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Property tax abatements: co-op and condo, J-51, solar, green roof, ICAP and CEP/CRP

NYC property tax abatements explained: co-op and condo, J-51, solar, green roof, ICAP and CEP/CRP — who qualifies and what each is worth.

A property tax abatement is a credit taken off the tax after it has been worked out. DOF's own sequence is: market value, assessed value, minus exemptions to give the taxable value, times the tax rate to give the annual tax — and then the abatements are subtracted. An exemption lowers the value the rate is applied to; an abatement lowers the bill itself.

Exemptions come off the value; abatements come off the tax, at the last step.

New York City's abatements are a mixed group. The largest by far helps people who live in their own co-op or condominium apartment. Others pay back part of what an owner spent — on renovating affordable housing, on solar panels, a green roof, or a new commercial building — and two pass a tax cut on to commercial tenants as lower rent. Most are State laws the City carries out, and most must be renewed in Albany from time to time, so their dates matter.

How big they are

DOF's Annual Report on Tax Expenditures for FY 2025/26 counted the abatements in force in November 2025:

Abatement	Number	A year
Co-op and condo	313,318	$717.6M
ICAP	5,109	$659.5M
Senior and disabled rent-freeze credits	65,957	$178.3M
Solar	25,129	$57.3M
J-51	17,516	$34.2M
Commercial Expansion (CEP)	307	$9.6M
Commercial Revitalization (CRP)	80	$1.2M

Only one green roof abatement was in force. BlockLot does not hold DOF's abatement records, so these are DOF's numbers, not ours.

The co-op and condo abatement

The co-op and condominium abatement cuts the tax on an apartment its owner lives in. The percentage depends on the building's average assessed value per apartment:

Average value per unit	Abatement
$50,000 or less	28.1%
$50,001 to $55,000	25.2%
$55,001 to $60,000	22.5%
Over $60,000	17.5%

To qualify, the apartment must be the owner's primary residence, and the owner may hold no more than three apartments in the building. Sponsor units, apartments owned by a company, and owners with the clergy exemption are left out, as are buildings with 421-a, J-51 and some other benefits, and subsidized housing such as Mitchell-Lama. The owner must have bought by January 5 to get it from the July 1 after.

Owners do not apply themselves: the co-op board or condominium board, or its managing agent, applies for the whole building each year by February 15 (extended to February 23 in 2026), after owners certify where they live. Larger or higher-value buildings must also file an affidavit that their building workers are paid the prevailing wage, or the whole building loses the abatement for the year. A co-op's June bill shows the total for all the qualifying apartments, and DOF sends a breakdown by apartment in December; a condominium owner sees it on the unit's own June bill. A 2024 City Comptroller audit found 720 ineligible units receiving it in 2023, 290 of them owned by businesses.

The J-51 abatement

J-51 pays back part of the cost of renovating residential buildings. In its reformed version — the Affordable Housing Rehabilitation Program, for work finished between June 30, 2022 and June 29, 2026 — it is an abatement only: up to 8⅓% of the certified cost a year for up to 20 years, capped at 70% of the cost. It is open to rentals where at least half the apartments are affordable, to buildings with government help, and to co-ops and condominiums averaging no more than $45,000 of assessed value per apartment. HPD certifies the cost; DOF applies the abatement. Its original form also gave an exemption — see Exemptions.

A renewal for work finished from mid-2026 to 2036 — up to the full cost, over no more than 20 years, for co-ops and condominiums averaging up to $60,000 per apartment — passed the City Council on September 24, 2026 and was awaiting the Mayor's signature on October 9, 2026.

Solar and battery storage

The solar electric generating system abatement, with a matching one for battery storage, pays back 30% of the cost of installing them, as 7.5% a year for four years. The yearly credit is capped at the lower of $62,500 or the year's tax, and at $250,000 a building in all; anything above the year's tax is lost. It covers systems placed in service from January 1, 2024 up to January 1, 2035, on class 1, 2 and 4 property. The installer files with the Department of Buildings, which approves it, and the credit starts the July 1 after.

Green roofs

The green roof abatement gives a credit of $10 a square foot of green roof — $15 in community districts the City designates — up to the lower of $200,000 or the year's tax, with up to five years to use any excess. The City's total is capped at $4 million a year, awarded first come, first served. A State law of June 2026 (Chapter 153) extended it to June 30, 2031, with applications through March 15, 2030; the Department of Buildings' page still shows the older date.

