In the summer of 2007, 4 years had passed since the last reassessment. To meet our and the State's standards of accuracy and fairness, every 4 years all City properties are re-valued to reflect current Market Values.

Over 63,000 properties were evaluated all at once. Notices were mailed to all of the property owners and all had an opportunity to meet with an appraiser to discuss any changes.

The Board of Assessment Review (BAR) started March 18th and met with those who felt further attention was needed. On May 1st the Final Roll was filed including all of the changes.

Those who wanted to go a step further and were the owner-occupants of 1 or 2 family residences, completed their application for the Small Claims Assessment Review by the May 30th deadline.

Informal reviews of value are available up through January for the Assessments affecting the July 2009 tax bill.  Remember, all exemption applications must be filed by February 1st.

ATTENTION - IF YOU ARE A VETERAN! EVEN IF YOU WERE PREVIOUSLY DENIED AN EXEMPTION!
A Cold War Exemption was approved this year for Veterans who served actively in military service between Sept. 2, 1945 and Dec. 26, 1991.  The Veteran, spouse or un-remarried surviving spouse must own and reside in a property as their primary residence to receive a 10% reduction on the City and County Assessed Values. This exemption is NOT available for the School Assessment and can NOT be combined with other Veterans Exemptions.

The application must be filed with the Assessor by February 1st, like all other Exemptions, to take effect by the following July and January Tax Bills.

Click here for the Veterans Exemption Application.  This application includes the Alternative Veterans Application (RP-458-a) and the Cold War Veterans Application (RP-458-b), as well as both instruction sets.  Only complete the application that fits your situation.

For further information call the Exemption Hotline at 428-6994, during regular office hours.

Do you both own your residence and occupy it as your primary residence? As you most likely know, you may reduce your taxes with the STAR program administered by the City. Submit your application by February 1st if you have never applied.   This and other Exemptions, as well as Form links, are listed under the Residential Exemptions heading on the left side of this page.

In 2007 the State mailed ADDITIONAL REBATES, directly from Albany, after eligible owners either mailed or completed online applications. The State has renewed this Middle Class Property Tax Rebate for 2008. 

• Basic STAR or Enhanced STAR recipients, who received a check from Albany in 2007 and their property information remained the same, will automatically receive a check by the end of October, unless your income exceeds $250,000.

• If you did not apply for the Rebate in 2007, or you newly applied for STAR in 2008, or your property information changed, Albany will automatically mail you an application to complete and return by December 31, 2008.

Click here for NYS Dept. of Taxation and Finance’s 2008 REBATE web-page for further information on this benefit.

Often when considering making improvements to a residence, owners hesitate because of the property tax implications.  To keep the taxes from dissuading owners from reinvesting, the City of Rochester adopted the Residential Improvement Exemption.  Instead of being taxed on the full value of the improvements, eligible properties will have the increase ramped in incrementally over 8 years, with a full exemption the first year.
The requirements are as follows:

• 1 or 2 family residence
• Capital Improvement, not routine maintenance
• Improvement  Value totals at least $3,000 (document with receipts)
• Verification of completion
• Promptly request an inspection after completion to determine the pre and post improvement property value
• Submit the application promptly after completion by the February 1st deadline.  Click here for the forms.

This summer and fall we mailed out the renewal applications to Seniors who received the Seniors Exemption previously.  Please do not hesitate to call us at 428-6994 if you have any questions or concerns.

If you are age 65 or older by December 31, 2009 (or a surviving spouse age 62 or older) and own and reside on the property - please complete a Seniors Exemption application by February 1st, if you have not previously applied.  For further details and an application click on “Residential Exemptions” in the left hand menu or call 428-6994.