Governor Cuomo recently signed an amendment to the Real Property Tax Laws that will continue partial tax abatements for cooperatives and condominiums held in trust.

In January 2013 the New York State legislature passed Chapter 4 of the Laws of 2013 to amend the real property tax law regarding the partial abatement of real property taxes for

cooperatives and condominiums. While this amendment continued the abatement for units where the shareholder is the primary resident, it did not include coops and condo units that are held in trust.

The new amendment states: RPTL § 467-a (2)(b-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the provisions of this section shall apply to any dwelling unit held in trust solely for the benefit of a person or persons who would otherwise be eligible for an abatement, pursuant to this section, were such person or persons the owner or owners of such dwelling unit.

This means if you placed your coop or condo in a trust for your sole benefit, then you can continue the partial abatement of real property taxes you enjoyed prior to transferring the ownership of the coop or condo to the trust. This new amendment helps maintain affordable housing for those who have transferred their residences to a trust.

Current law regarding other tax abatements provides that property held in trust solely for the benefit of persons otherwise eligible for Senior Citizen Homeowners Exemption (SCHE), veteran’s exemptions and STAR qualify for those programs.

There are pros and cons to transferring ownership of your coop or condo to a trust for your benefit. Thanks to the new amendment, you can now make the transfer without fear of losing your partial tax abatement.