- From Brands to Everyday Words: Iconic Products That Became Part of the American Vocabulary - December 20, 2025
- The Highest-Paying Jobs in the U.S. by Hourly Wage - December 20, 2025
- Industries Offering the Highest Wages in the U.S. – Are You One Of Them? - December 20, 2025
Property taxes. Nobody loves them, but we all pay them. In New York, though, something much more troubling than high bills is quietly happening to thousands of homeowners across the state. They’re being charged more than they legally should, and in some cases, those overcharges are downright illegal. While most people assume assessments are airtight, the reality is far messier than you’d expect.
Here’s the thing: these errors aren’t always huge, dramatic mistakes that scream for attention. Sometimes they’re small clerical blunders buried in paperwork. Other times they’re systematic flaws in how properties are valued. Either way, they cost real people real money every single year. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on behind the scenes.
How Assessment Errors Sneak Into the System
Let’s be real: property assessment isn’t a perfect science. New York law defines specific types of correctible errors, including clerical mistakes like incorrect entries of assessed value that don’t match the assessor’s records, mathematical errors in computing exemptions, and entries made due to the assessor’s failure to act on a partial exemption. These aren’t theoretical problems. They happen all the time.
Think about it. Assessors manage thousands of properties, relying on databases, field notes, and property cards that can be transcribed incorrectly. A clerical error can occur when there’s an incorrect entry of assessed valuation on an assessment roll that doesn’t conform to the entry on the property record card or field book. Maybe someone typed the wrong number. Maybe an exemption that should have been applied never made it into the system.
Then there are what the state calls errors in essential fact. These include situations like an incorrect entry on the assessment roll for an improvement that was destroyed or removed before the taxable status date, or an improvement that wasn’t even in existence. Imagine paying taxes on a garage you tore down two years ago simply because no one updated the records.
When Unlawful Entries Cross the Line
Some overcharges go beyond mistakes and venture into unlawful territory. An unlawful entry can mean an entry on the assessment roll for property that is wholly exempt from taxation, property located entirely outside the boundaries of the assessing unit, or an entry made by someone without the authority to make it. That last one should raise eyebrows.
Honestly, if you’re paying property taxes on a building that shouldn’t be taxed at all, or on land that’s technically in a different town, you’re dealing with more than a clerical oops. Correction of errors provisions apply to all municipal corporations except New York City. In NYC, there’s a separate system, but the principle is the same: if it’s wrong, it needs fixing.
The Systematic Inequity Problem
Here’s where things get really frustrating. Beyond individual errors, New York City’s property tax system significantly favors wealthy neighborhoods over working people, with homeowners in Staten Island, Southeast Queens, Eastern Brooklyn, and the Northeast Bronx sometimes paying three times the effective tax rate of homeowners in Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn.
Predominantly Black neighborhoods in NYC pay higher property tax rates than wealthier, whiter areas like Park Slope and the East Village. This isn’t just about accidental overcharges anymore. It’s about a system that’s fundamentally rigged to favor certain areas over others. New York City’s property tax system is notoriously opaque, confusing, and inequitable.
Tax Equity Now New York argues that the city imposes substantially unequal tax burdens on similarly valued properties, with the tax code allegedly violating federal and state law by unfairly taxing renters and homeowners in lower-income areas and neighborhoods of color compared to more affluent areas. A landmark lawsuit is working its way through the courts right now.
Overcharges That Hit Commercial Properties Too
Many property owners unknowingly overpay property taxes due to inaccurate assessments. This problem extends beyond residential homes. The city uses a systematized approach to valuing property, often creating an inaccurate value assessment. Commercial property owners face their own battles with assessment errors.
It gets worse when procedural requirements trip people up. Failure to file required documentation like the RPIE by the deadline can result in penalties and may even affect a property owner’s ability to file a tax grievance, as the Department of Finance may not allow you to contest your property tax assessment. So not only can you be overcharged, but missing a deadline can lock you into that overcharge.
How to Spot If You’re Being Overcharged
So how do you know if you’re one of the unlucky ones? Start by checking your assessment against comparable properties in your area. Unequal assessment, where property is assessed at a higher percentage of its full market value than all other properties or properties of the same class on the assessment roll, is by far the most common complaint.
