Nassau County Tax Assessment Freeze: Phase-In, Appeals, Exemptions

The Nassau County tax assessment freeze is over. After roughly three years of holding residential and commercial values static, the county Department of Assessment has resumed publishing tentative assessed values that reflect current market conditions, starting with the 2025/2026 roll and continuing with the 2026 roll.¹ If your home gained value during the freeze years, expect that to show up in your next notice. Several protections and relief programs can soften the impact.

Where the Freeze Stands Now

Under County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County declined to conduct a full reassessment for roughly three consecutive years ending around 2023, keeping assessed values flat from one cycle to the next regardless of a homeowner’s age, income, or property type.² It was a blanket pause, not a targeted program.

That pause has lifted. New valuations on the 2026 assessment roll will be used to calculate 2027/2028 school tax bills and 2028 general tax bills.¹ Homes that appreciated significantly during the freeze may see a sharp jump in tentative assessed value. The programs below are the tools you have to respond.

The Five-Year Phase-In Happens Automatically

Nassau County’s Taxpayer Protection Plan prevents an entire assessment increase from landing in a single year. Any change to your property’s market value is phased in over five years, with 20% of the total change added to your taxable value each year.³ Your assessment notice will show two numbers: the full assessed value and a transitional value. The transitional value is the one used to calculate your bill.

A simple example. If a reassessment adds $100,000 to your home’s market value, $20,000 is added to your taxable value each year for five years rather than all at once. You still reach the full figure eventually, but the yearly budget hit is smaller. The phase-in works both ways: decreases are also spread over five years.³

You do not need to apply. The phase-in is automatic for Class One residential property owners. It does not reduce what you ultimately owe, but it gives you time to plan.

Challenging Your New Assessment

If you think your new assessed value is too high relative to similar homes nearby, you can file a grievance with the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission (ARC). ARC is independent and can only lower your assessment, never raise it, so filing carries no downside risk.¹

The 2026 filing window runs from January 2 through March 31, 2026. You submit an Application for Correction of Assessment one of three ways:¹

Online through the AROW (Assessment Review on the Web) portal, which gives immediate electronic confirmation.⁴
By mail to the Assessment Review Commission, 240 Old Country Road, 5th Floor, Mineola, NY 11501, postmarked by March 31, 2026.
In person at the same address, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The strongest grievances rest on recent sales of comparable homes nearby that sold for less than your assessed market value. Reviewers compare those sales to your property when deciding whether to lower the number. If ARC denies you, judicial review is available in court, with a separate filing fee and a more formal process. Professional grievance firms also handle these cases, typically on contingency for a share of the first year’s tax savings.

Questions can go to ARC at (516) 571-3214.

Exemptions That Cut Your Assessed Value

Senior Citizen Exemption

Homeowners 65 or older may qualify for a partial exemption under New York Real Property Tax Law Section 467. All owners on the deed must be 65 or older, with one carveout: for property owned by a married couple or by siblings, only one owner needs to meet the age requirement.⁵

The benefit uses a sliding scale based on the combined income of all owners and their spouses. State law lets each municipality pick a maximum qualifying income between $3,000 and $50,000.⁶ At or below the lowest threshold, the reduction tops out at 50% of assessed value, with smaller reductions as income rises. Because municipalities within Nassau County set their own thresholds, the exact cutoffs and percentages depend on where you live.⁷

Other requirements: you must have owned the property for at least 12 consecutive months before filing (unless you held a senior exemption on a previous New York home); it must be your legal residence and you must occupy it (with exceptions for residential health care placement, divorce, legal separation, or abandonment); and it must be used exclusively for residential purposes. If part of the property is used for business, only the residential portion qualifies.⁵

“Income” here means federal adjusted gross income plus any Social Security benefits not already included in that figure. File Form RP-467 with your local assessor by the taxable status date, and ask that office for the specific income limits your municipality adopted.

Disability Exemption

A parallel exemption exists for homeowners with qualifying disabilities and limited incomes under Real Property Tax Law Section 459-c. The structure mirrors the senior exemption: a 5% to 50% reduction in assessed value on the same locally set income scale.⁸

You must document the disability through one of several accepted sources: a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) award letter, a Railroad Retirement Board disability certification, a certificate of legal blindness from the state commission for the blind, a U.S. Postal Service or Veterans Affairs disability pension letter, or a Workers’ Compensation Board order for permanent total or permanent partial disability.⁸ The same ownership, residency, and residential-use rules apply.

A property cannot receive both the senior and disability exemptions for the same tax purpose. If one owner qualifies under Section 467 and another under Section 459-c, you can take whichever yields the larger benefit. The application form is RP-459-c, filed with your local assessor.

STAR

The School Tax Relief (STAR) program is separate from the exemptions above and is one of the larger benefits available to Nassau homeowners. Basic STAR has no age requirement; combined household income must not exceed $500,000 for the STAR credit or $250,000 for the STAR exemption. Eligibility for the 2026 benefit is based on 2024 income. Homeowners who have received the STAR exemption since 2015 or earlier can continue getting it as a reduction on the school tax bill; new homeowners receive the STAR credit instead, delivered as a check or direct deposit.⁹

Enhanced STAR is for homeowners 65 or older with household income of $110,750 or less (for the 2026-2027 benefit year, based on 2024 income). In Nassau County, Enhanced STAR savings run from roughly $1,200 to over $5,300 per year depending on school district and property class. Basic STAR savings typically fall between about $440 and $1,280 per year.¹⁰

Register for STAR through the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, not your local assessor and not ARC. If you are already enrolled, the state sends an annual income verification; failing to respond to it can cost you the benefit.

Watch Your Mortgage Escrow

If you pay taxes through a mortgage escrow account, a higher assessment will likely raise your monthly payment. Federal regulations require your servicer to perform an annual escrow account analysis to determine whether the account has a shortage, surplus, or deficiency based on anticipated tax disbursements, and to deliver the results within 30 calendar days of the end of your escrow computation year.¹¹

When taxes go up and the analysis shows a shortage, the servicer typically spreads the makeup amount over the next 12 months and raises your monthly deposit. If you win a grievance or qualify for an exemption that cuts your bill, the next analysis should show a surplus and reduce your payment. Keep copies of any assessment reduction notices so you can follow up with the servicer if the adjustment does not show up on your next annual statement.

1
Hempstead Town, NY. Challenge and Lower Your Taxes
2
New York State Senate. Nassau County Tax Assessments Remain Frozen
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Nassau County. Tax Payer Protection Plan
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Nassau County. Nassau AROW
5
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Tax Law Section 467 – Persons Sixty-Five Years of Age or Over
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Senior Citizens Exemption
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Hempstead Town, NY. Senior Citizen
8
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Tax Law Section 459-C – Persons with Disabilities and Limited Incomes
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. STAR Eligibility
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Maximum 2026-2027 STAR Exemption Savings by Municipality
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1024.17 Escrow Accounts