HUNDREDS of dollars are being sent out to Americans as a form of school tax relief this fall.
In New York, the STAR payment program is paying homeowners from a $2.2 billion pot.
Citizens in New York state are being compensated for school property tax payments[/caption]
The state’s School Tax Relief (STAR) scheme is paying citizens between $350 and $600 to account for the school property tax they pay to fund local education.
If you qualify for STAR, it would be reflected on your tax bill.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul praised the work of STAR in a statement.
She said: “The STAR program provides needed school tax relief to millions of New York homeowners — and the program is now in full swing.
“…My administration is putting money back in the pockets of families with check and credit deliveries continuing to go out to hundreds of thousands of homeowners statewide.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie added to this that millions of households in the state would benefit.
He commented: “Because of the STAR program, more than three million homeowners across the state will receive $2.2 billion in tax relief, easing the financial burden on families and putting money back into our communities.”
PAYMENT CRITERIA
The payments are being made available to those on Basic STAR credit with a combined household income $500,000 or less.
To qualify for Basic STAR, a recipient must own a primary residence in New York in addition to the income requirement.
Seniors over the age of 65 must have a household income of $107,300 or less for 2025 to receive Enhanced STAR.
They must also own a primary residence in New York to qualify.
These New York residents are being paid between $700 and $1,500, depending on their district and its school tax rate.
The $2.2 billion is being split like this between the state districts:
- Long Island: $698.4 million
- Mid-Hudson: $488.5 million
- Finger Lakes: $205.2 million
- Western NY: $178.5 million
- NYC: $158.6 million
- Capital Region: $144.5 million
- Central NY: $131.1 million
- Southern Tier: $109.6 million
- Mohawk Valley: $66.3 million
- North Country: $47.2 million
Majority of Americans plan out tax refund spending half a YEAR in advance
A new study conducted by Talker Research has found a third of Americans plan out what to spend their tax refund on half of a year in advance.
The new poll of 2,000 U.S. taxpayers found 79% believe they’ll get some sort of refund this year, and many of them have already planned out what to spend it on.
A majority (52%) said their tax refund is an important part of their budgeting plans, and 77% plan to spend their refund on necessities.
Chief among necessities were bills like rent (52%), groceries and essential items (44%) and credit card debt (37%).
Over half (56%) of those spending their refund money on credit card debt are specifically targeting their holiday season purchases.
Meanwhile, 8% are planning to spend their refund on luxuries.
They’re spending their refund on new clothes (37%), entertainment (28%) and new phones (26%).
Commissioned by TaxSlayer and conducted by Talker Research, the study found the average person hopes to receive roughly $1,700 in tax refund money this year.
A fifth (22%) believe they’ll end up with more money this year than last, while 26% believe the opposite. Half (51%) expect to receive about the same amount.
Last year, 12% said they got a larger-than-expected tax refund, while 20% recalled getting less than what they expected.
Many respondents expecting to receive more this year said it was due to withholding more money on their W-2, making more money in the past year and having a newborn.
And those expecting to receive less shared potential causes why: losing their job, owing back taxes, children aging into adulthood and increased tax rates.
Survery by Talker Research.
PAYMENT SCHEDULE
The payment schedule began in the summer, and areas such as NYC, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse have already received their checks, with some receiving them as early as late June and others in mid-July.
In New York City, those who were eligible received their checks on June 16.
For those who have not been sent their payment yet, they can see the status of their check using this link.
There are no exact dates provided on this website for when the payments will be sent out.
New Yorkers can sign up to receive their payment through a direct deposit, too.
The state requires that new homeowners be issued a check instead of an exemption, meaning that a person would not have to pay the cost of school property taxes.
According to state law, to receive an exemption, homeowners must have owned their home since 2015.
The value of a STAR check can increase by up to 2% in value each year.
The payments are being made available to those on Basic STAR credit with a combined household income $500,000 or less[/caption]
