State: No Delay In STAR Rebate Checks For Long Island

State officials say there are no delays in issuing STAR property tax check for Long Islanders, even though the state's own website originally said the checks would be mailed in September.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has a web page where residents can search for their school district to find out when they're supposed to receive their rebate checks. Last month, the website said that checks would be mailed on Long Island in September. But now, the site claims some areas are getting them in October, with many more scheduled to receive them in November.

You can check the status of your community by clicking here.

According to James Gazzale, a spokesperson for the Department of Taxation, the checks are going out on time.

"It all has to do with the timing of when your property tax bill is due," Gazzale said. "The goal is to get the checks out to the property owners in advance of that. I"m not aware of any Long Island school district that has tax due dates in September. They're going out on time with no delay in advance of those bills being due."

The error, Gazzale said, was not in the current dates, but in the previous ones that listed September.

The STAR program is the School Tax Rebate program, which helps homeowners afford their school taxes. It's open to anyone with a household income of $500,000 or less.

Basic STAR exempts the first $30,000 of a home's value from taxes. Enhanced STAR, which is for lower-income households, exempts the first $68,700 for a home's value from taxes.

For more information on the STAR program, including how to register, click here.