Did you get your REBATE CHECK?

ALBANY - Have you checked your mailbox today?

There may be a rebate check from the state.

About half of the more than 2 million property-tax rebate checks have been sent out to homeowners who qualify for the program, the state tax department said this week.

"More than 1 million credits have been issued, and we continue to issue credits on a daily basis," said Geoffrey Gloak, a spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

Homeowners — whose income is less than $500,000 — are getting rebate checks for the growth in their property taxes last year as part of a three-year, $1 billion program. This check is the largest during the program: It's a rebate for school and municipal taxes — if the entities stayed under the property-tax cap and develop efficiency plans approved by the state.

"We are issuing property tax freeze credits as we receive, process and verify local data," the tax department said on its website. "We are issuing credits on a daily basis, while we take the necessary steps to ensure the accuracy of the local data and resulting credits."

The checks started going out Nov. 24, and the state has been checking with each taxing entity in the state to see if they've complied with the initiative.

The checks, according to the state Budget Division, are expected to range from $200 to $800, depending on how much a homeowner’s taxes rose this year. The largest checks will go to homeowners in the New York City area, including in the Hudson Valley, because they pay the highest taxes.

New York property tax rebate status

The program, adopted in 2014, is one of several rebate programs approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to address New York's high property taxes. The Tax Foundation, a national group, said earlier this month that New York has the highest state and local tax burden in the nation.

"Reducing taxes is part of our strategy to create jobs, and when you’re creating jobs, you’re creating opportunity and you’re creating hope and you’re creating progress — and it is working here in New York," Cuomo said in his State of the State address Jan. 13.

The rebate checks have been a disincentive for local governments and schools to seek an override of the property-tax cap. About 26 percent of municipalities last year passed an override of the tax cap by a 60 percent vote of the local governing board.

Schools need a 60 percent vote at the polls in May for a tax-cap override, and they will be dealing with a tax cap at 0.12 percent for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The New York State United Teachers union said Wednesday that the cap is putting schools in peril.

The union is seeking more state aid, as well as a 2 percent tax cap — not the current system that is either a 2 percent cap or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Low inflation is what is leading to the low tax-cap limit.

"The near 0 percent tax cap is severely crippling the ability of local school districts to raise revenue to support programs," the union said in a statement.

In the city of Poughkeepsie, the latest round of checks do not include a rebate on city taxes. The reason: The city overrode the tax cap last year.

Mayor Rob Rolison, who took office Jan. 1, said the city has to weigh its need to fund services and programs versus the desire to stay under the cap.

"That’s the challenge for municipalities, and that’s a big challenge for this city being able to provide the basic services that residents want and deserve," he said.

Am I eligible?

Here's details about the checks and whether you are eligible:

A property must be the homeowner's primary residence outside New York City to be eligible, and taxable household income must be $500,000 or less.

In New York City, homeowners and renters are eligible for a "circuit breaker" tax credit that's linked to household income.

Your local governments and schools also had to stay under the property-tax cap and develop efficiency plans. Schools needed the plans -- aimed at cutting property taxes permanently — to be approved for this year's rebate check. Municipalities needed to also adopt efficiency plans, but it is a contingency for the 2016 rebate checks.

Gannett's Albany Bureau has created a database for you to search to see your taxing entities complied, here: http://bit.ly/1NthuQR

But they were almost all approved — 2,000 in all — in mid-October.

What do I have to do?

The tax department will automatically mail the checks to eligible homeowners — so you don't have to do anything.

For more information about the program and eligibility, visit: http://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/property_tax_freeze.htm

Aren't there other tax breaks and checks?

The state spends $3 billion a year on the STAR rebate, which provides a break on school taxes and is the largest program of its kind in the country.

Last year, the state created a Family Tax Relief Credit that provides a $350 check to New Yorkers with children under 17. This year, the money will be a tax credit when people file their income taxes for 2015.

Last June, the state Legislature and Cuomo agreed to another rebate check — this one tied to household income. Those will go out this fall.