A growing number of local governments across New York are planning to override the state’s property tax cap, according to a report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
New York’s property tax cap limits annual increases in property taxes to the lesser of 2% or the inflation factor, with some exceptions. Local governments other than school districts may override the cap if at least 60% of their governing boards vote to approve it.
Cities are leading this trend, with nearly half (49.2%) reporting that they planned to override for the local fiscal year ending (FYE) in 2025 and 45% indicating they would override for FYE 2026, up from 13.1% in 2022. Over one-fifth of New York’s counties also reported that they planned to override the tax cap for FYE 2025, and nearly one-fourth reported planning overrides for FYE 2026, up from 3.5% in 2022.
Furthermore, 35.5% of villages and 28.6% of towns are planning to override the cap, up from 22.7% and 16.6%, respectively, in 2022. The share of fire districts planning overrides reached 34.9% for FYE 2025 before declining slightly to 31.5% for FYE 2026, up from 18.6% in 2022.
A smaller share of school districts have reported plans to override the cap than other local governments. However, their share has more than doubled in recent years, increasing from 2.4% to 4.9% from FYE 2024 to FYE 2026.
“Many local governments are under fiscal pressure, with rising costs and slower growth in recurring revenues,” DiNapoli said. “For local officials trying to close budget gaps or increase revenue to align with spending, overriding the tax cap is an option, and increasing numbers have reported plans to do so. I urge local officials to communicate with the public and be transparent about their fiscal challenges and plans for addressing them. My office is always here to help.”
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