Can I hold this and the veterans exemption at the same time?

We do not know, and we will not guess. The state's own published guidance does not address the combination, and the answer can differ between the town levy and the school levy. Ask your assessor and ask for the answer in writing.

I cannot pay my taxes at all. Is there a deferral?

Not statewide. Florida, Texas and California each run one; New York does not. New York City operates its own Property Tax and Interest Deferral programme, but that reaches only the five boroughs. Outside the city there is no equivalent to apply to.

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Senior Citizens Exemption — Up to 50% Off Your Assessment

A locality may take up to half your taxable assessment off at 65, on a low income. Where it is adopted it usually beats the veterans exemption — and you may be able to hold both.

Verified August 18, 2026

What this benefit is

A locality may take up to 50% off the taxable assessment of a home owned by someone 65 or older on a low income.

Like the veterans exemptions, it is a local option — each county, city, town, village and school district decides separately whether to grant it and at what income limit.

What it's worth: Up to 50% of your taxable assessment, if your locality adopted the maximum

Fifty percent is the statutory ceiling, not the standard. Localities may adopt sliding scales granting 20%, 10% or 5% at higher incomes.
The income limit is set locally anywhere between $3,000 and $50,000, so two neighbouring towns can give the same household completely different answers.

Who is entitled to it

An owner 65 or older, occupying the property as their legal residence.
Who has owned it for at least twelve consecutive months.
With income under the limit their locality set, which may be anywhere from $3,000 to $50,000.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

The thing most people get wrong

For an older veteran this is usually the bigger exemption

The alternative veterans exemption gives 15% of assessed value plus increments for combat and disability, and every part of it is capped in dollars. This gives up to 50% of the assessment with no dollar cap at all. Where a locality adopted the full 50% and the income test is met, it is not a close comparison — and because it is written for older people rather than for veterans, it appears in no New York veteran benefits summary.

How to claim it

Deadline: March 1 in most communities

1Ask your assessor two things: whether your locality adopted §467, and what income limit it chose. Both are local decisions and neither is on any state page.
2Ask the same question of your school district separately — it decides separately, and school taxes are the larger part of most New York bills.
3File form RP-467 by the taxable status date, which is 1 March in most communities.
4Ask explicitly whether you can hold this alongside the veterans exemption you already have.

Form: RP-467
File with: Your town, city or village assessor
Documents you will need: proof of age · proof of income · proof of ownership
You must re-file every year: Income is retested, so this is an annual filing. Some localities send a renewal form; do not rely on it arriving.

Common mistakes that cost people this benefit

Asking only your town. Your school district decides separately, and school taxes are the larger part of most New York bills.
Applying too soon after moving. The twelve-month ownership rule has no equivalent in the veterans exemptions, which attach on purchase.
Assuming 50% is what you will get. Fifty is the ceiling. Localities may adopt sliding scales granting 20%, 10% or 5% at higher incomes.

Worth knowingFor an older veteran this is often the bigger exemption. §458-a gives 15% of assessed value plus combat and disability increments, each capped in dollars. §467 gives up to 50% with no dollar cap. Where a locality adopted the full 50% and the income test is met, it is not close.

Worth knowingThe twelve-month ownership rule catches people who have just moved. Unlike the veterans exemptions, which attach on purchase, this one makes you wait a year.

Known gapWhether a property may hold both this and the alternative veterans exemption in the same year is not addressed by the state's own published guidance, and the answer can differ between the town levy and the school levy. We will not assert a stacking rule we have not read. Ask your assessor and get the answer in writing.

Known gapOur county pages carry the state's record of veterans exemptions actually granted, which lets us show adoption evidence for those. The same dataset covers the senior citizens exemption and we have not yet pulled it, so for this record we can only say that adoption is a local decision.

Questions people ask

Can I hold this and the veterans exemption at the same time?: We do not know, and we will not guess. The state's own published guidance does not address the combination, and the answer can differ between the town levy and the school levy. Ask your assessor and ask for the answer in writing.
I cannot pay my taxes at all. Is there a deferral?: Not statewide. Florida, Texas and California each run one; New York does not. New York City operates its own Property Tax and Interest Deferral programme, but that reaches only the five boroughs. Outside the city there is no equivalent to apply to.

Sources

authority · statuteN.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law §467
operating · published policyNew York State Department of Taxation and Finance — Senior citizens exemption

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.