Greenburgh January 31st School Tax Deadline: Don’t Miss It

By PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor–

On February 1^st some Greenburgh and Westchester residents will be furious because they forgot to pay the second half of the school tax (due on January 31^st) and received a 10% penalty because they paid the taxes a day late. Other taxpayers will be calling town officials during the month of February complaining about penalties that exceed $1,000 for being a day or a few days late.

I have complained about the 10% penalty many times. The majority of the Town Board and many other municipal officials in Westchester believe that NYS does not allow penalties to be waived by local governments even if the taxpayer had a legitimate concern—did not receive the bill in the mail or had other legitimate issues—family members in the hospital with serious illness or that they didn’t receive the bill in the mail.  I think the 10% penalty is excessive, wrong, and so far, haven’t been able to change the law. Towns and school districts are independent of each other. Town governments collect school taxes and must guarantee the school districts 100% of the taxes whether collected or not.

This year Greenburgh is being more aggressive trying to remind residents of their tax obligations. The Receiver of Taxes sent out reminders to those who haven’t paid by mid-January. And – we have placed digital reminder boards on some busy streets in Greenburgh – including Hillside Ave and East Hartsdale Ave. (see attached). I will continue a past practice of reminding residents about the penalties on the town website and on social media. I am hopeful that the media will also remind taxpayers of their obligations and penalties.

The Greenburgh tax office will be open Friday until 7 PM. The town also collects taxes on line. For information about how one can pay town taxes visit the Receiver of Taxes website:

https://www.greenburghny.com/190/Tax-Department

Don’t forget to pay your taxes by January 31^st.