ICAP

The Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program (ICAP) abates the increase in tax that comes from building or renovating commercial and industrial property, for up to 25 years. An owner must spend at least 30% of the property's taxable assessed value within four years, and only the part of the new tax above 115% of the tax before the work is abated. In Manhattan, new commercial construction from 96th Street down to about Murray Street is excluded, and so are commercial renovations between 59th and 96th Streets. Applications are accepted until March 1, 2029, under a 2024 State law. ICAP replaced ICIP, an exemption, in 2008.

CEP and CRP: commercial rent abatements

Two programs give office and industrial tenants lower rent, by abating the tax of the building they lease in and requiring the landlord to pass the saving on. Tenant and landlord apply together, and the credit is capped at the lower of the tax or $2.50 a square foot, for three to five years, shrinking in the last two.

The Commercial Expansion Program (CEP) covers office and industrial leases outside Manhattan's core — above 96th Street, and in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island — in buildings first occupied before 1999. Industrial leases can get up to ten years. New leases qualify through June 30, 2028.
The Commercial Revitalization Program (CRP) covers office, retail and school leases in older buildings of Lower Manhattan, with larger required improvements; leases must be signed by March 31, 2028. CRP tenants can also get a reduction of the City's Commercial Rent Tax.

DOF's own pages for these programs carry out-of-date dates; the report on tax expenditures above has the current ones.

Rent-freeze credits

Under the City's rent freeze programs for low-income tenants who are seniors (SCRIE) or have a disability (DRIE), the tenant's rent stays where it is, and the landlord receives a Tax Abatement Credit — a credit on the building's tax account equal to the increase the landlord does not collect. Unused credit carries forward or can be refunded. The household income limit is $50,000; the State has allowed the City to raise it to $75,000, and a Council bill to do so was still in committee on October 9, 2026.

Where you see this in BlockLot

On a building's page, the Annual property tax in the Value & tax card is the taxable value times the class rate — before abatements and credits such as the co-op and condo abatement and STAR, as the note under it says. An owner receiving an abatement pays less than the estimate. On an office building, BlockLot lists the leases DOF records under CEP and CRP with their end dates.

The estimate is the tax before abatements: an abatement comes off after it.
Before abatements and credits

Questions people ask

What is the difference between a tax exemption and an abatement? An exemption lowers the value the tax rate is applied to; an abatement is a dollar credit off the tax that results.

How much is the co-op and condo abatement? 17.5% to 28.1% of the apartment's tax, depending on the building's average assessed value per apartment — the lower the average, the larger the abatement.

Do I apply for the co-op abatement myself? No. The board or managing agent applies for the whole building each year by February 15; you certify that the apartment is your primary residence.

Is the co-op and condo abatement ending? It is authorized through the tax year ending June 30, 2027. It has been extended many times; whether it continues depends on the State Legislature.

Is there a property tax break for solar panels in New York City? Yes: 30% of the cost, taken as 7.5% a year for four years, up to $62,500 a year and $250,000 in all, for systems in service by the end of 2034.

Who benefits from CEP and CRP, the landlord or the tenant? The tenant: the abatement is credited on the landlord's tax bill and must be passed on as lower rent.

Property tax exemptions: STAR, senior, disabled, veterans, clergy, J-51, 421-a and 485-x — NYC property tax exemptions explained: STAR, senior and disabled homeowners, veterans, clergy, 421-a, 485-x, J-51 and nonprofit property.
Assessed value and how the NYC property tax is calculated — How New York City turns a market value into a tax bill — the four tax classes, the 6% and 45% assessment ratios, the yearly caps and five-year phase-ins, exemptions and abatements, the tax rates — worked through on a real building.
The Notice of Property Value and the assessment calendar — What New York City's Notice of Property Value shows, line by line, and the assessment calendar from January to October, with the 2026 dates.
Water and sewer charges (DEP) as a property charge and a lien — How NYC water and sewer charges are billed to the owner, the FY 2026/27 rates, late charges, and how an unpaid water bill becomes a lien.

Sources

By BlockLot. Reviewed October 9, 2026. This page explains the rules in general; it is not legal or tax advice. For a decision about a specific property, check the official source or ask a professional. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.