A 4979: Relates to the term "income" for purposes of the school tax relief exemption; adds 401(k) and 403(b) accounts to the list of eligible income deductions when determining Enhanced STAR eligibility.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4979 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, SEAWRIGHT, MAGNARELLI, KELLES, HUNTER, SIMON, STECK, BRAUNSTEIN, DAVILA, ANGELINO, MIKULIN, GALLAHAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Real Property Taxation AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to the term "income" for purposes of the school tax relief exemption The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of 2 section 425 of the real property tax law, as amended by section 1 of 3 part B of chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 4 (ii) The term "income" as used herein shall mean the "adjusted gross 5 income" for federal income tax purposes as reported on the applicant's 6 federal or state income tax return for the applicable income tax year, 7 subject to any subsequent amendments or revisions, reduced by distrib- 8 utions, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, 9 received from an individual retirement account [and], an individual 10 retirement annuity, a distribution from an account established under 11 section 401(k) or 403(b) of the United States internal revenue code of 12 1986 as amended, or a simplified employee pension plan (SEP) established 13 pursuant to the United States internal revenue code of 1986 as amended; 14 provided that if no such return was filed for the applicable income tax 15 year, "income" shall mean the adjusted gross income that would have been 16 so reported if such a return had been filed. Provided further, that 17 effective with exemption applications for final assessment rolls to be 18 completed in two thousand nineteen, where an income-eligibility determi- 19 nation is wholly or partly based upon the income of one or more individ- 20 uals who did not file a return for the applicable income tax year, then 21 in order for the application to be considered complete, each such indi- 22 vidual must file a statement with the department showing the source or 23 sources of [his or her] each such individual's income for that income 24 tax year, and the amount or amounts thereof, that would have been EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01494-01-5 
 A. 4979 2 1 reported on such a return if one had been filed. Such statement shall be 2 filed at such time, and in such form and manner, as may be prescribed by 3 the department, and shall be subject to the secrecy provisions of the 4 tax law to the same extent that a personal income tax return would be. 5 The department shall make such forms and instructions available for the 6 filing of such statements. The local assessor shall upon the request of 7 a taxpayer assist such taxpayer in the filing of the statement with the 8 department. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 10 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.