Brooklyn Property Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Payment Options

Brooklyn property tax is administered by the New York City Department of Finance, which sorts every parcel into one of four tax classes, assesses a fraction of its market value, and applies a class-specific rate to produce your bill. For tax year 2026, those rates run from 10.848% on commercial property up to 19.843% on small homes, but the rate alone tells you very little, because each class is assessed at a different percentage of market value.1NYC Department of Finance. Property Tax Rates Understanding the full chain (class, assessed value, rate, exemptions) is what lets a Brooklyn owner catch an error, win an appeal, or claim a reduction they didn’t know existed.

What Tax Class Your Property Falls Into

Classification drives the assessment ratio, the cap on annual increases, and the rate itself, and the Department of Finance assigns it based on how the property is used.

  • Class 1 covers one- to three-unit residential properties: single-family homes, small brownstones, and small condominiums that qualify under Article 18 of the Real Property Tax Law.
  • Class 2 covers residential buildings with four or more units, including cooperatives and condominiums. Subgroups 2a, 2b, and 2c cover smaller buildings (up to 10 units); the general Class 2 designation applies to buildings with 11 or more.2NYC Open Data. Property Tax Rates by Tax Class
  • Class 3 covers utility property owned by gas, electric, and similar infrastructure companies.
  • Class 4 covers everything else: offices, retail storefronts, factories, hotels.

A small co-op may land in Class 2c rather than Class 1, which changes both the assessment ratio and the rate it pays. The Department of Finance updates classifications annually when use or construction changes.

How Your Assessed Value Is Calculated

Your bill isn’t based on market value. It’s based on assessed value, which is a fraction of market value set by formula.

The Assessment Ratio

The Department of Finance estimates market value using comparable sales, income potential, or replacement cost, then multiplies by the assessment ratio for your class. Class 1 uses 6%. Classes 2, 3, and 4 all use 45%.3NYC Department of Finance. Determining Your Assessed Value A Class 1 home the city values at $800,000 has an assessed value of $48,000. A Class 4 building at the same market value has an assessed value of $360,000.

Caps on How Fast Assessments Can Rise

State law shields smaller properties from sharp jumps. Class 1 assessments cannot rise more than 6% in a single year or 20% over any five-year period.4FindLaw. New York Code RPT 1805 – Limitation on Increases of Assessed Value of Individual Parcels The small Class 2 subgroups (2a, 2b, 2c, all with 10 units or fewer) are capped at 8% per year and 30% over five years.3NYC Department of Finance. Determining Your Assessed Value

Larger Class 2 buildings (11+ units) and Class 4 properties have no annual cap. The city instead phases changes in through a transitional assessed value: 20% of the change per year, over five years.5NYC Department of Finance. Determining Your Transitional Assessed Value The billable assessed value is the lower of the actual or transitional figure, and that’s what the rate is applied to.

2026 Tax Rates and What They Actually Cost

New York City resets rates each year. For tax year 2026:1NYC Department of Finance. Property Tax Rates

  • Class 1: 19.843%
  • Class 2: 12.439%
  • Class 3: 11.108%
  • Class 4: 10.848%

Those percentages are applied to billable assessed value, not market value. That’s why Class 1 can carry the highest rate while still producing the lowest effective tax: 19.843% of a 6% assessment is far less than 10.848% of a 45% assessment. In effective terms, a typical Class 1 home pays about 1.19% of market value, while a Class 4 property pays closer to 4.88%. Run that math before deciding your bill looks wrong.

Exemptions and Abatements That Lower Your Bill

Several programs can meaningfully shrink what a Brooklyn owner owes. Exemptions reduce assessed value before the rate is applied; abatements come off the final dollar amount. Missing an application is one of the most expensive mistakes homeowners make.

STAR (School Tax Relief)

STAR reduces the school tax portion of your bill on a primary residence.6New York State Senate. New York Code RPT 425 – School Tax Relief (STAR) Exemption Basic STAR applies below an income threshold; Enhanced STAR gives a larger benefit to owners 65 or older. If you bought or first applied after 2015, the benefit doesn’t appear as a line item on your bill. New York State mails you a STAR credit check after you register through the state Department of Taxation and Finance. Same savings, different delivery.

Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption (SCHE)

Homeowners 65 or older can get up to a 50% reduction in assessed value through SCHE.7New York State Senate. New York Real Property Tax Law 467 – Persons Sixty-Five Years of Age or Over The full benefit requires combined household income of $58,399 or less, with a sliding scale above that.8NYC Department of Finance. Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption (SCHE) SCHE must be renewed periodically.

