Cobra Consulting Group

In Suffolk County, each town assesses property. The board of assessors of each town sets the tentative assessment for the following year by May and residents can challenge that assessment from May 1 to the third Tuesday of May every year. So in May 2021, homeowners are notified of their tentative assessment for the 2021-22 tax year and have from May 1 to May 18,2021 to file a grievance. Cobra files the grievance for you at no charge. The town board of assessors must then decide each challenge before the assessment roll is finalized in July, August or September of each year. Since each Suffolk town only has 30-60 days to review the grievances, most grievances are denied.

If the grievance is denied, as most are in Suffolk County, an appeal can be filed on your behalf by Cobras in small claims court, which is called a Small Claims Assessment Review (“SCAR”) proceeding. The filing fee is only $30 and Cobra does all the work strictly on a contingency fee basis. In Suffolk County, Cobra is challenging the tentative assessment sent to you in May which takes effect later that year. So in May 2021, Cobra is challenging your assessment for the 2021/22 school year and the 2022 general tax.

The deadline to file a grievance in Suffolk County is May 1 to the third Tuesday of May, May 18, 2021.



When Cobra timely files your grievance in May and then your SCAR in August or September, a hearing will be set in the following year. The towns will seek a conference to discuss a settlement before the hearing and if a settlement is reached, which is very typical, your assessment will be reduced. Otherwise, your grievance is heard by a judicial hearing officer who decides what reduction you are entitled to. If a reduction is obtained, the reduction entitles you to a refund for the current tax year and the reduced assessment should then be reflected in the final tax role for the following year. As such, the reduced assessment will be reflected on your following year’s tax bills and a tax refund is necessary for what you over-paid for the year the grievance was filed.