Annual Assessment Cycle

Important Dates

Each year the Town of Webster's Assessment Office prepares an Assessment Roll to be used for the levy of taxes based on the budgets set by the school districts (Webster Central and Wayne Central), the County of Monroe, the Town of Webster, and the Village of Webster. School tax bills are issued in September, the Town/ County tax bills are issued the following January, and the Village bills are issued the following June. In order to produce this Assessment Roll, the Assessment Office follows the New York State Assessment Calendar as set forth throughout the New York State Real Property Tax Law. The annual calendar is as follows:

July through March

Most inspections take place for all new construction, remodeling, demolitions, and land subdivisions that occurred after the preceding March 1. This requires on-site inspections and sketching of new homes, home additions, new commercial buildings, commercial additions, fire damaged properties, and demolished buildings. It also requires the mapping of all newly created land parcels in the Town of Webster.

March 1 - Taxable Status Date

The Taxable Status Date is set by New York State Real Property Tax Law. All exemption applications must be received by the Assessment Office by this date and owners must also qualify by this date. This is also the day that all properties are assessed "as of." In other words, the assessment of a property is based on whatever improvement is on a property as of March 1. In a worst case scenario, if a property had a building on March 1 and the building burned to the ground on March 2, according to state statute the property would be assessed for the building for the following tax year, and not be eligible for review until the next tax year.

March through May 1

Valuation occurs for all new, remodeled, fire damaged, demolished, or subdivided properties that were in existence as of March 1. Property valuation is conducted according to the applicable standard methods of valuation- namely, the cost, sales comparison, and capitalization of income approaches. 

May 1 - Tentative Assessment Roll Filed

This Roll lists assessments for all properties in Webster. The Tentative Assessment Roll also displays the approved exemptions for each property, whether new or previously existing. If you want to know whether your exemption application was approved, this is the time to review the Roll. If there are any errors in posting, this is the easiest time to make the corrections - not after the tax bills are issued. However, it is still possible, with some limitations, to make corrections after bills are issued. 

 May 1 through Fourth Tuesday in May

Assessment Grievance forms are available and accepted for filing. These forms must be filled out completely and returned to the Assessment Office. This is the formal Grievance process. Only the assessment listed on the Tentative Assessment Roll may be grieved. You will find a copy of the Tentative Assessment Roll and other useful information in the Assessment Office. It is available for public inspection until Grievance Day.  

Fourth Tuesday in May - Grievance Day

The Board of Assessment Review (BAR) hears complaints against the Tentative Assessment Roll. The BAR is comprised of five Webster residents who have knowledge of real estate values in the town. The BAR makes its decision based on evidence submitted to prove the value of the grieved property and notifies the owners of their decision. The BAR does not have jurisdiction on tax complaints. You cannot grieve your taxes or your tax bills. Appointments to appear before the BAR are made when the grievance application is completed and submitted to the Assessment Office. All applications must be filed by Grievance Day. According to New York State law, filing late will result in a dismissal of your application.

July 1 - Final Assessment Roll Filed

The Assessor completes a Final Assessment Roll to be used for the next cycle of tax billing. The Final Assessment Roll incorporates the changes made by the BAR during the grievance process. Judicial review of a final assessment is available only to those properties that were reviewed by the BAR.  View the 2023 Final  Assessment Roll

Periodic Updates

The Town of Webster periodically revises assessments town-wide to bring all assessed values back to full market value. During a town-wide update the schedule may vary to accommodate the additional work load and allow for an extended review period by the public. If you have any questions concerning the assessment process, please contact the Assessment Office at (585) 872-7051.