Property Tax and Interest Deferral (PT AID)

You may be eligible for a PT AID payment plan if:

• You are a New York City resident;
• You own a one-, two-, or three-family home or condominium unit;
• You earn $86,400 or less per year; and,
• You have fallen behind, or are in danger of falling behind, on your property taxes.

If you are a senior 65 or older, you can apply for a plan that will allow you to determine the percentage of your newly accruing or outstanding property taxes that you will pay under the terms of your payment plan. The payment of taxes and charges may be deferred until a specific date in the future, or deferred indefinitely to be paid by your estate.

If you are not a senior, you might be eligible for the fixed-term income-based payment plan or the extenuating circumstances income-based payment plan. In either case, you will be able to pay no more than eight percent of your income each month or quarter until a specific date in the future or until your financial situation improves.

Yes. The amount of the deferral in your payment agreement cannot exceed 25% of your property’s equity for a tax class 1 (one-, two-, or three-unit residential) property, or 50% of equity for condominiums. Your equity is the value of your home minus any mortgages, liens, and other liabilities.

Once the cap is reached, you will not be permitted to defer the payment of additional taxes. You may find it helpful to use the calculators available for the low-income senior, fixed-term income-based, and extenuating circumstances payment agreements. This tool allows you to enter information about your property and estimate how much you would pay under the various potential terms of each plan.

A general rule is that the larger percentage you choose, the faster you will reach the deferral cap. For example, if you choose to defer payment of 75% of your charges, you will reach the deferral cap about three times faster than if you choose to defer payment of 25%. The Department of Finance encourages you to defer the smallest amount possible.

If you are 65 or older, the low-income senior plan is likely your best option. Your taxes and charges will be paid by your estate if and when the property is sold at a future date. Until then, you can remain in your home without worrying about your property being included in the lien sale.

If you are not a senior and you are experiencing financial difficulties that are likely to continue into the foreseeable future, your best option is probably the fixed-term income-based payment plan. This plan will allow you to pay a small percentage of what you owe each month or quarter.

If you are experiencing a temporary loss of income resulting from an extenuating circumstance such as a job loss or death in the family, you may wish to apply for an extenuating circumstances income-based payment plan. Under this plan, you can get caught up on your property taxes over a short period of time, until your financial situation improves.

You can apply for a PT AID payment plan online. In your application, you must choose which of the three payment plans you would like to apply for and how much you would like to pay (low-income senior plan, fixed-term income-based plan and extenuating circumstances income-based plan).

We understand that it can be difficult to choose the percentage you would like to defer or pay. You may find it helpful to use the calculators available for the low-income senior, fixed-term income-based, and extenuating circumstances payment agreements. This tool allows you to enter information about your property and estimate how much you would pay under the various potential terms of each plan.