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Cash & Expenses

Property tax break for senior homeowners

Senior Citizen Homeowners' Exemption (SCHE) | NYC Department of Finance (DOF)

1. How it Works

SCHE lowers the property taxes of eligible seniors. You may be able to reduce your home’s assessed value by 5-50% depending on your income.

  • Apply by March 15th for benefits to begin on July 1st of that year. If March 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the next business day.
  • Requires proof of age, income, and tax deduction.
  • If your property qualifies for SCHE and the Disabled Homeowners Exemption (DHE), you will only be granted SCHE. You cannot get both.
  • Renew every two years by March 15. The Department of Finance will send you a renewal application when it is time to renew. If you do not renew, your property taxes could increase significantly.

2. Determine your eligibility

To be eligible for SCHE, you must meet these requirements:

  1. Own a one-, two-, or three-family home, condo, or coop apartment.
  2. All owners of the property are 65 or older. However, if you own the property with a spouse or sibling, only one of you need to be 65 or older.
  3. All owners must live on the property as the primary residence.
  4. The combined income for all owners must be less than or equal to $58,399.
  5. You must own the property for at least 12 consecutive months before the date of filing for the exemption. This is not a requirement if you got the exemption on a property that you owned before.

Take a short survey to see if you might be eligible for this or 30 other programs.

Am I Eligible?

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3. How to Apply

3. How to apply

Here are your options.

Apply by mail

Come back to it later.
We can send you a link to this page to help you get back to it when you’re ready.

More ways to get help with this program

Visit the website

Visit the SCHE website to learn more.

Email DOF

Send a message at nyc,gov/contactdof

Call 311

Ask for Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption program.

Call SCHE

Call 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675)

Get help with the application

Call 929-252-7242 to get one-on-one help with applying for SCHE from an NYC Public Engagement Unit Specialist.

Last Updated December 8, 2023

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