2023 New York Laws › RPT - Real Property Tax › Article 9 - Levy and Collection of Taxes › Title 3 - Collection of Taxes; Return of Collecting Officer › 928-A - Partial Payment of Taxes.

§  928-a.  Partial  payment  of  taxes.  1.  (a)  Notwithstanding  the
provisions  of  any  general  or  special  law  to  the  contrary,  each
collecting  officer  is hereby authorized to accept from any taxpayer at
any time partial payments for or on account of taxes, special ad valorem
levies or special assessments and apply such payments  on  the  account,
following  the  adoption  of  a  resolution by the governing body of the
municipal corporation  that  employs  the  collecting  officer  allowing
partial  payments.  Such resolution may limit the conditions under which
partial payments will be accepted, in which case partial payments  shall
be  accepted  in  accordance  with  the  conditions  set  forth  in  the
resolution.
(b) Such resolution may require a service charge  not  to  exceed  ten
dollars  to be paid with each partial payment. Such service charge shall
belong to the municipal corporation that employs the collecting officer.
(c) Where school district taxes are payable to the collecting  officer
of  a  city  or  town  that  has  acted  to  allow partial payments, the
governing body of the school district may  pass  a  resolution  allowing
partial payments for school district purposes. Such resolution may limit
the  conditions  under  which  partial payments may be accepted. Where a
school district has passed a resolution allowing partial  payments,  and
has provided a copy to the collecting officer at least sixty days before
the  last  date  set  by  law  for  the  delivery of the tax roll to the
collecting officer, the collecting officer shall be authorized to accept
partial payments of school district taxes under the conditions specified
in the school district's resolution, subject to the following:
(i) If the conditions set by the school district upon partial payments
differ from those set by the city or town, and in the  judgment  of  the
collecting  officer  it  would  be  burdensome  to  administer them, the
collecting officer may  notify  the  school  district  that  the  school
district's  conditions are not acceptable. Such notice shall be provided
no later than fifteen days  after  the  date  on  which  the  collecting
officer received a copy of the school district resolution, or forty-five
days before the last date set by law for the delivery of the tax roll to
the collecting officer, whichever is later.
(ii) Where such notice has been provided, the collecting officer shall
be  authorized to accept partial payments of school district taxes under
the same conditions as may apply to  city  or  town  taxes,  unless  the
school  district notifies the collecting officer that the city or town's
conditions are not acceptable. Such notice shall be  provided  no  later
than  fifteen  days after the date on which the school district received
the collecting officer's notice, or thirty days before  that  last  date
set  by  law for the delivery of the tax roll to the collecting officer,
whichever is later.
(iii) Where such notice has  been  provided,  the  collecting  officer
shall  not  be  authorized to accept partial payments of school district
taxes.
(d) If the taxes of a city,  town,  village  or  school  district  are
collected by a county official, the county shall have the sole authority
to  establish  a  partial  payment program pursuant to this section with
respect to the taxes so collected.
(e) If the taxes of a city, town, village or school district  are  not
collected  by  a  county official, but its tax bills are prepared by the
county, or its tax collection accounting software  is  provided  by  the
county,  then  before  the  city,  town,  village or school district may
implement a partial payment program pursuant to this  section,  it  must
obtain  written approval of the chief executive officer of the county or
the county director of real property tax services.
(f) Any resolution adopted pursuant to this section shall  be  adopted
at  least  sixty  days  prior to the preparation and delivery of the tax
rolls to the appropriate collecting officers. A copy of  any  resolution
adopted  pursuant to this section, or amending or repealing a resolution
adopted  pursuant  to this section, shall be filed with the commissioner
and, in the case of a resolution adopted by a school district, with  the
city  or  town  clerk,  no  later  than  thirty  days after the adoption
thereof.
2. After any partial payment authorized pursuant to this  section  has
been  paid,  interest  and penalties shall be charged against the unpaid
balance only. The acceptance  of  a  partial  payment  by  any  official
pursuant  to  this  section  shall not be deemed to affect any liens and
powers of any municipal corporation conferred in any general or  special
act, but such rights and powers shall remain in full force and effect to
enforce  collection  of  the  unpaid  balance  of  such tax or tax liens
together with interest, penalties and other lawful charges.
3. A collecting officer who is authorized to accept  partial  payments
pursuant to this section may not decline to do so.
4.  Nothing  contained  herein  shall  be  construed  to  authorize  a
collecting officer to accept a partial payment after the  expiration  of
his or her warrant, or at any other time that such collecting officer is
not authorized to accept tax payments.
5.  Nothing  contained  herein shall limit the ability of a collecting
officer to accept partial payments of taxes authorized under  any  other
general or special law.