[Adopted 3-1-1973 by L.L. No. 3-1973; amended in its entirety by 11-15-2023 by L.L. No. 4-2023]
The purpose of this article is to grant a partial exemption from taxation to the extent of 50% of the assessed valuation of real property which is owned by certain persons with limited income who are 65 years of age or older and who meet the requirements set forth in § 467 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York ("RPTL § 467").
Subject to the provisions of RPTL § 467, real property owned by a married couple or by siblings, as defined in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 1(a), at least one of whom is 65 years of age or over, shall be exempt from taxation by the Village of Great Neck Plaza (the "Village") to the extent of 50% of the assessed valuation thereof, subject to the following conditions:
A. 
Application for such exemption must be made by the owner or owners of the property on forms prescribed by the state board to be furnished by the Village Clerk, and shall furnish the information and be executed in the manner required or prescribed in such forms and shall be filed in the Village Clerk's office on or before the applicable taxable status date.
B. 
The income of the owner or the combined income of all the owners of the property, calculated as set forth in Subsection C below, shall not exceed the sum of $29,000 for the applicable tax year specified in RPTL § 467(3).
C. 
Income shall be determined as specified in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 3(a)(iv), including the following:
(1) 
Social security benefits shall be considered as income, even if they were not included in the applicant's federal adjusted gross income ("FAGI");
(2) 
Distributions received from individual retirement accounts or individual retirement annuities shall be included;
(3) 
Interest and dividends, including tax exempt interest and dividends, shall be included;
(4) 
The amount of income shall be offset by medical and prescription drug expenses that were actually paid to the extent they were not reimbursed or paid for by insurance; and
(5) 
Losses that were applied to reduce FAGI shall not exceed the maximum amounts set forth in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 3(a)(iv)(5).
D. 
This tax exemption shall apply only to property which is occupied by the owner(s) as their legal residence and only to the extent such property is used for residential purposes, except as otherwise set forth in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 3(c).
E. 
Title to the property must have been vested in one of its owners for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the date of making an application for the exemption, subject to the exceptions set forth in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 3(b).
F. 
A person otherwise qualifying for the exemption shall not be denied the exemption on the ground that such person is not 65 years of age on the appropriate taxable status date provided that such person becomes 65 years of age on or before December 31 of the same year.
G. 
Notices regarding the exemption and application forms shall be sent and mailed as specified in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 6.
H. 
Untimely applications for the exemption, including untimely renewal applications, may be accepted by the Village in the circumstances set forth in RPTL § 467 Subdivision 5-a and § 467 Subdivision 8-a.
A conviction for having made a false statement in the application for such exemption shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $250 or for a period not exceeding 15 days, or both, and shall disqualify the applicant or applicants from further exemption for a period of five years.