Rebate Checks Still ‘In The Mail’ to Hudson Valley Residents

Many Hudson Valley taxpayers are getting impatient as they wait for the promised tax rebate checks from New York State.

As we reported over the Summer, most taxpayers in our area are scheduled to receive a property tax rebate for 2014. But in fact, many Hudson Valley residents are still waiting to see the money. The Democrat and Chronicle notes that  2.8 million checks are to be sent out to homeowners in school districts that fell under the tax cap last year. In our area, that's pretty much every school district with the exception of Dover, Tuxedo, Milbrook, Kiryas Joel Village, and Valley Central (Montgomery).

However, while most of the state has already received their refund, a large number of people in the Hudson Valley have not. Initially, the state promised all checks to be sent out by the end of 2014, but now they are saying that they should arrive by the end of February. With just a week left, many are left holding their breath.

The Democrat and Chronicle reports that most of the missing checks seem to be in the Hudson Valley and Long Island, which coincidentally seems to have the highest tax rates in the country.

During a February 9 state budget hearing Nonie Manion, from the Department of Taxation and Finance, admitted that the checks were, indeed, delayed in some parts of the state. Manion said:

So we were receiving some files as late as the end of November, December... and then the due diligence that was required to make sure that we were paying the right amount of the freeze check and making sure it went to the right individual took us a little longer in this first year.

What does this mean for those of us who still have not seen the promised rebate? Well right now it remains a waiting game.

In the meantime you can call the NY State Department of Taxation at (518) 453-8146, but most who call are just being told to wait until March. Next month there will be a website where taxpayers can appeal if they believe they are owed a tax credit and still haven't received one.

Are you still waiting for your tax credit? Let us know what school district you are in so we can keep track of those who still hasn't been paid back.