Look closely at your property record card. Does the square footage match reality? Are improvements listed that you demolished years ago? Errors can include physical changes not reflected correctly on the assessment roll, physical changes listed when no actual change occurred, or improvements destroyed before the taxable status date still being assessed.
Check your exemptions too. Many homeowners are still overpaying because their property’s assessed value is too high, and tax grievance specialists can handle your entire property tax grievance from start to finish if you’re being unfairly overcharged. Don’t assume everything’s correct just because it’s on official government paperwork.
Fighting Back Through the Grievance Process
A property tax grievance is a term specific to New York, and it’s how property owners and homeowners contest the assessed value of their property, which largely determines their annual tax rate. The process varies by county, but the basic idea is the same: you file a formal complaint challenging your assessment.
Grievance Day is generally observed by towns on the fourth Tuesday in May, though this date may vary within New York, and missing the deadline could foreclose the opportunity to challenge the assessment for the current year. Timing matters enormously here. Miss the window and you’re stuck for another year.
Increasing taxes on a property due to filing a tax grievance is illegal. That’s important to know. Some people worry that challenging their assessment will backfire, but the law protects you. In New York, the municipality cannot increase your property taxes based on an unsuccessful or non-reduced grievance. It’s a no-lose situation.
When Corrections Are Possible
The Department of Finance will only correct eligible errors that occurred during the tax year in which an Administrative Review Application is submitted, the two directly preceding tax years, or any combination thereof. That’s your window for retroactive relief. If approved, corrections could be made retroactively for the affected tax years.
Not every error qualifies, though. Certain situations, like failing to receive a proper credit against taxes in prior years, may not qualify as a clerical error, unlawful entry, or error in essential fact under the Correction of Errors provisions, meaning no refund of excess taxes paid in previous years is authorized. The system has limits.
Professional Help Makes a Real Difference
Let’s be honest: navigating this process alone can feel overwhelming. Professional fees are typically 25 to 50 percent of first-year savings, making them cost-effective for most cases. Many homeowners hire experienced tax grievance firms due to the complexity and time involved, and professionals often have stronger success rates and handle appeals if needed.
Successful grievances typically result in 5 to 20 percent assessment reductions, saving anywhere from roughly five hundred to over five thousand dollars annually depending on your property value and tax rate. Those aren’t small numbers when you add them up over several years.
What Happens If You Win
Reductions are retroactive to the start of the tax year for which the grievance was filed. If your grievance is successful, any overpaid property taxes are usually refunded or credited against future bills. You’re not just getting lower bills going forward; you can recover money you’ve already paid.
You may receive a tax refund for overpaid taxes and lower taxes going forward as future benefits. The process isn’t instant, though. The grievance process can take 12 to 24 months. Patience is required, but the payoff can be substantial.
Why This Matters Beyond Your Tax Bill
In New York City, property taxes account for approximately 45 percent of the city’s revenue. That’s a massive chunk of the budget funding schools, roads, and public services. When assessments are wrong, it doesn’t just hurt individual homeowners. It distorts the entire system.
NYC’s tax system allows vacant lots to accrue value without penalty, while fully occupied apartment buildings contribute disproportionately to city revenue. Meanwhile, regular people are stuck overpaying because of errors no one bothered to fix. Assessment methods favor luxury condos and co-ops, forcing middle and low-income owners to shoulder an excessive tax burden.
The Bottom Line on Illegal Overcharges
Look, property taxes will never be fun. They’re a necessary part of funding the infrastructure and services we all use. The problem isn’t that we pay them; it’s that too many New Yorkers are paying more than they legally owe because of errors, inequities, and a system that’s badly in need of reform.
If your assessment seems off, don’t just shrug and assume the government got it right. Check your records. Compare your assessment to similar properties. File a grievance if the numbers don’t add up. You might be one of the thousands of homeowners being overcharged illegally, and correcting that error could put thousands of dollars back in your pocket. Are you really comfortable paying more than your fair share?
Besides founding Festivaltopia, Luca is the co founder of trib, an art and fashion collectiv you find on several regional events and online. Also he is part of the management board at HORiZONTE, a group travel provider in Germany.
