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The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets. - Will Rogers

In the current economic climate, more than ever commercial and multifamily properties are considerably over assessed and consequently paying more than their fair share of taxes. Commercial and multifamily property owners are facing problems with high vacancy rates and lower than usual rental income.  Many owners have been forced to renegotiate leases to keep existing tenants.

As a property owner, your real estate taxes are based on your property’s assessment.  Your property’s assessment is set annually by the local municipality where your property is located and is supposed to be based on your property’s fair market value.  Sometimes properties are fairly assessed, but oftentimes properties are over-assessed in which case property owners are paying more than their equitable share of real estate taxes.

It’s possible to protest your property’s assessment. The first step in this process entails filing a formal complaint (also known as a grievance) with your local municipality within a specified time called the “grievance period.”  (If your commercial property is in Yonkers, a prerequisite to filing a grievance is to have filed an annual income and expense statement by June 1st of each year.)

Every municipality sets its own grievance period. Here is a list of grievance periods in our local region:

November 1 - November 15, 2009:

• City of Yonkers

January 1 - January 21, 2010

• City of White Plains

February 2010

Villages of:

• Ardsley
• Bronxville
• Croton-on Hudson
• Dobbs Ferry
• Elmsford
• Hastings-on Hudson
• Irvington
• Larchmont
• Mamaroneck
• Pleasantville
• Port Chester
• Sleepy Hollow
• Tarrytown
• Tuckahoe

June 2010

Towns and Cities of:

• Bedford
• Cortlandt
• Eastchester
• Greenburgh
• Harrison (village and town)
• Lewisboro
• Mamaroneck
• Mt. Kisco
• Mt. Pleasant
• Mt. Vernon
• New Castle
• New Rochelle
• North Castle
• North Salem
• Ossining
• Peekskill
• Pelham
• Pound Ridge
• Rye
• Scarsdale
• Somers
• Yorktown

NOTE: The actual grievance period should be verified through your local assessor’s office.

Each year, you will have a new opportunity to file a grievance for the current and future years, but you cannot go back in time and file for past years.  Remember the Yonkers deadline is November 15, 2009, so act now.

Click here for a free Property Tax Assessment Information Sheet you can download and fill out >>