Property tax in Suffolk County, New York

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Suffolk County, the property tax bill comes from the Receiver of Taxes in your town (each of Suffolk County's ten towns has its own). The 2026-2027 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due January 10, 2027. Taken from Suffolk County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Suffolk County, New York is $10,000+ a year, which is at least 1.73% of the county's median home value of $578,400. The Census stops counting at $10,000: it reports only that the median bill here is $10,000 or more, so the true bill and rate are higher than shown. That effective rate is higher than the national median (0.81%); against the typical New York county (2.04%) the capped figure cannot say. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Who sends the property tax bill in Suffolk County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Receiver of Taxes in your town (each of Suffolk County's ten towns has its own). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, your town's assessor's office (each of Suffolk County's ten towns assesses its own properties), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong.

In Suffolk County one bill covers county, town and school taxes, and it is sent and collected by the Receiver of Taxes in your town, not by a county office. Your home is also valued by your town's assessor, so grievances and exemption applications (Enhanced STAR, senior and veterans' exemptions) go to the town. Each town runs its own payment options; the county's online tax portal is for delinquent taxes after May 31. The tax year runs from December 1 to November 30.

When are property taxes due in Suffolk County?

For the 2026-2027 (December 1, 2026 to November 30, 2027) bill, Suffolk County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due January 10, 2027 and the last May 31, 2027. Taxes still unpaid after May 31 become delinquent and are paid to the Suffolk County Comptroller, not the town, with a 5% penalty plus interest of 1% a month counted from February 1. Taxes unpaid on August 31 also carry a tax sale advertising fee, and the county sells tax liens, usually in December.

Suffolk County property tax due dates, 2026-2027 (December 1, 2026 to November 30, 2027)
Payment	Due	Note
First half (or the full year)	January 10, 2027	Bills are mailed by mid-December and can be paid from December 1. January 10, 2027 is a Sunday. New York law lets a deadline that falls on a weekend or public holiday be met on the next business day, Monday, January 11, 2027, and town receivers have applied that rule before (Riverhead moved the Saturday, January 10, 2026 deadline to Monday, January 12); check your own town receiver's bill, or pay by Friday, January 8, to be safe. Mailed payments count by the postmark date, but a postage-meter postmark does not count. If the first half is paid late, 1% of that half is added, plus 1% more for each further month or part of a month, until May 31.
Second half	May 31, 2027	May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day, so under the same New York rule payment is on time on the next business day, Tuesday, June 1, 2027 (Riverhead listed June 1 when May 31, 2026 fell on a Sunday). The second half is penalty-free only if the first half has been paid, or is paid at the same time. Partial payments of $200 or more are accepted, and interest is charged only on the unpaid balance.

From Suffolk County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Suffolk County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Suffolk County's average effective rate of 1.73% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $10,006 / year

Property tax in Suffolk County at a glance

Suffolk County, New York property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$10,000+
Median home value	$578,400
Effective tax rate	at least 1.73%
Typical New York county rate	2.04%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Suffolk County compare in New York?

Among New York's 62 counties, Suffolk County has the 43rd highest effective property-tax rate: 42 rank higher and 19 rank lower. Nationally, it ranks 173rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. Both ranks use the capped $10,000 bill, so the county's true rate, and its true rank, may be higher still. See every New York county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Suffolk County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Suffolk County's 421,146 owner-occupied homes, 92% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 94% pay at least $2,000, and 1.5% pay under $800. Another 2.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Suffolk County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	6,308	1.5%
$800 to $1,499	5,683	1.3%
$1,500 to $1,999	4,185	1%
$2,000 to $2,999	8,409	2%
$3,000 or more	387,482	92%
No property tax paid	9,079	2.2%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $10,000+ and owners without one pay $10,000+. At least one of those medians hits the Census cap, so the gap between them cannot be measured here. Census table B25103.

Property tax in counties next to Suffolk County

Suffolk County borders 7 counties, 6 of them across the state line.

Suffolk County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT	2.02%	$8,670	$428,800
South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT	1.91%	$6,759	$353,100
Suffolk County, NY (this county)	at least 1.73%	$10,000+	$578,400
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT	1.67%	$6,357	$379,700
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT	1.62%	$5,228	$323,400
Nassau County, NY	at least 1.46%	$10,000+	$684,700
Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT	1.42%	$9,295	$652,900
Washington County, RI	1%	$5,102	$510,800

How is a home assessed in Suffolk County?

New York sets the assessment rules and Suffolk County applies them. How New York assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Suffolk County?

Not as a flat dollar amount. New York's main owner-occupancy benefit is STAR, which reduces school taxes for owners with income up to $500,000 (STAR credit) or $250,000 (STAR exemption). That is the New York rule, and it applies in Suffolk County. New York's exemptions and relief programs in full.

Suffolk County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the New York ones (checked September 23, 2026).

How to appeal your Suffolk County property assessment

In Suffolk County you appeal to the Your town's Board of Assessment Review. The deadline: File a written complaint with your town assessor, or with your town's Board of Assessment Review at its hearing, on or before Grievance Day, which the Suffolk County Tax Act sets as the third Tuesday of May each year (May 18 in 2027). Notices of increased assessments are mailed by May 1. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

How New York's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

New York rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the New York page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Suffolk County, New York: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.