How it works?
How MGNY runs an assessment challenge
One sequence, two deadlines, five steps. The work is evidence and timing; the fee to the court is $30.
The number gets read
MGNY pulls your lot's record: the assessment, DOF's market value estimate, the sales of comparable homes around you, and anything already on the bill. This is the call that says whether there is a case, how big it is, and which lane it runs in. It costs you nothing to hear the answer.
The Tax Commission protest
The required first step. The application is prepared and filed between the tentative roll in mid-January and the March 15 Class 1 deadline, with the evidence of value attached. The Commission can offer a reduction on its own; when the offer is right, the case can end here.
The SCAR petition
When the Commission's answer leaves the number wrong, the $30 petition is filed with the court, before the statutory October 24 deadline. The petition states the requested assessment, capped at 25 percent below the current one for nearly every NYC home, and the grounds for it.
The hearing
An informal session in front of a trained hearing officer, not a courtroom trial: the evidence is comparable sales, condition, and the arithmetic of the class standard. It is built for homeowners to handle alone; having a specialist who has argued hundreds of them is the difference between a story and a case.
The decision, and the refund
A reduction is ordered, the roll is corrected, and tax already paid on the overassessment comes back. The corrected assessment is also the new base the annual caps grow from, which is why one successful year keeps paying in the years after it.
The calendar is unforgiving in one direction only: a missed March filing closes the year, and a missed October filing closes the petition. Neither can be extended, which is why the review in step one is worth doing the moment the question occurs to you, whatever the month.
Find out where your own number stands
The free check reads the city’s assessment roll for your property, tests the assessment against the 6 percent class standard on the value you give, and checks the benefit record for the co-op/condo abatement. It takes about a minute and asks for no sign-up.