A 6579: Authorizes municipalities to offer a real property tax exemption for active military service members who at any time during the taxable year performed active duty in the armed forces in a combat zone; defines terms; makes related provisions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6579 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a real proper- ty tax exemption for property owned by certain persons performing active duty in a combat zone The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new 2 section 458-d to read as follows: 3 § 458-d. Active service exemption. 1. For the purposes of this 4 section: 5 (a) "active military service member" shall mean an individual serving 6 on active duty. 7 (b) "active duty" shall have the same meaning as such term is used in 8 section 101 of title 10 of the United States code. 9 (c) "armed forces" shall mean the army, navy, marine corps, air force, 10 space force, coast guard, or army or air national guard of the United 11 States, or New York naval militia. 12 (d) "combat zone" shall mean areas designated by an executive order 13 from the President of the United States in which the United States armed 14 forces are engaging or have engaged in combat. 15 (e) "military duty station" shall mean the permanent location to which 16 an active military service member is assigned for duty as specified on 17 the individual's permanent change of status orders. 18 (f) "qualified owner" means an active military service member whose 19 military duty station places such active military service member's resi- 20 dence within the boundaries of New York state. 21 (g) "qualified residential real property" means property owned by a 22 qualified owner which is used exclusively for residential purposes; 23 provided, however, that in the event that any portion of such property 24 is not used exclusively for residential purposes, but is used for other EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05775-03-5 
 A. 6579 2 1 purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation and only the remain- 2 ing portion used exclusively for residential purposes shall be subject 3 to the exemption provided by this section. 4 (h) "latest state equalization rate" means the latest final equaliza- 5 tion rate established by the state board pursuant to article twelve of 6 this chapter. 7 (i) "latest class ratio" means the latest final class ratio estab- 8 lished by the state board pursuant to title one of article twelve of 9 this chapter for use in a special assessing unit as defined in section 10 eighteen hundred one of this chapter. 11 2. The governing body of any county, city, town or village may adopt a 12 local law or resolution to provide an active military service member, 13 who at any time during the taxable year performed active duty in the 14 armed forces in a combat zone as documented by a copy of such active 15 military service member's military orders or certified letter from such 16 active military service member's commanding officer, an exemption from 17 taxation on qualifying residential real property up to twenty-five 18 percent of the assessed value of such property, provided, that such 19 exemption shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars or the product of 20 twenty thousand dollars multiplied by the latest state equalization rate 21 for the assessing unit, or in the case of a special assessing unit, the 22 class ratio, whichever is less. Such local law or resolution shall 23 establish a maximum exemption percentage or maximum exempt dollar amount 24 not to exceed the levels outlined in this subdivision. 25 3. The exemption from taxation provided by this section shall be 26 applicable to any county, city, town, or village, but shall not be 27 applicable to taxes levied for school purposes. If an active military 28 service member is currently receiving an exemption under section four 29 hundred fifty-eight, four hundred fifty-eight-a or four hundred fifty- 30 eight-b of this title in any given taxable year, the active duty service 31 member shall not be eligible to receive the exemption under this section 32 during the same taxable year. 33 4. Application for exemption shall be made by the owner, or all of the 34 owners, of the property on a form prescribed by the state board. The 35 owner or owners shall file the completed form in the assessor's office 36 on or before the first appropriate taxable status date. The owner or 37 owners of the property shall be required to refile each year. Appli- 38 cants shall refile on or before the appropriate taxable status date. Any 39 applicant convicted of willfully making any false statement in the 40 application for such exemption shall be subject to the penalties 41 prescribed in the penal law. 42 5. In a city having a population of one million or more, applications 43 for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall be consid- 44 ered timely filed if they are on or before the fifteenth day of March of 45 the appropriate year. 46 6. A local law or resolution adopted pursuant to this section may be 47 repealed by the governing body of the applicable county, city, town, or 48 village. Such repeal shall occur at least ninety days prior to the taxa- 49 ble status date of such county, city, town, or village. 50 § 2. This act shall take effect on the second day of January next 51 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply 52 to real property having a taxable status date on or after such effective 53 date.