If you haven't received a STAR credit or exemption, you can't claim the Real Property Tax Relief Credit.
To receive a STAR exemption, you must have received it in 2015. If you weren't receiving the STAR exemption on your property in 2015, you aren't eligible to receive it now.
If don't have a STAR exemption, then, if you otherwise qualify for the credit (see requirements below), you would need to have received a STAR credit in 2023.
You'd probably know if you were getting the STAR credit, since you need to register to qualify. See Register for the Basic and Enhanced STAR credits.
To see if you received a STAR credit, you can look up property tax credits previously paid to you on the Department of Taxation and Finance's Property Tax Credit Lookup tool.
According to the Instructions for Form IT-229, Real Property Tax Relief Credit, to be eligible for this credit, you must meet all the following requirements:
- you are a New York State taxpayer who, for the purposes of this credit, is required to file a return under Tax Law Article 22;
- you were a New York State resident for all of the tax year;
- you owned real property that:
- was your primary residence for six months or more of the tax year, and
- received the STAR benefit as either an exemption or a credit;
- any rent you received from nonresidential use of your residence was 20% (0.2) or less of the total rental income you received;
- you paid the real property taxes on the property fully or partially; and
- your qualified gross income was $250,000 or less.
