Section 459-C. Persons with disabilities and limited incomes

1.  (a) Real
  property owned by  one  or  more  persons  with  disabilities,  or  real
  property owned by a husband, wife, or both, or by siblings, at least one
  of whom has a disability, or real property owned by one or more persons,
  some  of  whom qualify under this section and the others of whom qualify
  under section four hundred sixty-seven of this title, and whose  income,
  as  hereafter defined, is limited by reason of such disability, shall be
  exempt from taxation by any municipal corporation in  which  located  to
  the  extent  of  fifty  per  centum of the assessed valuation thereof as
  hereinafter provided. After a public hearing, the governing board  of  a
  county,  city,  town  or  village  may  adopt  a  local law and a school
  district, other than a school district subject to article  fifty-two  of
  the  education  law,  may  adopt  a  resolution  to  grant the exemption
  authorized pursuant to this section.
    (b) Any local law or resolution adopted pursuant to paragraph  (a)  of
  this  subdivision  may  be  amended, or a local law or resolution may be
  adopted, to provide an exemption so as to increase  the  maximum  income
  eligibility   level   of  such  municipal  corporation  as  provided  in
  subdivision  five  of  this  section  (represented  in  the  hereinbelow
  schedule as M), to the extent provided in the following schedule:
  ANNUAL INCOME                           PERCENTAGE ASSESSED VALUATION
                                          EXEMPT FROM TAXATION
  More than (M) but
       less than (M+ $1,000)                   45 per centum
  (M+ $1,000 or more) but
       less than (M+ $2,000)                   40 per centum
  (M+ $2,000 or more) but
       less than (M+ $3,000)                   35 per centum
  (M+ $3,000 or more) but
       less than (M+ $3,900)                   30 per centum
  (M+ $3,900 or more) but
       less than (M+ $4,800)                   25 per centum
  (M+ $4,800 or more) but
       less than (M+ $5,700)                   20 per centum
  (M+ $5,700 or more) but
       less than (M+ $6,600)                   15 per centum
  (M+ $6,600 or more) but
       less than (M+ $7,500)                   10 per centum
  (M + $7,500 or more) but
       less than (M+ $8,400)                   5 per centum
    2. For purposes of this section: (a) "sibling" shall mean a brother or
  a sister, whether related through half blood, whole blood or adoption.
    * (b)  a  person with a disability is one who has a physical or mental
  impairment, not due to current use of alcohol or illegal drug use, which
  substantially limits such person's ability to  engage  in  one  or  more
  major  life activities, such as caring for one's self, performing manual
  tasks, walking,  seeing,  hearing,  speaking,  breathing,  learning  and
  working,  and who (i) is certified to receive social security disability
  insurance (SSDI) or supplemental security income  (SSI)  benefits  under
  the  federal  Social  Security  Act,  or  (ii)  is  certified to receive
  Railroad Retirement  Disability  benefits  under  the  federal  railroad
  Retirement  Act,  or  (iii)  has  received  a certificate from the state
  commission for the blind and  visually  handicapped  stating  that  such
  person is legally blind, or (iv) is certified to receive a United States
  Postal Service disability pension.
    * NB Effective until November 24, 2009
    * (b)  a  person with a disability is one who has a physical or mental
  impairment, not due to current use of alcohol or illegal drug use, which

  substantially limits such person's ability to  engage  in  one  or  more
  major  life activities, such as caring for one's self, performing manual
  tasks, walking,  seeing,  hearing,  speaking,  breathing,  learning  and
  working,  and who (i) is certified to receive social security disability
  insurance (SSDI) or supplemental security income  (SSI)  benefits  under
  the  federal  Social  Security  Act,  or  (ii)  is  certified to receive
  Railroad Retirement  Disability  benefits  under  the  federal  railroad
  Retirement  Act,  or  (iii)  has  received  a certificate from the state
  commission for the blind and  visually  handicapped  stating  that  such
  person is legally blind, or (iv) is certified to receive a United States
  Postal  Service  disability  pension,  or  (v) is certified to receive a
  United States department of veterans affairs disability pension pursuant
  to 38 U.S.C. §1521.
    * NB Effective November 24, 2009
    * An award letter from  the  Social  Security  Administration  or  the
  Railroad  Retirement  Board,  or a certificate from the state commission
  for the blind and visually handicapped, or  an  award  letter  from  the
  United States Postal Service shall be submitted as proof of disability.
    * NB Effective until November 24, 2009
    * An  award  letter  from  the  Social  Security Administration or the
  Railroad Retirement Board, or a certificate from  the  state  commission
  for  the  blind  and  visually  handicapped, or an award letter from the
  United States Postal Service, or an award letter from the United  States
  department   of   veterans  affairs  shall  be  submitted  as  proof  of
  disability.
    * NB Effective November 24, 2009
    3. Any exemption provided by this section shall be computed after  all
  other partial exemptions allowed by law, excluding the school tax relief
  (STAR)  exemption authorized by section four hundred twenty-five of this
  title, have been subtracted from the total  amount  assessed;  provided,
  however,  that no parcel may receive an exemption for the same municipal
  tax purpose pursuant to both  this  section  and  section  four  hundred
  sixty-seven of this title.
    4. Exemption from taxation for school purposes shall not be granted in
  the  case of real property where a child resides if such child attends a
  public school of elementary or secondary education; unless the governing
  board of the school district in which the  property  is  located,  after
  public  hearing,  adopts  a  resolution  providing  for  such exemption;
  provided that any such resolution shall condition  such  exemption  upon
  satisfactory  proof that the child was not brought into the residence in
  whole or in substantial part for the purpose of attending  a  particular
  school   within  the  district.  The  procedure  for  such  hearing  and
  resolution must be conducted  separately  from  the  procedure  for  any
  hearing  and  local  law,  ordinance or resolution conducted pursuant to
  paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section.
    5. No exemption shall be granted:
    (a) if the income of the owner or the combined income of the owners of
  the property for the income tax year immediately preceding the  date  of
  making  application  for  exemption  exceeds  the  sum of three thousand
  dollars, or such other sum not less than three thousand dollars nor more
  than twenty-six thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand six,
  twenty-seven thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand  seven,
  twenty-eight  thousand dollars beginning July first, two thousand eight,
  and twenty-nine thousand dollars  beginning  July  first,  two  thousand
  nine, as may be provided by the local law or resolution adopted pursuant
  to  this section. Income tax year shall mean the twelve month period for
  which the owner or owners filed a federal personal income tax return, or
  if no such return is filed, the calendar year. Where title is vested  in

