Anyone who pays property taxes in New York can grieve the assessment on the current tentative roll, it costs nothing to file, and if the local board says no, homeowners can take the case to Small Claims Assessment Review for a $30 fee. You don’t need a lawyer. The catch is the calendar: miss your town’s Grievance Day and you lose your chance for that year. Here’s how it works outside New York City. (NYC owners file with the NYC Tax Commission, which isn’t covered here.)
1. Find your tentative assessment and your deadline
Each year your city or town publishes a tentative assessment roll, usually around May 1. That’s the only roll you can grieve. You can’t go back and challenge prior years.
Your deadline is Grievance Day, the first day the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) meets. The state sets the default dates:
- Most towns: the fourth Tuesday in May. In 2027 that’s May 25.
- Suffolk County towns: the third Tuesday in May. In 2027 that’s May 18.
- Westchester County towns: the third Tuesday in June. In 2027 that’s June 15.
- Cities, villages and towns that share an assessor can set different dates. Villages that assess property often meet in February.
If you mail your complaint, it has to arrive by Grievance Day, not just be postmarked. Check your exact date with your assessor or on the state’s Municipal Data Portal.
Nassau County is different. See step 6.
2. Turn your assessed value into a market value
In much of New York, homes aren’t assessed at full value. Your assessment might be a small fraction of what the house would sell for. To tell whether you’re over-assessed, you need your town’s level of assessment.
The state measures this with the equalization rate: the percentage of market value at which property in your town is assessed. A rate of 43 means property is assessed at about 43% of market value. Some places also have a residential assessment ratio you can use instead for homes. Both are posted on the state’s Municipal Profiles site.
To estimate the market value your assessor is implying:
Market value ≈ Assessed value ÷ (equalization rate ÷ 100)
Example (made-up numbers): your assessment is $9,000 and the town’s rate is 2.5. $9,000 ÷ 0.025 = $360,000. If similar homes nearby are selling for around $320,000, you likely have a case.
You can also run it the other way, as the state’s instructions do. Multiply your own estimate of market value by the rate. If the result is lower than your assessment, you can ask for a reduction to that number.
3. Gather your evidence
The BAR wants to see what your home is worth, not what your taxes are. Useful evidence:
- Recent sales of similar homes near you (size, age, style, lot)
- A recent purchase price for your own home, if it was an arm’s-length sale
- An appraisal, if you have one
- Photos and repair estimates for problems the assessor may not know about: an old roof, water damage, an original kitchen
- Errors in the assessor’s record: wrong square footage, extra bathrooms, a finished basement that isn’t finished
4. File Form RP-524 by Grievance Day
Outside NYC and Nassau, the form is RP-524, Complaint on Real Property Assessment. File it with your city or town assessor or the BAR. If your village also assesses property, file a separate RP-524 with the village.
On the form you state the value you believe is correct and attach your evidence.
Using a representative? Part Four of RP-524 is where you authorize someone to grieve on your behalf. The authorization must be in writing and dated in the same calendar year the complaint is filed.
A shortcut: stipulation. On or before Grievance Day, you and the assessor can agree on a lower value using Part Six of the form. Keep a signed copy. The trade-off: once you stipulate, you can’t ask the BAR for more, and if the agreed value shows up on the final roll you can’t go to court for a lower one.
5. Go before the Board of Assessment Review
The BAR is three to five residents appointed by the town, city or village board. The assessor and assessor’s staff can’t serve on it. You can attend and present your evidence, with or without a representative. If the board asks you to appear or answer a material question and you refuse, you won’t get a reduction.
You’ll get a written decision with the reasons.
6. If you live in Nassau County
Nassau doesn’t use RP-524 or a May Grievance Day. You file with the Assessment Review Commission (ARC) instead.
- The county publishes its next tentative roll on January 4, 2027.
- The filing window is January 4 to March 1, 2027.
- You can file online through ARC’s AROW system or on paper.
- Use Form AR1 for an exclusively residential one-, two- or three-family house or Class 1 condo. AR2 is for all other property. AR3 is for disputes about tax class or exemptions.
- To have someone file for you, sign Form AR10, authorizing a representative.
7. If the board says no: SCAR or Article 7
You have two ways to take the case further. Both must be started within 30 days of the filing of the final assessment roll (or the notice of that filing), whichever is later. If you skipped Grievance Day, you lose both options for that year.
- Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR). For owners of a one-, two- or three-family home used only as a residence, or vacant land too small for one. The filing fee is $30. The state court system has the forms.
- Article 7 tax certiorari. For all other property, or if you prefer, a proceeding in State Supreme Court under Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law. The state strongly recommends hiring an attorney for this route.
8. Don’t forget STAR
The grievance lowers your assessment. STAR lowers your school tax. If you bought your home recently, the old STAR exemption is closed to you, but you can register for the STAR credit, which the state sends as a check or direct deposit. You need to own the home and live in it as your primary residence, and the combined income of the owners and their spouses must be $500,000 or less. If you’ve had the exemption since 2015, you can keep it for the same home.
Or let someone do it for you
You can grieve on your own for free. If you’d rather not, a property tax consultant can file and argue the grievance for you, usually for a share of the savings. Recoup Capital handles grievances on Long Island, in Westchester and upstate for 30% of first-year savings, and you pay nothing if your taxes don’t go down. Get started here.
Sources: NY Tax Department — grievance procedures, Form RP-524 instructions, NY Tax Department — equalization rates, Nassau County Assessment Review Commission, Nassau ARC — forms and instructions, NY Tax Department — STAR.