Senate Bill S5850

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5850
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law and the tax law,  in  relation
   to the definition of income in relation to the enhanced STAR exemption
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  4  of
 section  425  of  the  real property tax law, as amended by section 1 of
 part B of chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   (ii) The term "income" as used herein shall mean the  "adjusted  gross
 income"  for  federal income tax purposes as reported on the applicant's
 federal or state income tax return for the applicable income  tax  year,
 subject  to  any subsequent amendments or revisions, reduced by distrib-
 utions, to  the  extent  included  in  federal  adjusted  gross  income,
 received from an individual retirement account and an individual retire-
 ment  annuity,  AND  DISTRIBUTION FROM A THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN ESTABLISHED
 PRIOR TO JANUARY FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR; provided  that  if
 no  such  return  was filed for the applicable income tax year, "income"
 shall mean the adjusted gross income that would have been so reported if
 such a return had been filed.   Provided further,  that  effective  with
 exemption applications for final assessment rolls to be completed in two
 thousand  nineteen,  where an income-eligibility determination is wholly
 or partly based upon the income of one or more individuals who  did  not
 file  a return for the applicable income tax year, then in order for the
 application to be considered complete, each such individual must file  a
 statement  with  the department showing the source or sources of [his or
 her] THE INDIVIDUAL'S income for that income tax year, and the amount or
 amounts thereof, that would have been reported on such a return  if  one
 had  been filed. Such statement shall be filed at such time, and in such
 form and manner, as may be prescribed by the department,  and  shall  be
 subject to the secrecy provisions of the tax law to the same extent that
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00253-01-5
              

 S. 5850                             2
 
 a  personal  income tax return would be.  The department shall make such
 forms and instructions available for the filing of such statements.  The
 local assessor shall upon the request of a taxpayer assist such taxpayer
 in the filing of the statement with the department.
   §  2.  Subparagraph  (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (eee) of section
 606 of the tax law, as amended by section 10 of part B of chapter 59  of
 the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   (B)  "Affiliated  income"  shall  mean  for purposes of the basic STAR
 credit, the combined income of all of  the  owners  of  the  parcel  who
 resided  primarily  thereon  as  of December thirty-first of the taxable
 year, and of any owners' spouses residing primarily thereon as  of  such
 date,  and for purposes of the enhanced STAR credit, the combined income
 of all of the owners of the parcel as of December  thirty-first  of  the
 taxable  year,  and of any owners' spouses residing primarily thereon as
 of such date; provided that for  both  purposes  the  income  to  be  so
 combined  shall  be  the "adjusted gross income" for the taxable year as
 reported for federal income tax purposes, or that would be  reported  as
 adjusted gross income if a federal income tax return were required to be
 filed,  reduced  by  distributions,  to  the  extent included in federal
 adjusted gross income, received from an  individual  retirement  account
 and  an  individual  retirement  annuity, AND DISTRIBUTION FROM A THRIFT
 SAVINGS PLAN ESTABLISHED PRIOR TO JANUARY FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED EIGHT-
 Y-FOUR. For taxable years beginning on  and  after  January  first,  two
 thousand  nineteen,  where an income-eligibility determination is wholly
 or partly based upon the income of one or more individuals who  did  not
 file  a return pursuant to section six hundred fifty-one of this article
 for the applicable income tax year, then in order to be eligible for the
 credit authorized by this subsection, each such individual must  file  a
 statement  with  the department showing the source or sources of [his or
 her] THE INDIVIDIUAL'S income for that income tax year, and  the  amount
 or  amounts  thereof,  that would have been reported on such a return if
 one had been filed. Such statement shall be filed at such time,  and  in
 such  form and manner, as may be prescribed by the department, and shall
 be subject to the provisions of section six hundred ninety-seven of this
 article to the same extent that a return would be. The department  shall
 make such forms and instructions available for the filing of such state-
 ments.  The  local  assessor shall upon the request of a taxpayer assist
 such taxpayer in the  filing  of  the  statement  with  the  department.
 Provided  further,  that  if  the qualified taxpayer was an owner of the
 property during the taxable year but did not own it on December  thirty-
 first  of  the  taxable  year,  then the determination as to whether the
 income of an individual should be included in "affiliated income"  shall
 be  based  upon the ownership and/or residency status of that individual
 as of the first day of the month during  which  the  qualified  taxpayer
 ceased  to be an owner of the property, rather than as of December thir-
 ty-first of the taxable year.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.