Information for Mobile Home Park Tenants
& Link to Printable STAR Application


Town of Elbridge Assessor’s Office
5 Route 31 • PO Box 568 • Jordan, NY 13080-0568
Phone: 315/689-7405   Fax: 315/689-3122
Lawrence E. Fitts, Sole Assessor


To:        Elbridge Resident Property Owner(s)

From:   Assessor’s Office

Re:       School TAx Relief (STAR) [Basic (B) or Enhanced/Sr (E)] and other Exemptions – Filing Deadline March 1st

If you own and reside in your own MH unit within a MHP you are eligible to receive a STAR or any other exemption you may qualify for.  All exemption applications are to be filed with the Assessor’s Office only.  School tax bills are sent out in the beginning of September.  The AO will send a notice to the MHPO when a completed list of MHPT’s that applied for exemptions and the tax rates are completed.  This notice will show how much reimbursement is due to each MHPT [MHPO is allowed to charge a 2% paperwork fee] who filed.  If a MHPT chooses to apply for “OTHER EXEMPTIONS” (you must read paragraph below), besides STAR, another completed list would be sent in January for the Town and County Taxes.  For all Exemption applications you must present the following proof with your application.

Proof of Ownership ‡            –            Bill of Sale or a Title of the Unit

Proof of Residency           –           Driver’s License with the first page of your NYSEG utility bill; A copy of your Car Registration along with a copy of your driver’s license [one showing your physical address].  At any time the Assessor’s Office may ask for proof of residency.

SINGLE WIDE (SW) UNITS – STAR EXEMPTION:

For all Tenants with a SW unit, no matter of age will receive a B-STAR exemption*.  This will have no affect on the amount of money/rent reduction that you will receive back.  Unless noted on the application it will be assumed that you are only applying for STAR and no other type of exemption [this refers to Tenants 65 years of age or older].

DOUBLE WIDE (DW) UNITS – STAR EXEMPTION:

For Tenant’s with a DW unit the next determination is which category of STAR you qualify for.  If you are under the age of 65 years then it will be the B-STAR exemption, but if you will be 65 years old or older by year-end and your income is less than $66,050, you would qualify for the E/Sr-STAR exemption [up to $50,000 off of taxable value*, but the value will not exceed what the unit is assessed for.], those exceeding $66,050 would receive a B-STAR.  It will be assumed that you are only applying for STAR and no other type of exemption [this refers to Tenants 65 years of age or older] unless you specify otherwise.

For the E/Sr-STAR exemption you must file a renewal application every year, which will be mailed to you from this office.  If married, only one listed owner‡ must be 65 years of age by year-end, otherwise all listed owners must be 65, but the income of ALL owners, including non-resident owners, must be included.  A spouse’s income must be included even if not a listed owner.  Proof of income must be attached to the application (copy of: prior year’s federal or NYS income tax return, OR if no tax returns were filed, copies of all year end income statements).  For the initial application, proof of age must be provided in the form of a driver’s license.  If a driver’s license is not available then you may use a birth certificate, passport, or service record, with a photo ID.

OTHER EXEMPTIONS:

For those who choose to apply for other exemptions, which they qualify for, besides STAR [ex. Sr Citizen [different than E/Sr-STAR], Veterans, Disability Income, ...] you would have to provide further information for the type of exemption you are filing for.  You will become separately assessed.  This means that you will have your own tax map number, which means that you will receive two separate tax bills a year that you are responsible for paying.  The first tax bill is the school tax in September; the second is the town/county tax in January.  You must confer with your MHP Owner/Manager to see how the tax bills will be handled.  The MHP Owner will reimburse you one of two ways, either by rent reduction or by check.  You will be responsible for paying the tax bill, and then making a copy of the paid receipt and forwarding the copy onto the MHP Owner/Manager.  Once proof of payment is received you should be reimbursed within a reasonable time period for the amount of the tax bill and the exemption savings.  This office forwards a totals sheet to the MHP Owner by the end of September, so the MHPO knows the total amount payable to each of their tenants who have applied for exemptions.  Please note that if no copy of a paid receipt is forwarded onto the MHP Owner/Manager they do not have to reimburse you until a copy is received.  If you happen to sell your unit that is separately assessed, you must notify the intended buyers that they will become responsible for any tax bills that are received.  Once we are able to merge the taxable unit back into the Park they will no longer be separately assessed, unless they apply for Other Exemptions.

Should you have any questions please contact our office at 315/689-7405.  Office hours are 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Thursday.  If no one is available to take your call please leave a voice message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

 

STAR Applications are available online by clicking the link below:
 http://www.orps.state.ny.us/ref/forms/pdf/rp425.pdf