Affordable Housing Tax Incentives in New York

A key challenge for affordable housing projects is finding the money to "keep the lights on" and pay operating costs, including insurance, utilities, and taxes. Real property tax exemptions are an essential part of the picture of affordable housing projects. New York City and New York State statutes provide several avenues for owners of affordable housing to obtain real property tax exemptions for their projects. Some of these programs have made headlines, such as 421-a and 485-x, and some are lesser-known - but still critical engines for affordable housing development, such as Article XI or 420-c.

This program, presented by Beth Budnick, will provide a survey of these real property tax exemptions in New York City for affordable housing/rent-restricted real estate projects, including the eligibility requirements, process for obtaining the tax exemptions, and documentation required by the State and City agencies to benefit from such an exemption.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Provide an overview of tax exemption programs in New York City and New York State
2. Explain different organizational structures and property features needed to qualify for several tax exemption programs
3. Provide real-world examples of how these tax exemption programs differ