How Assessors Achieve Fair and Accurate Assessments

New York State Law requires all properties in each municipality (except in New York City and Nassau County) to be assessed at a uniform percentage of market value each year. This means that all taxable properties in your city, town or village must be assessed at market value or all at the same uniform percentage of market value each year.  State Law also requires your assessor to state the uniform percentage for all taxable property on the tentative assessment roll, as well as the estimate of the market value and assessment for each property.

Section 1573 of the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) provides State Aid for cities and towns committed to keeping assessments at 100 percent of market value annually.

In order for property to be assessed consistently at a uniform percent of current market value, assessors should analyze all of the parcels to determine which assessments should be adjusted. This requires that, each year, the assessor analyze and evaluate the market to determine current market value, and change where appropriate the assessments of properties. If the assessor is adjusting assessments to a uniform percentage of market value, rather than 100 percent of market value, the assessor would apply that percentage to all assessments.

New York State’s statute and standards for assessment administration are guided by the standards for assessment administration published by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) and are supported by the Real Property Tax Administration System Alliance. The following statement is from the IAAO's Standard on Property Tax Policy [Paragraph 4.2.2.] (1997):

Current market value implies annual assessment of all properties. This does not necessarily mean that every property must be appraised each year. In annual assessment, the assessing officer should consciously re-evaluate the factors that affect value, express the interactions of those factors mathematically, and use mass appraisal techniques to estimate property values. Thus, it is necessary to observe and evaluate, but not always to change, the assessment of each property each year to achieve current market value.

A significant aspect of keeping assessments fair and current is the systematic analysis undertaken by assessors. In order for all taxpayers to be treated fairly and in accordance with the law, a systematic review should be undertaken by the assessor each year. Systematic analysis can be accomplished by:

1. the physical review and appraisal of each property in a municipal-wide reappraisal;
2. an analysis of all the properties in the municipality, and adjustment of assessments, when necessary, using market trend factors (also known as "trending"); or
3. some combination of reappraisal and trending.

As part of the systematic analysis performed each year, the assessor determines which properties are to be reappraised in a given year, which properties can be adjusted by market trends, and which properties require no change because they have remained at the same level of assessment. In addition, the IAAO recommends, and the Annual Aid Program requires, that all parcels are physically inspected and reappraised at least once every six years.

ASSESSMENT CODE SYSTEM                                                    EQUALIZATION RATES:

Hamilton County   Saratoga County  

                                                                                                                                        Warren County      Washington County

ASSESSMENT REVIEW PROCESS