STAR is New York's school tax break for people who own their home and live in it. You sign up once, for free, and the state pays you every year after that. In Nassau, the average Basic STAR check last year was $881. The average Enhanced check, for homes with an owner 65 or older, was $2,507. You can look up your school district in our STAR amounts post.
Here's how to register.
The four steps
1. Gather what you'll need. The state asks for the names and Social Security numbers of every owner and their spouse, your school district, the month and year you bought the home, and your latest school tax bill if you have one. It also wants your 2024 tax return. If you didn't have to file one, have your income figures handy instead.
2. Log in to the state's tax website. Go to the state's STAR page and sign in to your Individual Online Services account. If you don't have one, you can create one there for free.
3. Register in the Homeowner Benefit Portal. From the Services menu, choose Real property tax, then Homeowner Benefit Portal. Click Register and answer the questions.
4. Set up direct deposit while you're there. Choose STAR Credit Direct Deposit in the same portal. Do it at least 15 days before the state issues your credit. Any later and you'll get a paper check this year, with the deposit starting next year. The money can't go into your mortgage escrow account.
If you'd rather do this by phone, call the state at 518-457-2036.
That's the whole process. You never have to register again. Each year the state checks your income and sends the payment on its own. Registering is free, and nobody should charge you to do it.
Basic or Enhanced? The state decides
There are two levels of STAR. Basic STAR has no age rule. Enhanced STAR pays more and goes to homes where an owner who lives there is 65 or older. You don't choose between them. The state works it out from your age and income, and it moves you up to Enhanced on its own in the year an owner in the home turns 65.
STAR also arrives in one of two forms. Anyone who signs up today gets a check or a direct deposit from the state, called the STAR credit. Some longtime owners still have the older STAR exemption, which shows up as a line on the school tax bill. That program is closed to new owners.
If you just bought the home
The state looks at who owned the home on July 1. If you bought before July 1, you can get this year's STAR. If you bought after July 1, your first payment comes next year.
If the seller had the old exemption, it may still appear on your bill for the first year. Register anyway. Your own credit will start the year after.
If you still have the old exemption
You don't need to register. But you can switch to the check if you want to. In the same portal, choose Switch to credit. The check can grow by up to 2% a year, while the line on the bill stays flat. Once you switch, you can't go back.
If you moved, married, or changed the deed
Log in to the same portal and update your registration. The state needs the current owners' names on file to keep paying you.
Every step here comes from the New York State tax department's STAR page.