Every year, you should check your property assessment to:
- ensure that your assessment is fair,
- make sure that you’ll receive the exemptions you believe you’re entitled to,
- discuss the matter with the Town Assessor if you disagree with what you find, and
- allow yourself time to formally contest the assessment if an agreement cannot be reached.
The Tax Roll
Tax rolls and maps for the Town of Hancock are published on the assessor’s website.
- Tentative Assessment Roll Publication Date: May 1st
- Final Assessment Roll Publication Date: July 1st
These assessment rolls are public information, and filed either at the Assessor’s Office or the Town Clerk’s Office.
The tax roll is in .pdf format. To view and search the file, you will need a pdf viewer. Adobe Acrobat Reader, for example, is a free pdf viewer.
Finding Your Property Assessment
The easiest way to find your property in the tax roll is by doing a text search in the .pdf document. Open the .pdf file in a pdf viewer, and press the CTRL and F keys to bring up the search tool (Mac users, press COMMAND and F). You can then search by:
- your name
- the property address
- the property’s SBL parcel number (more info)
Understanding the Tax Roll
A: SWIS (State Wide Information System)
A six-digit number assigned by the State as a unique identifier for every municipality in the state. The first two digits define the county, the second two the city or town, and the last pair the village, if any.
- Town of Hancock: 123689
- Village of Hancock: 123601
B: Uniform percentage of market value
New York State law requires that all properties in a municipality be assessed at the same percentage of market value. In the example above, 95% means that the municipality is assessing property at 95% percent of market value.
In order to contest your assessment, you will need either your equalization rate or residential assessment ratio (RAR). You can find both of these numbers from the Municipal Profiles (MuniPro) web application:
- Step 1: click “Town of Hancock” from lower portion of the page, then
- Step 2: select “Current Equalization Information” or “RAR Information“.
Read more
- Equalization rates
- Publication: Understanding the Equalization Rate (.pdf)
C: Valuation date
In each municipality, property is assessed based on what its market value would have been on this date given its condition on taxable status date. In the Town of Hancock, Valuation Date is July 1 of the year prior to the roll.
D: Taxable status date
The assessment reflects the ownership and physical condition of the property as of this date. In addition, most exemption applications must be filed with the assessor by this date. In the Town of Hancock, Taxable Status Date is March 1 of the year in which the roll is filed.
E: Tax map parcel number
Also known as the Section-Block-Lot or SBL. This number will match the number on the tax bill, and is used when applying for exemptions and assessment review.
You may also find your SBL by using the Delaware County C.O.M.I.T tool.
F: Property location and class
The code identifies the parcel’s category (i.e., 210 falls within the 200 range, indicating a one family residence):
| 100’s | Agricultural |
| 200’s | Residential |
| 300’s | Vacant |
| 400’s | Commercial |
| 500’s | Recreation, entertainment |
| 600’s | Community service |
| 700’s | Industrial |
| 800’s | Public services |
| 900’s | Wild, forested, conservation lands, public parks |
F: School district
The parcel’s school district and school district code.
F: Parcel size
The parcel’s frontal and depth dimensions.
F: Grid coordinates
The parcel’s identification by geographical coordinates, used for mapping purposes.
F: Deed book
The volume number of the book (liber) and page number where deeds are recorded.
To access digital land records, use the IQS Land Records search tool for Delaware County.
To learn more about accessing the historic land records for the Town of Hancock, contact the Delaware County Clerk.
G: Land assessment
The assessed value of the land without the addition of improvements (permanent structures). By law, only the total assessment (H) may be reviewed (or grieved).
H: Total assessment
The total assessed value of the property, including the land and improvements.
I: Full market value
What a willing buyer would pay a willing seller under normal circumstances. This should approximate the dollar amount for which the property could be sold. In places where the uniform percent of market value is 100%, this is the same as the assessed value; otherwise market value multiplied by the uniform percentage of value (B) will be the total assessed value (H).
J: Exemption
The name of the exemption and the exemption code (in this case Basic STAR 41854), followed by the amount of the exemption for each taxing jurisdiction (i.e., STAR B is the Basic STAR exemption and applies only to school tax, thus the taxable value of the exemption for county and city is zero).
K: Tax description and Taxable Value
Taxing jurisdictions include counties, cities, towns, school districts, villages and special districts (fire, sewer, water, etc.)
Taxable Value is the value, after exemptions are applied, upon which your tax bill will be calculated (H minus J = K). In this case, the school taxable value is different from the others due to the STAR exemption.
L: Assessor’s oath
This is only listed on the last page of the roll. The assessor signs the roll to indicate that all assessments are uniform at the stated percentage of market value.
SOURCE: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/orpts/tentasmtroll.htm
Links
Town of Hancock Tax Rolls
https://hancockassessor.wordpress.com/welcome/documents-assessor/assessment-rolls-2/
Property Type Classification Codes Directory
https://www.tax.ny.gov/research/property/assess/manuals/prclas.htm
The property class code should not directly impact the amount of your assessment; however, if you disagree with the code assigned to your property, you may wish to contact your assessor.
NY State Office of Real Property Tax SalesWeb
https://swcf.orpts.ny.gov/cfapps/salesWebProd/salesWeb/index.cfm
SalesWeb is an Internet application that provides RP-5217 sales data for the last ten years for all New York State properties, excluding NYC.