Disabled Homeowners’ Exemption (DHE)

DHE mirrors SCHE for owners with documented disabilities, with the same income thresholds and sliding scale. Owners who qualify for both can choose whichever gives the bigger benefit, but cannot stack them on the same property.9New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. RPTL Section 467 – Persons 65 Years of Age or Older

Veterans’ Exemption

Veterans who served during qualifying conflict periods or carry service-connected disabilities can reduce the assessed value of a primary residence. The reduction depends on service type and disability level, and the application requires proof of honorable discharge (typically a DD-214) and any VA disability documentation.10New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Alternative Veterans Exemption

Cooperative and Condominium Abatement

Co-op and condo units used as a primary residence get a direct credit against the bill. The percentage scales with the average assessed value of residential units in the building:11NYC Department of Finance. Cooperative and Condominium Property Tax Abatement

  • $50,000 or less: 28.1%
  • $50,001–$55,000: 25.2%
  • $55,001–$60,000: 22.5%
  • $60,001 and above: 17.5%

Your building’s management must file for the abatement with the Department of Finance. If the board or managing agent hasn’t filed, you lose the benefit even though you personally qualify. Ask directly.

Challenging Your Assessment

If your Notice of Property Value (which arrives by mail in January) shows a market or assessed value that looks too high, you can challenge it through the NYC Tax Commission. Even a modest reduction compounds year after year.

The deadlines are strict and cannot be extended. For 2026, Class 1 owners must file by March 16; Class 2, 3, and 4 owners by March 2.12NYC Tax Commission. NYC Tax Commission The form depends on your property: Class 1 uses TC108, Class 2 (except condos) uses TC101, and Class 2 condominiums use TC109.13NYC Tax Commission. Application Forms – Tax Commission

Small Claims Assessment Review

If the Tax Commission doesn’t resolve the dispute, owner-occupied one- to three-family homes can go to Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR). The home must be your primary residence, used exclusively for residential purposes, and you must have already filed with the Tax Commission by the regular deadline.14NYC Tax Commission. Small Claims Assessment Review Information for Owner-Occupants

Brooklyn petitions are filed in Kings County. The filing fee is $30. Petitions must be filed in person or postmarked by October 25, 2026, and a copy served on the city within 10 days. Only claims raised in the original Tax Commission application can be reviewed, limited to two grounds: that your property is assessed at a higher percentage of market value than the citywide average for similar homes, or that the assessment exceeds actual market value.14NYC Tax Commission. Small Claims Assessment Review Information for Owner-Occupants If your property’s equalized value is above $450,000, the claimed assessed value cannot drop below 75% of the original.

Paying Your Bill

Your schedule depends on billable assessed value:15NYC Department of Finance. Property Tax Due Dates

  • $250,000 or less: quarterly payments due July 1, October 1, January 1, and April 1. A grace period runs through the 15th of each due month with no interest penalty.
  • More than $250,000: semi-annual payments due July 1 and January 1, with no grace period.

The fastest route is the NYC CityPay online portal. Enter your Borough-Block-Lot number (BBL) or address, select the bill, and pay by electronic check (no fee) or credit card (convenience fee). Brooklyn’s borough code is 3, followed by a five-digit block and four-digit lot number, printed at the top of every bill and notice.16NYC Department of Finance. Bills and Payments

Mailed checks go to NYC Department of Finance, P.O. Box 5536, Binghamton, NY 13902-5536. Write your BBL on the memo line.17NYC Department of Finance. Payment Mailing Addresses Payments must be postmarked by the due date (or grace period date) to avoid interest.

What Happens If You Fall Behind

Interest accrues daily from the day after the deadline. For the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, annual rates are:18NYC Department of Finance. Late Payments

  • $250,000 or less: 6%
  • $250,001–$450,000: 9%
  • More than $450,000: 16%

Interest runs whether or not you received the bill. Not updating your mailing address is not a defense.

Unpaid taxes also create a lien the city can sell to a private debt collector, who then has the right to pursue the full amount plus added fees and interest. For owner-occupied one- to three-family homes, a lien becomes eligible for sale once the debt reaches $5,000 and has been overdue for three years. For most other property types, the threshold is $1,000 overdue for one year.19NYC Department of Finance. Lien Sale Eligibility Chart

Before that point, the Department of Finance offers payment plans:20NYC Department of Finance. Property Payment Plans

  • A standard plan runs up to 10 years, monthly or quarterly, with no down payment required.
  • PT AID (Property Tax and Interest Deferral) lets eligible homeowners facing hardship defer payments or pay only a small percentage of income.
  • A reduced interest plan is available for owner-occupied Class 1 properties with assessed values of $250,000 or less and total owner income under $200,000. The rate drops to 2.5% annually.

One rule matters more than the rest: once you’re on a plan, you have to pay both the plan installments and all new charges as they come due. Fall six months behind on either and the agreement defaults, your property becomes eligible for a lien sale again, and you’re blocked from entering another plan on that property for five years.20NYC Department of Finance. Property Payment Plans You can enter a plan even if the property is already at risk for a lien sale. You cannot enter one after a lien has already been sold.

Federal Deduction

Brooklyn property tax is deductible on your federal return if you itemize on Schedule A, as part of the combined state and local tax (SALT) deduction. For 2026 the SALT cap is $40,400 for most filers, or $20,200 for married filing separately. A phaseout kicks in above $505,000 modified adjusted gross income ($252,500 if married filing separately): the cap drops by 30% of the excess, though not below $10,000.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes Brooklyn owners who also pay New York State and city income tax often use up the cap on income taxes alone, which leaves little or no room for property tax. Run the numbers before April; for many owners the standard deduction wins.