To most, the month of May means the start of Spring and warm weather. But to Suffolk County property owners, the month of May means Spring, warm weather AND the real property tax grievance filing period. As always, the Suffolk County filing period for real property tax grievances begins on May 1st and ends on the third Tuesday of May – this year May 20th".
Suffolk County is comprised of ten (10) towns: Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, South Hampton and Southold. Real property tax grievances are filed directly with the Assessor's Office in the town where the property is located. Each of these ten towns has its own filing process and so it is best to research your town's filing requirements. Suffolk County Towns generally afford only a cursory review (at best) of administrative grievances so a property owner should expect to need to file judicial appeal when the tax roll goes final later in the Summer. For this reason, and many others, Suffolk property owners may want to seek the assistance of an attorney experienced in real property tax assessment appeals.
See here for list of Suffolk County town websites for specific filing requirements: FAQs (suffolkcountyny.gov)
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
