Due to changes New York state made to the Enhanced STAR tax exemption earlier this year, all residents age 65+ enrolled in Enhanced STAR now need to also be enrolled in the state’s Income Verification Program (IVP) to continue receiving their Enhanced STAR benefit.

The deadline to enroll in IVP is March 1, 2019.

Prior to 2019, residents who qualified for a senior citizen exemption were automatically enrolled in the Enhanced STAR exemption program. If a resident is already enrolled in IVP, no action is necessary to continue receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption.

Homeowners only have to enroll in IVP once. After that, New York state verifies income eligibility automatically. As long as homeowners remain income-eligible, they will continue to receive the benefit every year.

For the 2019-20 school year, senior citizens age 65 and older with qualifying incomes of $86,300 or less are eligible for Enhanced STAR.

If you have any questions, please contact your town assessor’s office or go to https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/star/ivp.htm