If you are a New York City homeowner 65 or older and you are falling behind on your property taxes — or you can already see the moment coming — the NYC Department of Finance has a program that almost nobody talks about: PT AID, the Property Tax and Interest Deferral program. It is not an exemption. It is not SCHE, it is not STAR, it is not SCRIE. It is a tool that lets you legally pay a smaller percentage of your bill — or in some cases, defer payment entirely while you keep living in your home — without being threatened with a tax lien sale.

This guide walks through who qualifies, the four plan types, the income and equity caps, and the exact form and phone number you need to start an application tonight. Every figure comes from the NYC Department of Finance’s official PT AID page at nyc.gov/site/finance/property/pt-aid.page.

What PT AID Actually Is, in Plain English

PT AID stands for Property Tax and Interest Deferral. The program exists because the City recognizes that an unexpected event — illness, a death in the family, a loss of income, or simply being a senior on a fixed Social Security check — can make it impossible to keep up with quarterly property tax bills, even on a paid-off home. Without PT AID, those unpaid bills accumulate interest and eventually trigger a tax lien sale or in rem proceeding. With PT AID, you enter a structured payment plan that the Department of Finance accepts as the legal payment schedule for your account.

There are four plan types under the PT AID umbrella. Each has its own income test, its own payment formula, and its own use case. Picking the wrong plan is the most common mistake homeowners make when they apply.

Plan 1: Low-Income Senior (LIS) — The Plan Most Eligible Seniors Don’t Know Exists

This is the plan that matters most for the Monday senior beat. The Low-Income Senior plan, or LIS, lets a qualifying senior homeowner choose to pay 0%, 25%, 50%, or 75% of their delinquent and future property taxes. That is not a typo. If you check the 0% box and you meet eligibility, the City stops billing you for ongoing property tax during the plan, and the deferred amount sits as a lien against the equity in your home — to be settled when the property eventually changes hands.

LIS eligibility (every line must be true):

• You must be 65 or older.
• The property must be a tax class 1 residential property (one-, two-, or three-family home) or a condominium.
• The property must have been your primary residence for at least one year.
• The property must not be held in trust.
• Your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) — line 11 on your most recent IRS Form 1040 — must be $110,750 or less.

That AGI ceiling is significantly higher than the SCHE income cap of $58,399 most seniors associate with property tax breaks. PT AID LIS reaches a much wider band of middle-income retirees. If you have ever been told you “make too much” for senior property tax help, this is the program you were not told about.

The cap on how much you can defer is 25% of the equity in your home for a tax class 1 property, or 50% of equity for a condominium unit. Unpaid deferred tax accrues interest at the current PT AID rate of 2.5%, which is dramatically lower than the standard delinquent property tax interest rate the City applies to non-PT AID balances.

Plan 2: Fixed-Term Income-Based (FTI) — For Working Homeowners Under the AGI Cap

If you are not yet 65 but you qualify on income, FTI is the entry door. Under FTI, your annual payment is capped at 8% of your federal adjusted gross income. The plan can include only the delinquent amount, or the delinquent amount plus charges projected to be due over the next year — your choice on the application.

FTI eligibility:

• Tax class 1 residential property or condominium.
• Primary residence for at least one year.
• Not held in trust.
• Federal AGI of $110,750 or less.

The Department of Finance publishes a calculator at nyc.gov/site/finance/property/calculators/ptaid-calculator-fixed-term-plan.page so you can preview your monthly number before you file.

Plan 3: Extenuating Circumstances Income-Based (ECI) — The Hardship Plan

ECI is the plan to use when something has happened — a death, a serious illness in the family, a loss of income, or enrollment in the Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Debt Assistance Program. Under ECI, your payment is also capped at 8% of AGI, but only for as long as the hardship persists. You will be asked to document the extenuating circumstance, which the DOF defines as one of those four specific scenarios.

Same income and property tests apply: AGI ≤ $110,750, tax class 1 or condo, primary residence ≥ 1 year, not in trust.

Plan 4: Circuit Breaker — For Small Homes With Big Bills

Circuit Breaker is the most narrowly targeted of the four plans, and it is the plan that quietly saves homeowners with a small house in a now-expensive neighborhood. Under Circuit Breaker, your annual property tax payment is capped at 10% of AGI or $1,500, whichever is greater. The plan covers projected property tax charges for the full year plus anything delinquent.

