COVID-19

Governor’s executive order extends property tax deadline by three weeks

The deadline to pay the second half of property taxes has been extended to June 21. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order last week pushing back the deadline by three weeks.

The extension comes after repeated calls to extend the penalty phase for late property taxes by a month. 

The Suffolk County Supervisors Association had sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in late March asking him to extend the date by which people can pay their property taxes without incurring a penalty from the current May 31 to Aug. 1.

The supervisors cited layoffs and lost wages that have occurred in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the proposal ran into opposition from school districts and from Suffolk County, which had $410 million in short-term borrowing that was done in December in anticipation of receipt of property taxes in May, according to County Comptroller John Kennedy. 

First-half taxes were due by Jan. 10 and the second-half taxes are due by June 1, since May 31 is a Sunday. Late payments after the new deadline will have a 5% penalty.

Since Riverhead Town Hall is closed to the public, taxes can be paid from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a walk-up window at the Recreation Department office in Stotzky Park; by a secure mail box outside Town Hall, by regular mail or online, which incurs a 2.45% fee, Riverhead Town Tax Receiver Laurie Zaneski said.

“The COVID-19 public health crisis has created catastrophic hardships for many people, particularly in Suffolk County, one of the areas hardest hit by the pandemic,” Mr. Kennedy said in a statement. “Extending the real property tax deadline to June 22 without penalty or interest will give residents a much-needed grace period in order to meet their real property tax obligation.”