equalization rates

EQUALIZATION RATES

At its simplest, an equalization rate is the state’s measure of a municipality’s level of assessment (LOA). This is the ratio of total assessed value (AV) to the municipality’s total market value (MV). The municipality determines the AV; the MV is estimated by the state. The equalization rate formula is:

Total Assessed Value (AV) divided by
Total Market Value (MV) = Equalization Rate

An equalization rate of 100 means that the municipality is assessing property at 100 percent of market value.
An equalization rate of less than 100 means that the municipality’s total market value is greater than its assessed value.

An equalization rate of greater than 100 means that the total assessed value for the municipality is greater than its total market value.

The New York State Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) is statutorily obligated to administer an equalization program in order to assure equitable property tax allocation among nearly 4,000 taxing jurisdictions in New York State, and to insure the proper allocation of State Aid to Education funds, among other purposes. Equalization seeks to measure the relationship of locally assessed values to an ever-changing real estate market. Each year, ORPS calculates equalization rates for each of the state’s more than 1,200 assessing units.

Equalization is necessary in New York State because: (1) there is no fixed percentage at which property must be assessed; (2) not all municipalities assess property at the same percentage of market value; and (3) taxing jurisdictions, such as most school districts, do not share the same taxing boundaries as the cities and towns that are responsible for assessing properties. Most of the state’s more than 700 school districts distribute their taxes among segments of several municipalities, many of which have different levels of assessment.

More information is available in Understanding the Equalization Rate.