Nassau County, N.Y.Good GrievesSources reviewed September 20, 2026
The senior citizens’ exemption in Nassau County
Enhanced STAR is the senior benefit most people have heard of. The senior citizens’ exemption is a separate, income-based reduction administered by the County, and a household can qualify for both, one, or neither.
Figures on this page are for the 2027–28 applications, based on 2025 income, as published in Nassau County’s senior citizens’ exemption brochure. Limits are set locally and change. Confirm them with the Department of Assessment at (516) 571-1500 before you rely on them. The County’s exemption forms call this the “2027–28 property tax year”; the application deadline, January 4, 2027, is the same day the tentative roll you can appeal in the January 4–March 1, 2027 ARC window is published.
What the exemption does
The senior citizens’ exemption reduces the taxable assessed value of a qualifying senior’s home before tax rates are applied. It is authorized by State law (Real Property Tax Law §467) and offered at local option. In Nassau County, the County’s brochure says it provides reductions of between 5% and 65% on county, town, and school taxes, and no reduction in special district taxes.
It is not an assessment appeal. It does not change the County’s estimate of your home’s value, and it is decided on your age, ownership, residence, and income rather than on comparable sales. If you think the value itself is wrong, that is a separate request; our process guide explains it.
Who qualifies
The County’s brochure lists four requirements:
- Age. Each owner must be 65 or older, except that where the owners are married or are siblings, only one needs to be 65. The County notes that you can apply at 64 if you will be 65 in the year you are filing for.
- Ownership. You must have owned the property for at least 12 consecutive months before applying, unless you received the senior exemption on a previous Nassau property.
- Residence. All owners must occupy the property as their primary residence.
- Income. The combined income of all owners must not exceed the limit set by the local government or school district.
There is a further condition for school taxes. The County states that the exemption generally cannot reduce school taxes if a child living in the home attends public school, unless the child attends a private or parochial school or the school district has opted to allow it. The application asks about school-age children for this reason.
The 2027–28 sliding scale
The reduction depends on income. For 2027–28 applications, Nassau County’s brochure publishes this scale, using 2025 income including Social Security:
| 2025 income | Exemption |
|---|---|
| $47,000 or less | 65% |
| $47,001 – $47,999 | 60% |
| $48,000 – $48,999 | 55% |
| $49,000 – $49,999 | 50% |
| $50,000 – $50,999 | 45% |
| $51,000 – $51,999 | 40% |
| $52,000 – $52,999 | 35% |
| $53,000 – $53,899 | 30% |
| $53,900 – $54,799 | 25% |
| $54,800 – $55,699 | 20% |
| $55,700 – $56,599 | 15% |
| $56,600 – $57,499 | 10% |
| $57,500 – $58,399 | 5% |
The brochure’s chart prints the top of the last band as $58,339, while its text gives the overall limit as $58,399; the County’s disability exemption brochure uses $58,399 for the same band. If your income falls in that range, ask the County which figure it applies. These are the County’s figures. Your town or school district may have adopted different limits, and the percentages above apply only where the taxing jurisdiction offers them.
How income is counted
Income for this exemption is broader than the figure on your tax return. The County defines it as money received from all sources, taxable and non-taxable, and specifically includes Social Security. According to the brochure and application:
- Welfare payments, Supplemental Security Income, gifts, and inheritances are not counted.
- Distributions from IRAs are excluded, and contributions to an IRA are not deductible.
- Proceeds of a reverse mortgage are not income, though interest or dividends earned on invested proceeds are.
- Nassau County currently allows unreimbursed medical and prescription drug expenses to be deducted, but only with printouts from the provider or pharmacy. Cancelled checks and insurance explanations of benefits are not accepted.
- An owner’s income is not counted while they are in a nursing home, unless it exceeds the amount paid for their care there.
The application asks for complete copies of your federal and New York State returns for the income year. If you do not file a federal return, the County asks for an IRS Wage and Income Transcript instead. You are not required to calculate your own eligibility; the Department determines it from the documents you provide.
How it fits with Enhanced STAR
The two programs are often confused because both are aimed at seniors. They differ in almost every detail:
- Who runs it. STAR is administered by New York State, and the County’s brochure notes that the Department of Assessment no longer processes new STAR applications. The senior citizens’ exemption is applied for with Nassau County’s Department of Assessment.
