Real Estate

NYC homeowners leave $75M in tax rebates unclaimed

It’s free money– and people aren’t taking it.

New York City homeowners are poised to give away nearly $75 million in state property tax rebates because they are ignoring a new filing deadline, according to a budget watchdog.

For the first time since the state enacted the STAR tax abatement 15 years ago, homeowners — including co-op and condo owners — are required to register with the state in order to receive the tax break in the upcoming fiscal year.

More than 3 million properties currently receive the Basic or Enhanced STAR exemption statewide.

The tax break costs the state more than $3 billion annually.

It’ll worth about $300 per home in 2015.

But nearly 250,000 city households — 53 percent — have not yet registered, one of the worst rates in the state.

The highest response rate is in Staten Island, where 64 percent of homeowners registered. The lowest rate is in the Bronx, where 47 percent registered. Brooklyn’s rate is 50 percent, Queens’ rate is 52 percent, and Manhattan’s rate is 53 percent.

In the past, the rebate just kicked in automatically. But this year, homeowners were required to file by Dec. 31 so tax department assessors can root out fraud and improper claims.

Homeowners are only supposed to receive the benefit for one property. Until now, the program operated on the honor system.

But an audit released earlier this year by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that about a fifth of the claims were in fact ineligible. Most of the ineligible claims came from “double-dipping” homeowners for properties that were not their primary residence.

Senior citizen homeowners getting the enhanced benefit do not have to register.

The state began alerting New York homeowners to the new registration requirement in August and sent out a second notice in September. Officials followed up in November with “Register Now,” postcards with a heavy focus on New York City.

Registration can be done online or by calling 518-457-2036.