Cuomo's Proposed Tax Credit Leaves Co-op and Condo Owners Wondering
Governor Andrew Cuomo
Jan. 15, 2015 — Will co-ops and condos be included?
It's a fair question. Earlier this week, as part of his proposed budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a property tax credit that will affect more than 1 million homeowners and 1 million renters — but was worryingly quiet on whether co-op and condo owners would be affected.
The credit, which will be included in the governor's proposed budget next week, will target households whose income is less than $250,000 annually and whose property taxes are at least 6 percent of that income. The credit follows after Governor Cuomo's successful introduction of a 2 percent property tax cap in 2011 — which is important, because homeowners who fit the financial qualifications will only be eligible if their communities keep their property tax increase under that cap. As far as renters are concerned, the terms to qualify are slightly different: renters must have an income of less than $150,000 and the portion of their rent attributed to property taxes must be more than 6 percent.
According the governor's office, the average credit will be $950. The system is described as "targeted real property tax relief based on an individual homeowner's ability to pay, also known as the circuit breaker."
This is all great news for homeowners across the state, since New York has the highest real property taxes in the nation, but it still doesn't answer the question of how it affects one of the biggest residential groups in the city: co-op and condo owners. Because co-ops and condos are taxed differently from single-family homes, there's concern that the credit could pass them by entirely.
Phone calls and e-mail to the governor's office have not yet been returned, but we'll be updating this story as more information is made available.
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Photo source: www.governor.ny.gov