Grievance Day in a number of New York State Jurisdictions is approaching at the end of May. Have you considered how challenging your property assessment may save you on one of your biggest fixed costs?
Privately owned nursing homes and adult care facilities in Upstate New York, including Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse, are fundamentally different from traditional income-producing properties. Yet many assessments still reflect methodologies designed for apartments, retail centers, or generic commercial buildings. Skilled nursing and adult facilities operate in a heavily regulated reimbursement environment, where revenue is driven by Medicaid and Medicare rates — not market rents. Under New York law, property taxes must be based on the market value of the real estate alone — not the value of the operating business. When business income, enterprise value, or unsupported cost assumptions are embedded in an assessment, taxable value may be overstated.
Across upstate municipalities, we frequently see overreliance on “cost” approaches to value without adequate consideration of factors like functional and economic obsolescence. Many facilities were built decades ago and face physical layout limitations that make it difficult to achieve licensed bed capacity, changing regulatory requirements, and significant capital needs. At the same time, reimbursement rate limitations based on payor source or licensing, staffing shortages, fluctuating occupancy, increasing costs/expenses for providing care and the cost of debt financing have affected operating performances throughout Western and Central New York and the Capital Region, especially. If capitalization rates, applicable forms of depreciation, or separation of business value are not properly applied, the resulting assessment may overstate the true market value of the underlying real property.
For many operators, real property taxes are among a facility’s largest fixed expense. Even a modest reduction in assessed value can produce meaningful annual savings. With Grievance Day deadlines approaching in most towns and cities (May 26, 2026), now is an appropriate time to review whether your facility’s assessment accurately reflects market conditions and complies with New York valuation standards. A complimentary and confidential preliminary review before Grievance Day can determine whether a challenge is warranted.
Please contact a member of the HSE Tax Assessment team for more information.