Canandaigua Lake Property Taxes: STAR & Grievance Day

Last reviewed: October 11, 2026. General information only, not tax or legal advice. Tax rates, due dates, exemptions, and grievance days are set locally and change every year. Confirm with your assessor, tax collector, Ontario or Yates County, and the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.

Property taxes are one of the biggest ongoing costs of owning a home around Canandaigua Lake, and one of the most confusing. Two houses a short drive apart can sit in different towns, different counties, and different school districts, with different assessment levels and bills that arrive in different months. Comparing “tax rates” between them usually tells you very little.

This guide explains how property taxes work around the lake: who taxes you, when the bills come in Ontario County and on the Yates County side, why equalization rates matter, how the STAR credit works for new owners, how to grieve an assessment (including the extra rights non-resident owners have), and the state taxes you’ll see at closing. It’s part of our Property Taxes section.

Who taxes a Canandaigua Lake property

Two counties, six lakeshore municipalities

Canandaigua Lake spans two counties. New York Navigation Law §46-a names the lakeshore municipalities that share the lake’s uniform dock rules: the City of Canandaigua and the Towns of Canandaigua, Gorham, and South Bristol in Ontario County, and the Towns of Middlesex and Italy in Yates County (see our dock rules guide). Naples, at the south end of the watershed, is in Ontario County too.

Which county and town you’re in decides who assesses your property, who collects your taxes, and when.

The layers on a typical bill

A home near the lake usually pays several separate taxes:

County tax (Ontario or Yates)
Town tax, or city tax inside the City of Canandaigua
School district tax, often the largest single piece. School districts don’t follow town lines, so neighbors can be in different districts. Your district is printed on your school tax bill.
Village tax, if the property is inside a village
Special district charges. Ontario County says these may include fire protection, water, sewer, or lighting districts, and the town/county bill can also carry unpaid water or sewer charges or relieved unpaid school or village taxes (Ontario County: county and town tax bills).

When the bills arrive

Ontario County towns

Ontario County publishes this schedule (Schedule of Taxes Due):

Bill	Billed	Due without penalty
County / Town	January 2	January 31
Village	June 1	June 30
Central school districts	September 1	October 1
Canandaigua City School District	October 1	November 1

A few details from the county that matter for lake owners:

Town/county bills can be paid in two equal installments, but the first must be paid in January. The second can be paid in February with 1% interest or March with 2%. Town tax collectors can’t accept payments after March 31, when unpaid taxes go to the County Treasurer.
Central school districts in Ontario County don’t allow installment payments. Interest charges after September vary by district, so read the bill.
Canandaigua City School District allows two equal installments if the first is paid by October 31. The second can be paid in November with 1% interest or December with 3%. The district can’t accept payments after December 31 (Ontario County: school tax bills).

City of Canandaigua

City residents get a county-only bill on or before January 1 and a separate city bill on or before May 1. Ontario County says installment payments aren’t accepted on city bills (Ontario County: city tax bills).

Middlesex and Italy (Yates County)

Yates County’s tax tips for property owners say school tax bills go out in September and are paid to the school tax collector, and town and county bills go out in January and are paid to the town tax collector through March 31, then to the county (Yates County Tax Tips, PDF). Confirm current dates with your town tax collector.

Escrow tip: if your lender escrows taxes, make sure it has the right school district and collector, and that it knows about any village bill. In the first year after a purchase, bills mailed to the previous owner are a common mix-up.

How your bill is calculated

The NYS Tax Department’s formula is simple: taxes owed = taxable assessment × tax rate per $1,000 (NYS Tax: how property taxes are calculated). Taxable assessment is your assessed value minus exemptions. Each taxing jurisdiction sets its rate by dividing the levy it needs to raise by the total taxable assessed value in the jurisdiction.

So your bill can change even if your assessment doesn’t. A school budget vote, a town budget, a reassessment, or new construction elsewhere in the district can all shift it.

Why you can’t compare tax rates between towns

New York lets each municipality assess at its own level of assessment. The Tax Department gives the example of a city that assesses at 27% of market value: a $100,000 house would be assessed at $27,000 (NYS Tax: how assessments are determined). The state measures each municipality’s level with an equalization rate: total assessed value divided by total market value. A rate of 100 means assessments equal market value (NYS Tax: equalization rates).

Here are the state’s published equalization rates for the lakeshore municipalities and Naples (NYS equalization rates dataset, data.ny.gov):

Municipality	County	2024 rate	2025 rate
City of Canandaigua	Ontario	100	100
Town of Canandaigua	Ontario	98	92
Town of Gorham	Ontario	97	89
Town of South Bristol	Ontario	80	70
Town of Naples	Ontario	100	97
Town of Middlesex	Yates	74	74
Town of Italy	Yates	100	95

What this means for buyers:

A lower equalization rate means assessments are further below market value. In a town at 70, a house assessed at $350,000 has an implied market value of about $500,000 ($350,000 ÷ 0.70). Tax rates in such a town will look higher than in a full-value town, even if the actual bills are similar.
Rates move. Several of these fell from 2024 to 2025, a sign that market values rose faster than assessments. A town that falls well below 100 may eventually reassess.
Look at the actual bills, not the rate. Ask the seller or the assessor for the most recent county/town, school, and village bills, and remember the seller’s bills may include exemptions you won’t get.

STAR: the school tax break for primary residences

New owners get the STAR credit

If the home will be your primary residence, register for the STAR credit with the Tax Department. The Tax Department says that, depending on when you bought, you may receive the prior owner’s STAR exemption in the first year, but after that you’ll receive your own STAR credit as long as you’re eligible (NYS Tax: new homebuyers). The credit comes as a check or direct deposit, not a reduction on the bill.

