level   of  such  municipal  corporation  as  provided  in subdivision  five  of  this  section  (represented  in  the  hereinbelow schedule as M), to the extent provided in the following schedule: ANNUAL INCOME                           PERCENTAGE ASSESSED VALUATION                                         EXEMPT FROM TAXATION More than (M) but      less than (M+ $1,000)                   45 per centum (M+ $1,000 or more) but      less than (M+ $2,000)                   40 per centum (M+ $2,000 or more) but      less than (M+ $3,000)                   35 per centum (M+ $3,000 or more) but      less than (M+ $3,900)                   30 per centum (M+ $3,900 or more) but      less than (M+ $4,800)                   25 per centum (M+ $4,800 or more) but      less than (M+ $5,700)                   20 per centum (M+ $5,700 or more) but      less than (M+ $6,600)                   15 per centum (M+ $6,600 or more) but      less than (M+ $7,500)                   10 per centum (M + $7,500 or more) but      less than (M+ $8,400)                   5 per centum   2. For purposes of this section: (a) "sibling" shall mean a brother or a sister, whether related through half blood, whole blood or adoption.  (b)  a  person  with  a disability is one who has a physical or mental impairment, not due to current use of alcohol or illegal drug use, which substantially limits such person's ability to  engage  in  one  or  more major  life activities, such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking,  seeing,  hearing,  speaking,  breathing,  learning  and working,  and who (i) is certified to receive social security disability insurance (SSDI) or supplemental security income  (SSI)  benefits  under the  federal  Social  Security  Act,  or  (ii)  is  certified to receive Railroad Retirement  Disability  benefits  under  the  federal  railroad Retirement  Act,  or  (iii)  has  received  a certificate from the state commission for the blind stating that such person is legally  blind,  or (iv)  is  certified to receive a United States Postal Service disability pension, or (v) is certified to receive a United  States  department  of veterans affairs disability pension pursuant to 38 U.S.C. §1521.   An  award  letter  from  the  Social  Security  Administration  or the Railroad Retirement Board, or a certificate from  the  state  commission  for the blind, or an award letter from the United States Postal Service, or an award letter from the United States department of veterans affairs shall be submitted as proof of disability.   3.  Any exemption provided by this section shall be computed after all other partial exemptions allowed by law, excluding the school tax relief (STAR) exemption authorized by section four hundred twenty-five of  this title,  have  been  subtracted from the total amount assessed; provided, however, that no parcel may receive an exemption for the same  municipal tax  purpose  pursuant  to  both  this  section and section four hundred sixty-seven of this title.   4. Exemption from taxation for school purposes shall not be granted in the case of real property where a child resides if such child attends  a public school of elementary or secondary education; unless the governing board  of  the  school  district in which the property is located, after public hearing,  adopts  a  resolution  providing  for  such  exemption; provided  that  any  such resolution shall condition such exemption upon satisfactory proof that the child was not brought into the residence  in whole  or  in substantial part for the purpose of attending a particular school  within  the  district.  The  procedure  for  such  hearing   and resolution  must  be  conducted  separately  from  the procedure for any hearing and local law, ordinance or  resolution  conducted  pursuant  to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section.   5. No exemption shall be granted:  (a) if the income of the owner or the combined income of the owners of the  property  for the income tax year immediately preceding the date of making application for exemption  exceeds  the  sum  of  three  thousand dollars, or such other sum not less than three thousand dollars nor more than twenty-six thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand six, twenty-seven  thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand seven, twenty-eight thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand  eight, twenty-nine  thousand  dollars  beginning July first, two thousand nine, and in a city with a population of one million or  more  fifty  thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand seventeen, as may be provided by  the local law or resolution adopted pursuant to this section. Income tax year shall mean the twelve month  period  for  which  the  owner  or owners  filed a federal personal income tax return, or if no such return is filed, the calendar year. Where title is vested in either the husband or the wife, their combined income may not exceed such sum, except where the husband or wife,  or  ex-husband  or  ex-wife  is  absent  from  the property  due to divorce, legal separation or abandonment, then only the income of the spouse or ex-spouse residing  on  the  property  shall  