- Which taxes. STAR applies to school taxes. The senior exemption, in Nassau, applies to county, town, and school taxes.
- Age. For Enhanced STAR, the State requires only one resident owner to be at least 65 by December 31 of the benefit year. For the senior exemption, every owner must be 65 unless the owners are spouses or siblings.
- Income. The State measures Enhanced STAR income as federal adjusted gross income minus the taxable amount of IRA distributions, and lists a limit of $110,750 for 2026 benefits and $113,550 for 2027 benefits (see the State’s eligibility page). The senior exemption counts gross Social Security and uses a far lower limit. Qualifying for Enhanced STAR says little about whether you qualify for the senior exemption.
- Enrollment. The State says that beginning in 2026 it automatically upgrades eligible Basic STAR recipients to Enhanced STAR at 65 (see its summary of recent changes). There is no equivalent for the senior exemption: you must apply to the County.
Common questions
What is the income limit for the senior citizens’ exemption in Nassau County?
Nassau County’s 2027–28 brochure describes the exemption as available to homeowners 65 and over whose 2025 income, including gross Social Security, is $58,399 or less. The largest reduction, 65%, applies at $47,000 or less, and the percentage steps down as income rises. Each municipality and school district sets its own limit within State rules, so confirm the figures that apply to your address.
The figures come from the County’s senior citizens’ exemption brochure. State law lets each county, city, town, village, and school district choose its own maximum, and the State’s own senior exemption page notes that an owner can be under one municipality’s limit and over another’s. Limits are revised, so check the brochure for the year you are applying for.
Can I get the senior citizens’ exemption and Enhanced STAR at the same time?
Yes, if you qualify for both. New York State says senior citizens receiving STAR may also be eligible for the senior citizens’ exemption. They are separate programs with separate applications: STAR is handled by the State, and the senior exemption by Nassau County’s Department of Assessment. Qualifying for one does not enroll you in the other.
The income tests are different, which is why many households qualify for Enhanced STAR but not the senior exemption. The section below sets the two side by side. Our exemptions and STAR guide covers the STAR credit and exemption in more detail.
Do I have to reapply for the senior exemption every year?
The exemption is renewed annually, but Nassau County says homeowners who have received it for five consecutive years may instead file an affidavit of continued eligibility with their property tax bill, under Local Law 13-2020. If your ownership, marital status, residence, or income has changed, ask the Department of Assessment which form you need.
The County posts the current affidavit of continued eligibility alongside the full application on its exemption forms page. The State’s instructions for the affidavit add that a separate school-tax affidavit is filed when paying school taxes.
What is the deadline to apply?
Nassau County’s application for what it calls the 2027–28 property tax year says it must be filed with the Department of Assessment by January 4, 2027. The County charges no fee to file. Confirm the date on the current form before relying on it.
The date is printed on the 2027–28 application and in the brochure. It is not the same as the Assessment Review Commission’s filing window for value appeals; see our deadline guide for that.
Keeping the exemption
Changes in the household can affect eligibility. The County asks owners to contact the Department of Assessment if the name on the deed or certificate of shares changes, if the property is placed in a trust or life estate, or if the home stops being their primary residence. The State’s instructions add that where one owner dies or moves out, the exemption may be continued if the remaining spouse is at least 62 and other requirements are met; ask the County how to report the change.
You cannot receive both this exemption and the exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes on the same property; the County’s brochure says so directly. If you might qualify for both, compare them before applying. Our disability exemption guide covers the other one.
If the County denies your application
A denial can be taken to the Assessment Review Commission on form AR3 during its annual filing window. ARC’s forms page describes that review as appellate only, based on what you gave the Department of Assessment, so a missing tax return or medical printout cannot be added at that stage. Send the complete income documentation with the application.
The exemption and your home’s value
An exemption lowers the taxable assessed value; it does not correct an overvalued home. Look up your property to see the County’s value, and get current forms from the Department of Assessment’s exemptions information. Good Grieves does not file exemption applications, and this page is general information rather than tax advice.
Keep reading
Property tax exemptions and STAR
How STAR, Enhanced STAR, and other partial exemptions differ from an assessment appeal, and where to apply.
The disability property tax exemption
The exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes: accepted proof, the 2027–28 income scale, and the separate accessibility-improvement exemption.
See how it applies to your home
Review your available County record alongside what you’ve learned.
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