Who qualifies

According to the Tax Department’s STAR eligibility page:

Basic STAR: no age limit; combined income of resident owners and their spouses of $500,000 or less for the credit ($250,000 or less for the older exemption).
Enhanced STAR: at least one resident owner 65 or older by December 31 of the benefit year, with income of $110,750 or less for 2026 benefits and $113,550 or less for 2027 benefits.
Primary residence: the Tax Department looks at factors such as time spent at the property, voter registration, and the address on your vehicle registration and ID.
One benefit per couple, regardless of how many homes you own, unless legally separated. LLCs, corporations, and partnerships generally aren’t eligible.

A seasonal lake cottage that isn’t your primary residence doesn’t qualify. If you’re moving into a former second home full-time, register once it truly becomes your primary residence.

Other exemptions

The Tax Department notes most other exemptions (for example, for seniors, veterans, or people with disabilities) are offered at the discretion of the town, county, or school district. Ask your assessor which ones your community offers and the filing deadlines.

Grieving your assessment

Who can grieve, and how

Any person who pays property taxes on a property can grieve its assessment, including owners and purchasers. There’s no fee and no requirement to hire a lawyer. Outside New York City and Nassau County, you file Form RP-524 with the assessor or the Board of Assessment Review (BAR). Only the current tentative roll can be grieved (NYS Tax: grievance procedures).

Grievance Day around Canandaigua Lake

In most communities, Grievance Day is the fourth Tuesday in May, and a mailed form must be received by then. Miss it and you lose both administrative and court review for the year. Some towns that share an assessor have adopted alternate dates. The Tax Department’s list of alternate grievance days, current as of 2026, includes two near the lake (RPTL §512 alternate grievance days):

Gorham: first Thursday after the fourth Tuesday in May
Naples: first Wednesday after the fourth Tuesday in May

The Tax Department notes some municipalities have other dates for other reasons, and villages that assess property usually hold grievance in February. Always confirm the date with your assessor, and check whether your village assesses separately; if it does, you’d file separate forms with the town and the village.

Extra rights for non-resident owners

Many Canandaigua Lake owners live somewhere else for part or all of the year. The Tax Department gives non-resident owners two extra tools:

You can make a written request, at least 15 days before the tentative roll date (May 1 in most communities), for a list of your property, its assessed value, and the time and place of grievance hearings. The assessor must mail it within five days after the tentative roll is completed.
You can ask for a hearing date after Grievance Day, up to 21 days later, as long as you file Form RP-524 on or before the regular Grievance Day.

Building a case

The grievance asks you to show the assessment is too high, usually by showing your property’s market value is less than the assessment implies (assessment ÷ equalization rate). The Tax Department’s Municipal Data Portal includes a Sales Web tool with ten years of sales data outside New York City, which helps you find comparable sales. Lakefront footage, steep lots, access, and septic condition all affect value; make sure the assessor’s description of your property matches reality. You can also agree to a reduced assessment with the assessor before Grievance Day by signing a stipulation (Part Six of RP-524), but then you can’t ask the BAR for more.

Taxes and fees at closing

The Tax Department says three state taxes and fees are generally collected at a New York closing (NYS Tax: new homebuyers):

the filing fee for Form RP-5217, the Real Property Transfer Report;
the real estate transfer tax, at $2 for each $500 of consideration, plus an additional 1% “mansion tax” on residences of $1 million or more (NYS Tax: real estate transfer tax); the base tax is paid by the seller unless the contract says otherwise; and
the mortgage recording tax, if you’re financing.

Your attorney will also adjust current-year taxes between buyer and seller. Because Ontario County’s school, town/county, and city bills cover different periods and arrive in different months, check the math on the closing statement.

A tax checklist for buyers

Confirm the town, county, school district, and any village for the exact parcel.
Get the last full year of actual bills, and note any exemptions the seller has.
Look up the town’s equalization rate and calculate the implied market value of the assessment.
Ask the assessor whether a reassessment is planned.
Put the bill months on your calendar: January (town/county), September or October (school), May for city bills, June for village bills.
Register for the STAR credit once the home is your primary residence.
If your assessment looks high, file RP-524 by your town’s Grievance Day.

Frequently asked questions

When are property taxes due around Canandaigua Lake?

In Ontario County towns, town/county bills are due January 31 without penalty, central school bills October 1, Canandaigua City School District bills November 1, and village bills June 30. City of Canandaigua city bills are mailed by May 1. On the Yates County side, school bills go out in September and town/county bills in January.

Can I pay Ontario County property taxes in installments?

Town/county bills can be paid in two installments if the first is paid in January. Canandaigua City School District allows two installments if the first is paid by October 31. Central school districts in Ontario County don’t allow installments, and City of Canandaigua city bills don’t either.

Why is the tax rate in one lake town so much higher than another?

Usually because the towns assess at different percentages of market value. Compare equalization rates and actual bills instead of rates.

Do I get the seller’s STAR exemption?

You may see it in the first year, but you need to register for your own STAR credit once the home is your primary residence. STAR doesn’t transfer from the seller.

When is Grievance Day?

Usually the fourth Tuesday in May, but Gorham and Naples have adopted later dates in the same week. Confirm with your assessor, and file Form RP-524 so it’s received by that day.

I don’t live here year-round. Can I still grieve?

Yes. Non-resident owners can request their assessment information in advance and ask for a hearing up to 21 days after Grievance Day, as long as they file RP-524 by Grievance Day.

Official sources

Related on Living on Canandaigua: Septic inspections at sale · Dock rules · Drinking water and algal blooms · Heating a Canandaigua Lake home

Across the network: Keuka Lake property taxes and STAR and the STAR credit walkthrough for new homeowners on Living on Keuka · Seneca Lake property taxes by county on Living on Seneca

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