Circuit Breaker eligibility:

• Tax class 1 residential property or condominium.
• Assessed value of $250,000 or less. (This is the City’s assessed value — not market value. Check your Notice of Property Value to see the figure.)
• Primary residence for at least one year, not in trust.
• Federal AGI ≤ $110,750.
• Your most recent quarterly property tax charges must exceed 10% of your quarterly income — meaning the bill genuinely outruns what you bring in.

How to Apply: Form, Online Portal, and Walk-In Centers

There are three ways to file a PT AID application:

1. Online (fastest). Use the SmartFile Initial Application at nyc.gov/assets/finance/jump/smartfile-ptaid-initial.html. The system walks you through the eligibility questions and routes you to the correct plan.

2. Paper application. Download the PT AID Initial Application PDF at nyc.gov/assets/finance/downloads/pdf/ptaid/ptaid-initial-application.pdf. You will also want the Income Worksheet at nyc.gov/assets/finance/downloads/pdf/ptaid/ptaid-worksheet.pdf to calculate the AGI figure the application asks for. Mail or hand-deliver the completed application to any DOF Business Center.

3. In person. Walk into a Department of Finance Business Center in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island. Interpreters for over 175 languages are available at every borough center — request one at the information desk. Sign language interpreters are also available; call 311 to arrange in advance or download the Request for Sign Language Interpreter form.

Phone Numbers You Need

• NYC 311 — the front door for any PT AID question. From inside NYC, dial 311. From outside the city, call 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675).
• TTY for the hearing impaired: 212-639-9675.
• PT AID Customer Service Center: file a contact ticket online at nyc.gov/assets/finance/jump/crm/contact-ptaid-questions.html. The DOF responds in writing.

The Renewal Rule That Trips People Up

Once you are in a PT AID plan, the rules on changing it are strict. Unless you are enrolled in the LIS plan, you may only make changes to your plan once every six months. That means if you sign up for an FTI plan in January and your income drops in March, you cannot switch to ECI until July. The Department of Finance sends a renewal link to current participants when it is time to refile — do not wait for paper mail. Check your DOF online account regularly.

What PT AID Does Not Do

PT AID is a deferral and structured-payment program. It is not loan forgiveness. The deferred balance still accrues at the current 2.5% rate and is recorded as a lien against your property. When the home is sold, refinanced, or transferred at death, the deferred balance plus interest is paid out of the proceeds. For seniors who want to age in place and have substantial equity in a home but limited cash flow, that trade — slightly less equity at the end, no monthly tax burden during life — is often exactly the right call. But it is a trade, and it is worth talking through with the family before you sign.

PT AID vs. SCHE vs. SCRIE — Which Senior Program Do I Need?

Three different acronyms, three different problems they solve. Here is the quick map:

• SCHE (Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption) — reduces your assessed value by 5%–50% if your combined household income is $58,399 or less. This is an exemption — it lowers the bill itself.
• PT AID — does not reduce the bill. It changes how and when you pay the bill. Available up to $110,750 AGI.
• SCRIE — rent freeze for senior renters in rent-regulated apartments. Not for homeowners.

A senior at $50,000 AGI in a paid-off Queens row house may qualify for SCHE and use PT AID to defer the post-exemption balance. The two stack.

If You Are Already in Tax Lien Sale Status

If your property has already been notified for the tax lien sale, applying for PT AID is one of the actions that can remove your lien from the sale list. The DOF treats an accepted PT AID application as evidence that the homeowner is engaged with the agency and intends to pay. Do not wait until the lien sale notice arrives — apply earlier — but if you are already there, file the PT AID Initial Application and contact 311 the same day.

Bottom Line

PT AID is one of the most underused property tax relief tools the Department of Finance offers. The LIS plan in particular is built for exactly the senior homeowner who has built up real equity over decades but lives on Social Security and a small pension and cannot keep up with a $4,000 quarterly bill. The application takes an afternoon. The downside, if you change your mind, is a six-month wait to modify — manageable. The upside is staying in your home.

Start at nyc.gov/site/finance/property/pt-aid.page. Call 311 with questions. File the Initial Application PDF or the online SmartFile version. That is the entire pathway.

Tax advice in this article is informational. Consult a tax professional or NYC Department of Finance for your specific situation. Authority for PT AID is established under New York Real Property Tax Law and the NYC Administrative Code provisions governing tax payment plans; the program is administered by the NYC Department of Finance under the authorities cited at nyc.gov/site/finance/property/pt-aid.page.