Unhappy with Your Property Taxes? Here's What You Can Do

"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." — Benjamin Franklin

Overview of Property Taxes
The State of New York gives local municipalities, school and special districts the authority to raise funds to pay for their operations.  In the town of Southampton there are seven incorporated villages including the villages of Southampton and Sagaponack, many school districts, fire districts, and ambulance districts, all with the authority to receive most of their funding from local property owners, through a property tax levy.

If your property is located in Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, Shinnecock Hills, Tuckahoe or North Sea, you will only receive a town tax bill, which will also include a separate tax for a specific school district, a specific fire protection district, a specific public library and the county. If your property is located in Sagaponack, there is additionally a separate tax levy for the operation of that village.

A few incorporated villages, such as Southampton Village, do their own real property assessments. If you own property in one of those incorporated villages, you will receive both a town tax and a village tax bill. Village tax bills are specifically for applicable village operating expenses. The Southampton Village tax bill, for example, includes expenses for their , and , , roads, beaches, parks and recreation and the . 

Your Specific Property Tax
The property tax on a specific property is based on a general tax rate established by the taxing districts multiplied by the specific property's tax assessment. Taking the total tax revenue a municipality needs and dividing that number by the total of all the assessed valuations of all the properties in the municipality establish the general tax rate.

Your property's specific tax assessment is determined by the tax assessor based on your property's fair market value less any specific exemptions that you may be entitled to. Some exemptions include those for homesteading (), veterans, seniors or disabled individuals with limited incomes, and volunteer firefighters.

Most of the tax on your property is represented by school taxes.  In Southampton Town the average school tax represents 79 percent of the average tax bill. We are fortunate to own properties in Southampton Town.  The town's 2011 budget message states that, "our comparable tax rate burden is 50 percent less than Riverhead, and 25 percent less than East Hampton."

The town of Southampton mails tax bills each year in early December to all of its property owners. These bills are payable without penalty by Jan. 10. Owners in the village of Southampton also receive an additional tax bill mailed in early June with payment due July 1 without penalty.

A basic tenant of the property tax is that it is based on a fair and equitable assessment -- the fair market value of a property. However the figure used by the tax assessor may not always be what the property is actually worth, as determined by a licensed real estate appraiser.

The Assessment Review
You may contact the tax assessor informally anytime during the tax year, if you believe you are being assessed incorrectly. You may also ask for a formal review of your assessment with the board of assessment review on a specific day, known as Grievance Day. Keep in mind that owners of Southampton Village property receive two separate tax bills, based on two independent tax assessments, one by the town and one by the village, and a request for review should be made to the specific municipality who conducted the assessment you wish to challenge.

At the review you need to submit a completed state grievance form, which you can print from any of the websites listed below. You will also need to be armed with documentation to support why you believe your property is being over-assessed. A formal appraisal from a real estate appraiser or detailed documentation of recently sold similar properties is helpful.  

If you are successful with your grievance, your property assessment will go down and the amount of taxes you will be expected to pay will typically decrease.

Next Tuesday, Feb. 15, from noon to 4 p.m. the village of Southampton will be holding its Grievance Day at .  The town will hold its Grievance Day Tuesday, May 17. Last year it was held at St. Rosalie's Church on 31 E. Montauk Hwy, Hampton Bays.

For additional information about property tax assessments and filing a formal grievance, check out the following web pages:

Southampton Village Tax Assessor

Southampton Town Tax Assessor

NYS Office of Real Property Tax Services