What are the property taxes,” asks the diligent buyer. This is a common question and worth getting answered before making an offer. Usually if the house is listed properly the listing agent will provide the tax amounts. As is the case with any information provided by the opposing side, trust but verify. It’s common to ask for actual copies of the tax bills, and in fact sometimes the lender will even require copies to process the mortgage application.
But in the absence of reliable information from the the listing agent, or in the case of new construction, you can use a formula. The rates in the attached document are per $1,000 of assessed value. Therefore, to calculate the approximate total property tax bill (both municipal and school taxes), use this formula: (Tax Rate)x(Sale Price)/$1,000. The tax rates vary significantly from city to town, and from county to county. But the Empire Center for New York State Policy, has some helpful information from 2012 that shows the effective property tax rates by town and school district.
For the full set of tax rates see below. The first list is sorted by municipality (city/town) and then the second document is sorted by tax rates (lowest to highest). In New York, school districts cross municipalities. So for example the Shenendahowa school district encompasses seven different municipalities with seven different tax rates. But for the most part the tax rates don’t significantly fluctuate within school districts, as school districts are the biggest drivers of tax bills.
The tax rate, is the amount of money taxed per $1,000 of assessed value. So for example a house assessed at $200,000 in Albany would pay $36.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $7,280 in the total annual tax bill. This would not include any New York State Property Tax STAR exemption. All homeowners are entitled to a STAR property tax exemption on their primary home, (but not your secondary home). The basic exemption could be worth $400-$500 annually, and the Senior or Veterans STAR exemption could be worth over $1,000 in annual tax savings.
The PDF files are below, follow this link to access the google document which you can sort and use as you prefer.
Capital Region Property Tax Rates Summer 2013
