Perseverance paid off for homeowner Elizabeth Ferran in late June after the Lewisboro assessor rescinded an increase in her home’s taxable value because she’d installed a climate-friendly heat pump to heat and cool her home’s first floor.

Now Lewisboro Assessor Lise Richardson is waiting for the state to weigh in on whether the addition of a heat pump should make a property’s assessment rise.

Richardson’s move marked the latest turn in a two-year saga for Ferran, who decided to install a mini-split in her living room during a 2022 heat wave after her wall-unit air conditioner died. Heat pumps, which run on electricity, are promoted by environmentalists as a way to transition from fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.

Ferran, a visual arts teacher at the New Canaan Country School in Connecticut, said the mini-split also improved the heating system in her 95-year-old home by Lake Kitchawan in South Salem, which at the time relied upon an aging oil burner and baseboard electric heat.

The saga included a zoning variance that took 18 months to obtain, a successful appeal to the state Department of State’s fire code unit, and Ferran’s appearance before the Lewisboro Board of Assessment Review on June 17.

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Richardson intervened in late June, before the assessment board ruled on Ferran’s grievance, which highlighted disparities in New York’s property tax laws. Solar panels are exempt from property taxes in most municipalities, but state law is silent on heat pumps.

Richardson’s decision to rescind the increase came just days after she discussed the matter with Supervisor Tony Goncalves and explained her justification for taxing Ferran’s heat pump in an interview with Tax Watch.

Now Richardson said she wants an opinion from the state Department of Taxation and Finance before deciding whether to add $9,381 to Ferran’s taxable value, which approximated the cost of the heat pump.

“We are going to hold off until we hear from the state,” said Robertson. “It’s the nicest and fairest thing we can do to help.”

The assessment increase would have cost Ferran about $170 a year in property taxes.

Adding value boosts assessment on a home

Under state law, assessors are charged with setting the market value of a home, with the municipality’s tax rate applied to the value to come up with a tax bill. Assessors look to building permits for updates on work done on a property that may increase its value.

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Assessors say they typically don’t increase the assessment on a home that upgrades an oil burner or natural gas boiler.

“You can’t penalize someone for doing that,” said Ramapo Assessor Scott Shedler. “How does that change the value of your house?”

But the installation of a central air-conditioning unit can boost values, and those improvements can bring an increase in one’s assessment.

“Houses with air conditioning sell for more,” said Robertson. “Central air or a mini-split can add value to home.”

Ryan Cleveland, a spokesman for New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance, said adding air-conditioning can add value to home, and heat pumps serve as air conditioners as well as heaters.

“As for heat pumps, if the assessor feels the heat pumps increase the value of the property, then the assessor has the authority to increase the assessment,” he said. “It’s likely case specific. For instance, if a home that didn’t have AC got a heat pump, maybe the assessor would feel that increases value more so than if it was replacing existing heat and AC.”

Should heat pumps be treated like solar panels?

For assessors, heat pumps differ from solar panels installed on your roof. Under state law, homeowners can apply for an exemption for their panels as a way to promote clean energy. Some municipalities, however, have opted out of that program, so assessors in those municipalities can add taxable value for the panels.

In the Lower Hudson Valley, the value of your solar panels can be taxed if you live in the town of Patterson in Putnam County, and four Rockland jurisdictions: the towns of Orangetown and Ramapo, the village of Hillburn and the North Rockland school district, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

All other jurisdictions in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam allow the exemption for solar panels.

At the Board of Assessment Review, Ferran argued that the taxation of heat pumps in Lewisboro counters the town’s goals to encourage alternative energy sources. She said her heat pump functions more as a source of heat than cooling, with her first floor heated with the device from October through May. It’s used to cool her home during some days in the summer.

“My number one reason I opted for the pricy heat pump system was to decrease my use of oil while heating my home,” she said. “The proposed tax increase penalizes the addition of climate-friendly options, while at the same time incentivizing fossil fuel usage. This tax assessment simply makes no sense, both functionally and legally, as there is no distinction in current laws regarding heat sources and exemptions, other than solar panels.”

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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Lewisboro NY homeowner says adding heat pump shouldn’t raise her taxes