Queens Property Taxes Explained (2026)

Your Queens tax bill is built from three moving parts — your tax class, your assessed value, and the rate the City Council sets each year. Here's how each one works and where you can push back.

Class 1 tax rate, FY2026: 19.843%
Class 1 assessment ratio: 6% of market value
Annual cap on Class 1 assessment increases: 6% per year
Basic STAR credit (DOF sample Class 1 bill): $287/year

Updated September 2026 · Queens, NY

The four tax classes

New York City sorts every property into one of four tax classes, and the class decides both your tax rate and how your value is assessed. Class 1 is the homeowner class: one-, two-, and three-family houses, condos in buildings of three stories or fewer, and small mixed-use properties. Class 2 is everything else residential: rental buildings with four or more units, co-ops, and condos in taller buildings. Class 3 covers utility company equipment, and Class 4 is commercial and industrial property.

You can confirm your class on your Notice of Property Value — mailed every January — or on the Department of Finance's property information portal. Most Queens buyers will only ever deal with Class 1 (houses) or Class 2 (co-ops, condos, rentals).

2026 tax rates

The City Council sets new rates every year for the fiscal year running July 1 to June 30. For FY2026 — the bills you're paying now — the rates are: Class 1 at 19.843%, Class 2 at 12.439%, Class 3 at 11.108%, and Class 4 at 10.848%. The Class 1 rate ticked down from 20.085% the prior year; Class 2 from 12.500%.

Don't let the percentages confuse you: the rate applies to your assessed value, not your market value. A 19.843% rate on a Class 1 home sounds terrifying until you learn the assessed value is only 6% of market value — which brings the effective rate to about 1.19% of market value.

Market value vs. assessed value

Every January the Department of Finance estimates your property's market value — for Class 1, based on sales of similar homes nearby; for Class 2 rentals, based on the building's income and expenses. Then it multiplies by the assessment ratio to get your assessed value: 6% for Class 1, and 45% for Classes 2, 3, and 4. Note the quirk for co-ops and condos: the city values them as if they were income-producing rental buildings, using comparable rents — which is why co-op taxes can feel disconnected from what units actually sell for.

Your tax bill is the assessed value times your class rate, minus exemptions, minus abatements. Class 1 bills are paid quarterly — July 1, October 1, January 1, April 1. If your bill looks wrong, the first thing to check is the market value and property description on your Notice of Property Value; the city sometimes has the wrong square footage or bathroom count.

Annual caps on assessment increases

State law limits how fast your assessed value can rise, and this is the single most misunderstood part of NYC property taxes. For Class 1, the assessed value can't increase more than 6% in one year or more than 20% over five years — even if your home's market value doubles. For smaller Class 2 buildings (subclasses 2a, 2b, 2c — ten or fewer units), the caps are 8% per year and 30% over five years. Larger Class 2 and Class 4 properties get a five-year transitional phase-in of assessment changes instead.

The practical effect: your assessed value usually lags well behind your market value, which is why long-time owners often pay surprisingly low taxes. But the caps also mean your assessed value can keep rising after market values fall — it's still catching up to where the uncapped number would be. Check the effective market value line on your notice: that's the number you have to beat to win an appeal.

Exemptions and abatements: STAR and the co-op/condo abatement

STAR — the state's School Tax Relief program — is the exemption most Queens homeowners qualify for. Basic STAR is open to owner-occupants with household income up to $500,000; in New York City it shows up as a credit on the bill — $287 on the Department of Finance's own sample Class 1 bill. Enhanced STAR is for homeowners 65 and older with income up to $110,750 for the 2026-27 school year, and the benefit is larger. Most new applicants receive STAR as a credit check or direct deposit from the state rather than a line on the city bill.

Co-op and condo owners in Class 2 get a different break: the Cooperative and Condominium Tax Abatement, which cuts the unit's tax bill by 17.5% to 28.1% depending on the building's average assessed value — 28.1% at $50,000 or less, stepping down to 17.5% above $60,000. The unit must be your primary residence, you must have bought by January 5 of the tax year, and you can't own more than three units in the building. Your building's management applies on behalf of eligible units — you can't apply yourself. Other exemptions exist for seniors, veterans, clergy, and homeowners with disabilities; the full list is on the DOF site.

How to challenge your assessment

If you think the city's number is wrong, you have two paths. First, the informal one: file a Request for Review or a Request to Update with the Department of Finance to fix factual errors — wrong square footage, wrong unit count, wrong classification. Second, the formal appeal: file an Application for Correction with the NYC Tax Commission, an independent agency. Use form TC108 for Class 1 properties, TC101 for Class 2 and 4 buildings, or TC109 for individual condo units.

Deadlines are hard and can't be extended: March 15 for Class 1, March 1 for Classes 2, 3, and 4. (When those dates fall on a weekend the city shifts them slightly — for the 2026-27 tax year the published dates were March 16 for Class 1 and March 2 for Class 2.) You don't need an attorney. Bring comparable sales for a Class 1 challenge or income-and-expense data for Class 2, and remember: if your notice shows an effective market value, you must prove the property is worth less than that number to win.

Worked example: a $750,000 Queens two-family

Say the Department of Finance values your two-family at $750,000. As Class 1, the assessed value is 6% of market value: $45,000. Multiply by the FY2026 Class 1 rate of 19.843%: $45,000 x 0.19843 = $8,929.35 per year, or about $2,232 per quarter. With Basic STAR, subtract the roughly $287 annual credit, bringing it to about $8,642.

Now imagine the market value jumps to $900,000 next year. Uncapped, the assessed value would be $54,000 — but the 6% annual cap holds the increase to $47,700 ($45,000 x 1.06). The caps are why your tax bill moves slowly even when the market moves fast — in both directions.

Questions, answered.

What tax class is my Queens property?

A one-, two-, or three-family house is Class 1. A co-op or condo unit is Class 2. A rental building with four or more units is Class 2. Check your Notice of Property Value or the DOF property portal if you're unsure — the class drives your rate, your assessment ratio, and your appeal deadline.

Why is my tax bill so different from my neighbor's?

Assessment caps phase in at different times for different owners, so two identical houses can carry very different assessed values. Exemptions like STAR, senior, or veteran breaks also differ household to household. Compare assessed values, not just tax bills.

How much is STAR actually worth?

In New York City, Basic STAR shows up as a credit of a few hundred dollars a year — $287 on the Department of Finance's sample Class 1 bill. Enhanced STAR for seniors 65 and older is worth more. Statewide, STAR credits range from about $350-$600 (Basic) to $700-$1,500 (Enhanced), varying by school district.

Do I get the co-op/condo tax abatement automatically?

No. Your building's management or board has to apply on behalf of eligible units, the unit must be your primary residence, and you must have purchased by January 5 of the tax year. If your building never files, you don't get it — ask your management company.

What's the deadline to appeal my assessment?

March 15 for Class 1 (houses) and March 1 for Classes 2, 3, and 4 (rentals, co-ops, condos, commercial), filed with the NYC Tax Commission. Miss it and you wait a full year — the deadlines cannot be extended.

If home prices fall, will my tax bill fall too?

Not necessarily. Because of the caps, your assessed value may still be catching up to prior market gains, so it can rise even in a down market. Your bill falls only when your capped assessed value falls — which is exactly what a Tax Commission appeal targets.

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