be considered and may not exceed such sum. Such income shall include social security  and  retirement benefits, interest, dividends, total gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset which may be offset  by  a  loss from  the  sale  or  exchange  of a capital asset in the same income tax year, net rental  income,  salary  or  earnings,  and  net  income  from self-employment,  but  shall  not  include  a  return of capital, gifts, inheritances or monies earned through employment in the  federal  foster grandparent  program  and any such income shall be offset by all medical and prescription drug expenses actually paid which were  not  reimbursed or  paid  for  by  insurance,  if the governing board of a municipality, after a public hearing, adopts  a  local  law  or  resolution  providing therefor.   In   computing   net  rental  income  and  net  income  from self-employment no depreciation  deduction  shall  be  allowed  for  the exhaustion,  wear  and  tear  of  real or personal property held for the production of income;  (b) unless the property is used exclusively for residential  purposes, provided, however, that in the event any portion of such property is not  so  used  exclusively  for  residential  purposes  but is used for other purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation  and  the  remaining portion  only  shall  be  entitled  to  the  exemption  provided by this section;  (c) unless the real property is the legal residence of and is occupied in  whole  or  in part by the disabled person; except where the disabled person is absent from the residence while receiving health-related  care as  an  inpatient  of  a residential health care facility, as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, provided that any income accruing to  that  person  shall  be  considered  income  for purposes  of  this section only to the extent that it exceeds the amount paid by such person or spouse or sibling of such person for care in  the facility.   6.  (a) If so provided in the local law or resolution adopted pursuant to this section, title to that portion  of  real  property  owned  by  a cooperative  apartment corporation in which a tenant-stockholder of such corporation resides, and which is represented by his share or shares  of stock  in  such  corporation  as determined by its or their proportional relationship  to  the  total  outstanding  stock  of  the   corporation, including that owned by the corporation, shall be deemed to be vested in such tenant-stockholder.  (b) That proportion of the assessment of such real property owned by a cooperative apartment corporation determined by the relationship of such real  property  vested  in such tenant-stockholder to such entire parcel and  the  buildings  thereon  owned  by   such   cooperative   apartment corporation in which such tenant-stockholder resides shall be subject to exemption  from  taxation  pursuant to this section and any exemption so granted shall be credited by the appropriate  taxing  authority  against the  assessed  valuation  of  such  real property; the reduction in real property taxes realized thereby shall be  credited  by  the  cooperative apartment corporation against the amount of such taxes otherwise payable by or chargeable to such tenant-stockholder.   7.  Application for such exemption must be made annually by the owner, or all of the owners  of  the  property,  on  forms  prescribed  by  the commissioner,  and shall be filed in such assessor's office on or before the appropriate taxable status  date;  provided,  however,  proof  of  a permanent  disability  need  be  submitted  only  in  the year exemption pursuant to this section is first sought  or  the  disability  is  first determined to be permanent.   7-a.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this  section or any other provision of law, in a city having a population of one million or  more, applications for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall be  considered timely filed if they are filed on or before the fifteenth day of March of the appropriate year and in such city all references  in this  section  to  taxable  status  date shall be deemed to refer to the fifteenth day of March of the appropriate year.   8. At least sixty days prior to the appropriate taxable  status  date, the  assessor  shall  mail  to  each  person  who  was granted exemption pursuant to this section on the  latest  completed  assessment  roll  an application  form and a notice that such application must be filed on or before taxable status date and be approved in order for the exemption to continue to be granted. Failure to mail such  application  form  or  the failure  of  such person to receive the same shall not prevent the levy, collection and enforcement of the payment of the taxes on property owned by such person.   9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  the provisions  of  this  section shall apply to real property held in trust solely for the benefit of a person or persons  who  would  otherwise  be  eligible  for a real property tax exemption, pursuant to subdivision one of this section, were such person or persons the owner or owners of such real property.