  either  the  husband  or  the wife, their combined income may not exceed
  such sum, except where the husband or wife, or ex-husband or ex-wife  is
  absent   from   the   property  due  to  divorce,  legal  separation  or
  abandonment, then only the income of the spouse or ex-spouse residing on
  the  property  shall  be  considered  and  may not exceed such sum. Such
  income shall include social security and retirement benefits,  interest,
  dividends, total gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset which
  may  be offset by a loss from the sale or exchange of a capital asset in
  the same income tax year, net rental income, salary or earnings, and net
  income from self-employment, but shall not include a return of  capital,
  gifts,  inheritances  or monies earned through employment in the federal
  foster grandparent program and any such income shall be  offset  by  all
  medical  and  prescription  drug  expenses  actually paid which were not
  reimbursed or paid for  by  insurance,  if  the  governing  board  of  a
  municipality,  after  a public hearing, adopts a local law or resolution
  providing therefor. In computing net rental income and net  income  from
  self-employment  no  depreciation  deduction  shall  be  allowed for the
  exhaustion, wear and tear of real or  personal  property  held  for  the
  production of income;
    (b)  unless the property is used exclusively for residential purposes,
  provided, however, that in the event any portion of such property is not
  so used exclusively for residential  purposes  but  is  used  for  other
  purposes,  such  portion  shall be subject to taxation and the remaining
  portion only shall  be  entitled  to  the  exemption  provided  by  this
  section;
    (c) unless the real property is the legal residence of and is occupied
  in  whole  or  in part by the disabled person; except where the disabled
  person is absent from the residence while receiving health-related  care
  as  an  inpatient  of  a residential health care facility, as defined in
  section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, provided that
  any income accruing to  that  person  shall  be  considered  income  for
  purposes  of  this section only to the extent that it exceeds the amount
  paid by such person or spouse or sibling of such person for care in  the
  facility.
    6.  (a) If so provided in the local law or resolution adopted pursuant
  to this section, title to that portion  of  real  property  owned  by  a
  cooperative  apartment corporation in which a tenant-stockholder of such
  corporation resides, and which is represented by his share or shares  of
  stock  in  such  corporation  as determined by its or their proportional
  relationship  to  the  total  outstanding  stock  of  the   corporation,
  including that owned by the corporation, shall be deemed to be vested in
  such tenant-stockholder.
    (b) That proportion of the assessment of such real property owned by a
  cooperative apartment corporation determined by the relationship of such
  real  property  vested  in such tenant-stockholder to such entire parcel
  and  the  buildings  thereon  owned  by   such   cooperative   apartment
  corporation in which such tenant-stockholder resides shall be subject to
  exemption  from  taxation  pursuant to this section and any exemption so
  granted shall be credited by the appropriate  taxing  authority  against
  the  assessed  valuation  of  such  real property; the reduction in real
  property taxes realized thereby shall be  credited  by  the  cooperative
  apartment corporation against the amount of such taxes otherwise payable
  by or chargeable to such tenant-stockholder.
    7.  Application for such exemption must be made annually by the owner,
  or all of the owners of the property, on forms prescribed by  the  state
  board,  and  shall  be  filed in such assessor's office on or before the
  appropriate taxable status date; provided, however, proof of a permanent
  disability need be submitted only in the year exemption pursuant to this

  section is first sought or the disability  is  first  determined  to  be
  permanent.
    7-a.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this  section or any other
  provision of law, in a city having a population of one million or  more,
  applications for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall
  be  considered timely filed if they are filed on or before the fifteenth
  day of March of the appropriate year and in such city all references  in
  this  section  to  taxable  status  date shall be deemed to refer to the
  fifteenth day of March of the appropriate year.
    8. At least sixty days prior to the appropriate taxable  status  date,
  the  assessor  shall  mail  to  each  person  who  was granted exemption
  pursuant to this section on the  latest  completed  assessment  roll  an
  application  form and a notice that such application must be filed on or
  before taxable status date and be approved in order for the exemption to
  continue to be granted. Failure to mail such  application  form  or  the
  failure  of  such person to receive the same shall not prevent the levy,
  collection and enforcement of the payment of the taxes on property owned
  by such person.
    9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  the
  provisions  of  this  section shall apply to real property held in trust
  solely for the benefit of a person or persons  who  would  otherwise  be
  eligible  for a real property tax exemption, pursuant to subdivision one
  of this section, were such person or persons the owner or owners of such
  real property.