Tax Impact of Reassessment FAQ

Dear North Shore Parents, Community Members, and Faculty,
I hope that you are enjoying this gorgeous weather and taking some time to go outside, breathe the fresh air, and see the beautiful fall foliage before it’s all gone. In recent days, we have been made aware that a number of North Shore residents have received their tax bills and want to know why they are seeing increases. We have put together this short FAQ below for further clarification:

Q.  What are the things that can affect my taxes?
A. Your property tax bill is based on the assessed value of your property, any exemptions for which you qualify, and a property tax rate.

• Factors such as your property's size, construction type, age, and location can affect your tax bill.
• What your property is used for (residential, apartment, office, commercial, vacant land, and so on) will also affect what you pay.
• Changes made to your assessed value by the Nassau County Assessor’s office can affect the amount of school taxes you pay.

 

Q. How does the assessment affect my tax bills?
A. Your school district and other tax districts set annual budgets. The tax revenue required is divided by the assessed value of all property in the district to determine the tax rate. In most districts, separate rates are determined for each class of property. Nassau County multiplies the rates for the districts in which your property is located by the assessed value of your property to determine your bills for school and general taxes. 

Q. What are the four classes of property? 
A. The four classes of property include Class 1 (single family homes), Class 2 (co-ops and condos), Class 3 (utilities), and Class 4 (commercial). We like to think of total tax to collect as a whole pizza pie, it is Nassau County’s job to determine the size of everyone’s slice.  

Q. What is a tax levy?                                                                                                                                             
A. It is the amount of revenue that is raised through taxation from all property owners in the district to fund the school budget. It is limited by the NY State tax cap.

Q. When will I know my actual tax numbers?                                                                                                                                             
A. Your actual property tax amounts will appear on your school tax bill in October 2020 and your general tax bill in January 2021.

Q. Why are my actual taxes higher than the tax levy increase?                                                           
A. This is a result of the first countywide reassessment of your homes in nearly a decade authorized by NY State and adopted by the Nassau County Legislature. The recent reassessment resulted in approximately 95% of all properties increasing in market value. Due to the reassessment, a number of North Shore residents experienced an increase in the market value of their homes and taxes. If the assessment of your home had a larger than normal increase, your taxes would have likely increased at a proportional rate.

Q. What is the Taxpayer Protection Plan (TPP)?                                                                           
A. The TPP provides a five-year phase-in of any increase to the assessed value of your property, over a five-year period beginning in tax year 2020/2021 based on the calculation of your property’s value. An increase also may be attributed to prior tax grievances. For more information on the Taxpayer Protection Plan, please visit https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/4795/Taxpayer-Protection-Plan-FAQ.

Q. Can a school district determine your property assessment?                                                                                                                                              
A. No. The school district can only determine the tax levy while Nassau County determines a property’s assessment. The increases that our residents are experiencing are a direct result of the first countywide reassessment in nearly a decade authorized by NY State and adopted by Nassau County Legislature. The TPP redistributed the taxes based on the reassessment of your homes, which the school district has no control over.  Without the reassessment, most residents would have seen a 3.03% increase consistent with the tax levy increase that was approved by the Board of Education and our voters in the community.

Q. Was the reassessment the main cause of the increase in taxes?                         
A. Yes. The increase in taxes from the shift in the Adjusted Base Proportion for Class 1 (single family homes) this year is minimal, 0.17% of one percent.

The main reason for the changes (shift) in the size of the pie slices is the Taxpayer Protection Plan (TPP).

Property Class

2019-20 Adjusted Base Proportion

2020-21 Adjusted Base Proportion

Percentage Change

Class 1	72.43253 %	72.55600%	.17%  Increase
Class 2	1.50658%	1.36571%	(9.35%) Decrease
Class 3	20.03226%	20.07667%	.22% Increase
Class 4	6.02863%	6.00162%	.45% Decrease

I hope this further clarifies the tax impact on the recent reassessment by Nassau County.
Very truly yours,

Dr. Peter Giarrizzo                                                                                                         
Superintendent of Schools