Frequently Asked Questions

The New York State Assessors’ Association pamphlet, “Understanding Assessments and Property Taxes,” states: The Assessor has a right to go to your front door and seek admittance (possibly he or she will only want to inspect the exterior of the house) but must leave the premises if asked to do so. If it is really inconvenient to allow an inspection at that time, tell your visitor just that and try to make an appointment for some other date. However, if you can spare the ten minutes or so that will usually be required, we urge that you allow it to proceed so that the information necessary for equitable assessment can be gathered. The pamphlet cautions property owners not to allow anyone into their homes without proper identification, preferably I.D. cards with photographs signed by an authorized town or city official. “No identification — no entry!” 

Before assessing any parcel of property, the assessor estimates its market value. Market value is how much a property would sell for, in an open market, under normal conditions. To estimate market values, the assessor must be familiar with all aspects of the local real estate market. A property’s value can be estimated in three different ways. First, property is compared to others similar to it that have sold recently, using only sales where the buyer and seller both acted without undue pressure. This method is called the market approach and is normally used to value residential, vacant, and farm properties. The second way is to calculate the cost, using today’s labor and material prices, to replace the structure with a similar one. If the structure is not new, the assessor determines the depreciation since it was built. The resulting value is added to an estimate of the market value of the land. This method, called the cost approach, is used to value special purpose and utility properties. The third way is to analyze how much income a property (like an apartment building, store, or factory) will produce if rented. Operating expenses, insurance, maintenance costs, financing terms, and how much money expected to be earned are considered. This method is called the income approach . Properties in sub optimal uses generally may not be assessed at market value; they must be assessed at their current-use value. Assessors with computers can estimate values more efficiently than by hand. Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) techniques are used to analyze sales and estimate values for many properties at once. Once the assessor estimates the market value of a property, its assessment is calculated. New York State law provides that all property within a municipality be assessed at a uniform percent of market value. The level of assessment can be five percent, 20 percent, 50 percent, or any other fraction, up to 100 percent. Everyone pays his or her fair share of taxes as long as every property in a locality is assessed at the same percent of value. For example, a house with a market value of $100,000 located in a town that assesses at 15 percent of value would have an assessment of $15,000. The assessment is multiplied by the tax rate for each taxing jurisdiction – city, town, village, school district, etc. – to determine the tax bills.

For further explanation of this process, see “How the Property Tax Works.”

All real property, commonly known as real estate, is assessed. Real property is defined as land and any permanent structures attached to it. Some examples of real property are houses, gas stations, office buildings, vacant land, motels, shopping centers, saleable natural resources (oil, gas, timber), farms, apartment buildings, factories, restaurants, and, in most instances, mobile homes. 

The assessor is obligated by New York State law to maintain assessments at a uniform percentage of market value each year. The assessor signs an oath to this effect when certifying the tentative assessment roll — the document containing each property assessment. The physical description (or inventory) and value estimate of every parcel is required to be kept current. In order to maintain a uniform roll, each year your assessor will need to analyze all of the properties in the municipality to determine which assessments need to be changed. Where assessments need to be changed, in some cases, your assessor will be able to increase or decrease the assessments of a neighborhood or group of properties by applying real estate market trends to those properties. This is possible only when the assessments to be changed are at a uniform level other than the municipality’s stated level of assessment. In other cases, the assessor will need to conduct physical reinspections for reappraisals of properties. Every assessing unit should be keeping all assessments at a fair and uniform level every year. The assessment roll shows assessments and appropriate exemptions. Every year the roll, with preliminary or tentative assessments, is made available for public inspection. After the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) has acted on assessment complaints and ordered any changes, the tentative assessment roll is made final. 

Assessors must obtain basic certification by New York State within three years of taking office*. This requires the successful completion of orientation, three assessment administration course components, and five appraisal components, including farm appraisal for certain agricultural communities. The New York State Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) prescribes the components. *Assessors in Nassau County, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers are not required to obtain basic certification. Each year, appointed assessors must complete an average of 24 hours of continuing education. Both elected and appointed assessors may attain any of three advanced designations awarded by ORPS: State Certified Assessor-Advanced, State Certified Assessor-Professional, and State Certified Assessor-National. 

The assessor is a local government official who estimates the value of real property within a city, town, or village’s boundaries. This value is converted into an assessment, which is one component in the computation of real property tax bills. 

“State equalization rate” means the percentage of full value at which taxable real property in a county, city, town or village is assessed as determined by the state board.” (RPTL Section 102) The rate is a ratio of the sum of the locally determined assessed values for all taxable parcels for a given assessment roll divided by ORPS’s estimate of total full value for that same roll. 

Click here to view NYSORPS Equalization Rates Click here to view NYSORPS Understanding the Equalization Page

A percentage established by the State Board of Real Property Services according to law, using the ratio of assessed value to the sales price for each usable residential sale in a recent one-year period. Ratios are then listed from highest to lowest; the midpoint (median) ratio is selected as the RAR. The RAR can be used to prove that a residential property is assessed at a higher level than other homes on the assessment roll. Your locality’s RAR indicates at what percent of full value residential properties are assessed. For example, a RAR of 20 indicates that residential properties are assessed at approximately 20 percent of their full value. 

Click here to view NYSORPS Residential Assessment Ratio page

The ownership and physical condition of real property as of this date are assessed (valued) according to price fixed as of the valuation date. All applications for property exemptions must be filed with the assessor by this date.

The percentage of market value (full value) used by an assessing unit to establish uniform assessments. This value must appear on the tentative roll. Real Property Tax Law Section 305 specifies, “all real property in each assessing unit shall be assessed at a uniform percentage of value…”

Click here to be directed to the NYSORPS page regarding the level of assessment