Erie County Tax Rate: Property, Sales, and Exemptions

Erie County’s property tax rate for 2026 is $3.09 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $3.29 the year before, and the county sales tax rate is 8.75%.¹ Those two numbers are the headline, but the property figure is only the county’s slice. What you actually pay on a home depends on the town or city, village, and school district stacked on top, and the combined bill can more than double depending on where in the county the property sits.

What the County Property Tax Rate Actually Covers

The $3.09 per $1,000 rate applies to the county portion of every property tax bill in Erie County.¹ On a home assessed at $150,000, that works out to about $464 for the county alone.

Every parcel also sits inside a town or city, often a village, and a school district, and each of those sets its own rate independently. School taxes typically make up the largest share of the total bill. School authorities draw property values from the local assessment roll to calculate what each parcel owes.² Towns and villages add their own charges for services like road maintenance, snow removal, and fire protection.

The spread across the county is wide. On a home with a $150,000 full market value, the 2025–2026 combined bill ranges from about $1,415 in the City of Buffalo to roughly $3,702 in the Village of Depew.³ Two identically valued homes can owe more than double depending on which side of a municipal or school district boundary they fall on. If you are comparing addresses, pull the combined rate for the specific location rather than relying on the county number.

Sales Tax in Erie County

Erie County collects 8.75% on most retail purchases and taxable services. That breaks down into a 4% state portion and a 4.75% local portion.¹ The local portion is authorized under New York Tax Law § 1210, which lets Erie County impose the standard 3% local rate plus an additional 1% and an additional 0.75% through November 30, 2027.⁴

Clothing and Footwear

Clothing and footwear priced under $110 per item are exempt from the 4% state sales tax.⁵ The exemption does not automatically extend to the local portion. Each county and city decides whether to waive its own share, and those elections can change on March 1 of any year. To confirm Erie County’s current treatment, check the state’s Publication 718-C.

Hotel Occupancy Tax

Short-term lodging in Erie County carries an additional hotel occupancy tax on top of regular sales tax. The rate depends on the size of the property:

Hotels with 30 or fewer rooms: 3% of the room charge
Hotels with more than 30 rooms: 5% of the room charge

The tax applies to all stays of fewer than 30 consecutive days, including hotels, motels, and short-term rentals.⁶

Exemptions That Lower Your Property Tax

Several programs cut what you owe if you qualify, and every one of them has a March 1 application deadline. Missing it means waiting a full year.

STAR

New York’s School Tax Relief program has two tracks. Basic STAR is open to homeowners with combined household income of $500,000 or less. Enhanced STAR is for homeowners age 65 or older with combined income of $110,750 or less.⁷

New homeowners can only receive STAR as a credit, mailed by the state Tax Department. The older STAR exemption that reduced the bill directly is now limited to people who have been receiving it continuously at the same primary residence since 2015.⁸ If you bought recently, register for the credit through the state rather than your local assessor.

Senior Citizens Exemption

Separate from Enhanced STAR, Erie County offers a senior citizens property tax exemption with its own income limits. At least one owner must be 65 or older, and you must have owned and lived in the property for at least 12 consecutive months. The exemption percentage slides with your 2024 income:

$29,000 or less: 50% reduction
$29,001–$30,999: 40–45% reduction
$31,000–$32,899: 30–35% reduction
$32,900–$34,699: 20–25% reduction
$34,700–$36,499: 10–15% reduction
$36,500–$37,399: 5% reduction

Income above $37,399 disqualifies you. The exemption stacks with STAR, which is where the real savings add up. The deadline is March 1, 2026.⁹

Veterans Exemption

Erie County offers an alternative veterans exemption with three tiers, each applied as a percentage reduction to assessed value:

Wartime service: 15% reduction
Combat zone service: an additional 10% reduction
Service-connected disability: an additional reduction equal to half the disability rating

Each tier is capped in dollar terms. In 2024, Erie County raised these caps to $30,000 for wartime, $20,000 for combat, and $100,000 for disability.¹⁰

Payment Deadlines and Late Penalties

County and town taxes are due without penalty by mid-February. For 2026, the penalty-free deadline is February 17.¹¹ After that, penalties climb on a tiered schedule:

February 18 – March 2: 1.5%
March 3 – March 16: 3.0%
March 17 – March 31: 4.5%
April 1 – April 15: 6.0%
April 16 – April 30: 7.5%

On May 1, the 7.5% penalty is folded into the unpaid balance to form a new base, and interest then accrues at 1.5% per month on the first of each month. By the time unpaid taxes are sold in November, total penalties and interest reach roughly 18.78%.¹¹

Erie County can begin foreclosure on parcels with tax liens that have gone unpaid for two or more years. The county files a list of delinquent parcels with the County Clerk, which carries the same legal force as filing a lawsuit against each owner on the list. You receive a mailed notice with a redemption deadline, and paying the full amount owed plus a $500 statutory foreclosure fee stops the process.¹² Erie County initiates foreclosure proceedings annually, so the risk is real.

Challenging Your Assessment

If the rate looks right but the assessed value doesn’t, the fix is filing a formal complaint with your local Board of Assessment Review. The window is narrow. In most Erie County towns, the board meets on the fourth Tuesday of May, which is May 26, 2026.¹³ A handful of municipalities set alternate dates by local law, so confirm with your assessor before filing.

You file using Form RP-524, with a separate complaint for each parcel. A few points that trip people up:¹⁴

State a specific reduction. You generally cannot obtain a larger reduction than the amount you asked for.
File early. Complaints received fewer than four business days before the hearing give the assessor grounds to request an adjournment.
Miss the deadline and you are out. Skipping Grievance Day forfeits both administrative review and any court challenge for that assessment year.
Bring evidence. Comparable sales, photographs of defects, and recent appraisals strengthen your case. The board can require answers or additional documents.
Signing a stipulation ends the matter. If you and the assessor agree on a reduced value and sign Part Six of the form, you cannot seek a further reduction from the board or in court.

You can attend the hearing yourself or send an attorney or representative, but a representative must have written authorization dated within the same calendar year as the complaint.¹⁴

Where to Look Up Your Own Numbers

Erie County Real Property Tax Services publishes county tax rate schedules by year going back to 2008.¹⁵ For a side-by-side comparison showing how county, town, and school portions combine across every municipality, the county publishes an annual tax comparison document built around a standard $150,000 home.³

You can pay current and delinquent county taxes online through the Erie County payment portal. E-check payments carry a convenience fee of $2 for payments of $5,000 or less and $5 above that, paid to the processing bank rather than the county.¹⁶

1
Erie County. 2026 Budget Message
2
New York State Senate. New York Code RPT – Use of City, Town or County Assessment Roll
3
Erie County Real Property Tax Services. 2025-2026 Real Property Tax Comparison
4
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1210 – Taxes of Cities and Counties Administered by State Tax Commission
5
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Clothing and Footwear Exemption
6
Erie County Comptroller. Hotel Tax Instructions and Registration
7
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. STAR Eligibility
8
Erie County Real Property Tax Services. STAR Program
9
Town of Amherst. Senior Citizen Property Tax Exemption Information Sheet
10
Erie County Real Property Tax Services. Veterans Property Tax Exemptions
11
Town of Clarence. 2026 Town and County Tax Bills
12
Erie County Real Property Tax Services. In Rem Tax Lien Foreclosure Information and Frequently Asked Questions
13
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. RPTL Section 512 – Alternate Grievance Days
14
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. General Information and Instructions for Filing Complaints on Real Property Assessments
15
Erie County Real Property Tax Services. County Tax Rates
16
Erie County. Erie County Real Property Tax Online Payment Site