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Average time to issue a property tax refund (days)
Bill and collect property and other taxes. — Promptly review requests for refunds.
Property tax refund processing time roughly doubled after fiscal 2023 because DOF added extra review steps to fight a wave of fraudulent refund claims — over 800 suspicious claims worth more than $3 million were caught in late 2023 and early 2024, and the agency tightened identity-theft and fraud checks further the following year. DOF's Fiscal 2026 preliminary report says processing time has since come down as staff became more familiar with the new fraud-screening process.
Researched July 15, 2026 — NYC Department of Finance, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, NYC Department of Finance, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, NYC Department of Finance, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FY22 | 13 days | 28 days |
| FY23 | 13 days | 20 days |
| FY24 | 25 days | 20 days |
| FY25 | 35 days | 20 days |
| FY26 (YTD) | 25 days | 20 days |
Why this is tracked
Property taxes make up roughly half of the city's tax revenue and underwrite core services from schools to the NYPD and FDNY. DOF is responsible for determining property values, calculating tax bills based on a property's class and rate, and collecting payment -- work that ties the accuracy and timeliness of routine billing directly to the City's ability to fund basic services. Because the tax is so central to the municipal budget, delays, errors, or shortfalls in billing and collection can have outsized fiscal consequences citywide.
Office of the New York State Comptroller - Local Government Financial Condition Report, TaxBills.nyc - NYC Property Tax Bills, Payments & Calculator
Source: Refunds & Adjustments Unit — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The average number of calendar days it takes Finance to issue a property tax refund, measured from when the application is received to the date the check is mailed.