Understanding Your Tax Bill

Understanding Your Town, County & Special District Tax Bill

From the date of an adopted budget to the date the tax rates are calculated, the Town virtually has no way of knowing how many certioraris or small claims will be filed and/or settled. Every settled judgment lowering an assessment negatively impacts the Town's assessment role - therefore when our assessments decrease, the rates increase. The rates must increase to achieve a successful collection of a budget. Therefore, although the Town strives to stay as close to the projected rate increase, sometimes it is impossible.

Warrant and Warrant Date: A Warrant is a document prepared by the Receiver of Taxes giving he/she the ability to enter into a tax collection. Its contents include New York State tax laws and the total to be collected. It is given to the Town's Supervisor to be signed, notarized, and dated. This is the date that appears on the tax bill. It is then returned to the Tax Receiver, affixed to the tax roll, and only then can a tax collection commence.

Tax Map Number: This is your property identification - Example - 123.05-5-123 Not one is alike. Each parcel has its own individual I.D., setting itself apart from the rest. Like a fingerprint, not one is alike.

Please Know: North Castle has adopted a new Section/Block/Lot system which we presented on your 2013 Town Tax bill. For your convenience we published both, your new Parcel I.D. which was shown on the face of the bill the previous was shown as usual under Property Address and Legal Description which will be replaced going forward.

How to Calculate your Market Value: Divide your assessment by the current equalization rate. The Town's equalization rate is always found on the reverse side of the tax bill. The equalization rate used for calculating the 2016 taxes for North Castle is 2.25% 
Example - an assessment of $25,000 divided by 2.25% = $1, 111,111 market value.

Property Tax / Levy Description: County, Town, Special Districts i.e. Fire, Light, Sewer, etc.

Total Tax Levy: How much the Town must collect to balance the budget. % Change From Prior Year: This describes the increase or decrease of the total levy from the previous year. This does not describe the tax rate change. The Town levy increase for 2015 is.80%

Taxable Value: This is the assessment of your property.

Tax Rate: Each item on your bill - County, Town, Special Districts, and School - all have a different tax rate. This is because there are all different levy amounts to collect for each. The same rate is used for residential, vacant, or commercial property. It is the assessment that dictates what the tax amount will be.

How To Restore an Exemption: If you would like to know how to calculate the savings on an exemption, or see what your taxes would be without the exemption, follow these simple instructions - take the value of the exemption - the value is shown on your tax bill.
Example - take the exemption amount of 1,344 then multiply it times the rate and that is the savings on your tax bill. 1.344 X 158.295 = $218.52 
Please understand that exemptions are only given on the County, Town, and School portion of your tax bills, not on Special Districts.

Please Know: Not all available exemptions apply to all taxes. For instance, on your Town and County bill, you may be eligible for

  • Veteran Exemptions
  • Disabled
  • Fire Fighter
  • Senior Exemptions

Also, these exemptions only apply to the Town and County portion of the tax bill - not Special Districts. On your School bill you may be eligible for Senior Exemption and/or Basic or Enhanced STAR (School Tax Relief) For further information, please contact our Assessor's Office at 914-273-3324.

Tax Amount: Multiply your assessment times the 2016 tax rate of $162.59 per thousand to achieve the tax amount to be paid. 
Example, using an assessment of $25,000 - multiply 25.0 by 162.2077 = $4,064.75 
Please know that included in your April tax bill, which is the Town, County and Special District bill:

  • The first line item is a portion of the Westchester County levy
  • The County's share of the levy to be collected in 2016 is $17,975,174 for which the Town of North Castle acts merely as a collection agent
  • The total 2016 Town, County, and Special District warrants to be collected by the North Castle Tax Receiver is $42,198,812.50

Understanding Your School Tax Bill

First, you need to understand that North Castle is comprised of 5 separate School Districts: 

  • Bedford
  • Byram Hills
  • Valhalla
  • Harrison
  • Mount Pleasant

Bedford Central School District - we have 206 parcels located in North Castle which are registered to the Bedford School District. 

  • Levy increase from 2015 to 2016: 1.30%
  • 2015/2016 Levy - North Castle's share: $2,575,785
  • Minus STAR paid by the State: $60,067
  • Total to be collected by this office: $2,515,718
  • STAR Value: Basic - $1,177 Enhanced - $2,362

Byram Hills Central School District - we have 3,674 parcels located in North Castle which are registered to the Byram Hills School District. 

  • Levy increase from 2015 to 2016: .40%
  • 2014/2015 Levy - North Castle's share: $66,727,447
  • Minus STAR paid by the State: $2,235,830.90
  • Total to be collected by this office: $64,491,616.10
  • STAR Value: Basic - $1,257 Enhanced - $2,520

Valhalla Central School District - we have 885 parcels located in North Castle which are registered to the Valhalla School District. 

  • Levy increase from 2015 to 2016: .60%
  • 2014/2015 Levy - North Castle's share: $11,902,394
  • Minus STAR paid by the State: $772,829.34
  • To be collected by this office: $11,129,564.66
  • STAR Value: Basic - $1,589 Enhanced - $3,185

Harrison Central School District - we have 8 parcels located in North Castle - these parcels are utility zoned and although registered to Harrison, are not buildable lots. 

  • Levy increase from 2015 to 2016: .90%
  • 2016/2017 Levy - North Castle's share: $24,559.59
  • No STAR properties - All commercial

Mount Pleasant Central School District - we have 14 parcels located in North Castle - again, these parcels are utility zoned and although registered to Mount Pleasant, are not buildable lots. 

  • Levy increase from 2014 to 2015: 2.60%
  • 2016/2017 Levy - North Castle's share: $1,120,662
  • No STAR properties - All commercial

We, along with most Tax Offices in Westchester, act merely as collection agents for the School Districts within their Municipalities. We happen to have 5 districts - it varies according to each Municipality. All unpaid School taxes are satisfied by the Town on April 15th by making each Tax Levy whole and therefore must assume the responsibility of collecting the unpaid balance of delinquent funds - this is a Property Tax Law of Westchester County. Most Counties in the State of New York re-levy the unpaid taxes onto the property owner's following tax bill. However, knowing that we act merely as a collection agency for the School Districts, you can see what a huge burden it is on the Town to assume the responsibility of having to satisfy this debt.

School budgets are adopted at annual School District meetings. All inquiries concerning budget matters or expenditures should be directed to your local School District or School Board.