New York property tax answers · Updated June 2026
How do I protest my property taxes in New York?
The short answer
Outside New York City and Nassau County, you file a grievance on Form RP-524 with your town or city Board of Assessment Review, usually on Grievance Day (commonly the fourth Tuesday in May, but towns set their own date). It is free. Bring comparable assessments showing your home is assessed above similar nearby homes. If the board denies you, you can file a Small Claims Assessment Review. New York City and Nassau County run separate systems with earlier deadlines.
The New York grievance, step by step
- Check the tentative assessment roll your municipality publishes (most towns post it around May 1) and note your assessed value.
- Pull 3 to 5 comparable homes nearby (similar size, age, lot, condition) and compare their assessed values to yours. If yours is higher per square foot, that is your unequal-assessment argument.
- File Form RP-524, the Complaint on Real Property Assessment, with your town or city Board of Assessment Review by Grievance Day, commonly the fourth Tuesday in May. Confirm your municipality's exact date with the assessor. There is no filing fee.
- Attend the Board of Assessment Review. Present your comparables and any condition issues. The board can reduce your assessment on the spot.
- If the board denies relief, owner-occupants of a one-, two-, or three-family home can file for Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) within 30 days of the final roll, for a modest court fee. It is a simplified process, not a full lawsuit.
New York City and Nassau County are their own animals
Two big caveats most guides skip. New York City does not use Grievance Day at all, you file with the NYC Tax Commission, usually around March 1. Nassau County runs its own Assessment Review Commission with a separate, typically spring deadline. If you live in either, ignore the fourth-Tuesday-in-May rule and confirm the date with that body directly.
Statewide, New York's average real-estate tax bill runs around $6,300 a year, but downstate and on Long Island the real numbers are far higher, which is exactly why a successful grievance is worth the hour it takes. You can pull your county's data and check your own address on our New York page.
The evidence is the whole game
New York grievances are won on comparables, similar homes assessed lower than yours, or recent sales below your assessed value. A clean table beats a paragraph of complaint every time. The free check shows how your assessment stacks up against similar properties in about 30 seconds, no signup. If the record shows a gap, the $49 protest kit comes pre-filled with the comparable evidence for you, ready to sign and submit, and you keep 100% of whatever you save. And remember the floor: in most New York grievances the board reduces or leaves your assessment alone, but confirm your municipality's rules before you file.
See if your home is over-assessed, free
Search your address and see how your assessment compares against similar properties from the public assessment roll. Free, no signup, about 30 seconds. If the record shows a gap, the $49 protest kit comes pre-filled with your comparable evidence and the filing steps for your jurisdiction, you sign and submit, and you keep 100% of the savings. No contingency, ever.
Check my address · FreeFlat $49, one time. Filing your own appeal is free in every state; what you're buying is the evidence and the steps, done.