2006 Tax Budget Calculator
Where do my property taxes go?

by Ned Benton

(October 12, 2006) Westchester County scores #1 again! But there's a catch. This time it's for having the highest property taxes in the nation.The Tax Foundation, using recent census data, published county rankings of median homeowner property taxes across the country. Westchester County came out on top for 2005 with a median property tax of $7,337. But "median" means that half of the taxpayers pay more and half less. Most Larchmonters would be delighted to have their property tax reduced to $7,337!

Every year, Larchmont and Town of Mamaroneck homeowners turn over a significant portion of their income to local government in the form of property taxes. The past five years have been difficult budget years for every taxing entity - and for the tax payers who pay the bills. There were decreases in state and federal aid, and increases in pension and insurance costs. Therefore budgets and tax rates increased - sometimes at eye-popping rates. So where is all that tax money going?

The charts above and below show that approximately one quarter of your tax dollars, if you live in 10538, goes to the Town of Mamaroneck or Village of Larchmont, about one-fifth goes to Westchester County and the rest - more than half - goes to the Mamaroneck Schools.

Most of us have only a rough idea of what eventually happens to those dollars -- we know they go for schools, streets, police, fire and library services. Larchmont Gazette's interactive Property Tax Calculator is designed to give you a more complete idea of what you get for those dollars.

Factoring in the STAR Program

This year, the STAR Program continues to provide funds that enable the assessor to reduce your school tax, provided that you have submitted your Program Application. If you submitted it in the past, and your application status has not changed, you continue to automatically get the benefits of the program.

This year you will also receive a rebate in the mail - just before the November elections. Each Mamaroneck School District household paying the school property tax will receive $292.43 if eligible for Basic STAR or $488.36 if eligible for Enhanced STAR. The enhanced program is for seniors who also meet an income threshold.

All That Debt...

This year's calculator also adds another new feature - an estimate of your household's share of local, state and federal debt.

The calculator starts with the debt per person, as presented above, and then multiplies that figure by the number of persons in your household.

Let's Get Started...

To use the calculator, first figure out (or estimate) your total annual property tax payment, including the county, school, town and village portions. (Hint: Take the amount you reported to the IRS for 2005 and increase it by 5% for Larchmont Village residents and 6% for Town of Mamaroneck residents.) Then select the appropriate option below, to take into consideration your eligibility for the STAR deduction and rebate.

Homeowners with Standard STAR Deductions - Most Non-Seniors

• Village of Larchmont
• Town of Mamaroneck Uncorporated Area

Homeowners with Enhanced STAR deductions - Most Seniors

• Village of Larchmont
• Town of Mamaroneck Uncorporated Area

Property Owners with no STAR deductions - Most Businesses

• Village of Larchmont
• Town of Mamaroneck Uncorporated Area

You will be asked to enter your tax and the number of people, including children, in your household. The calculator does the rest.

Warning: Your web browser may pause and warn you about "active content" and ask your permission to proceed. The report is safe and you should grant permission. The "active content" that the browser detects is some arithmetic to calculate the figures in your report. Nothing is saved on your computer and nothing is sent to the Gazette.

Technical Details

The expenditure illustration relies on the published budgets for the four governments. The County budget is available online at Westchester County Budget 2006. The Mamaroneck School District budget is also available online at 2006-2007 Summary of the Proposed Budget. The Village of Larchmont budget is available at Village of Larchmont Appropriations. The 2006 Town of Mamaroneck Budget is available on reserve at the Larchmont Public Library.

STAR deductions are based on the Median Star Savings for Westchester County, along with the recently enacted STAR Rebate. Provided that you have registered for the deduction, your tax bill will automatically reflect this deduction. STAR Overview provides more information about this program. If you have not yet applied for a STAR exemption, the Application Forms are available online.

Because the taxing entities use somewhat different categories and operate on different calendars, the illustration relies on some simplification, collapsing and combination of budget lines. Also, the chart does not take into consideration that the governments do not allocate revenues from all their revenue sources in a precisely equal fashion across all their budget items. However, you do get a basic picture of where the dollars go.

Figuring the Debt

The following are links to the sources of information about county, state and federal governmental debt.

• Westchester County Debt: Bonds Outstanding and Capital Balance Sheet
• New York State Debt: Office of the State Comptroller Debt Spreadsheet
• United States Debt: Bureau of the Public Debt

The Town, Village and School District debt is published in their respective budgets.

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