Legislation makes tax credits for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers more affordable

On February 27, the Nassau County Legislature unanimously passed local legislation to reduce the number of years volunteer firefighters and emergency workers must work before they can qualify for a partial tax exemption on a portion of the county’s property tax.

Before the law went into effect, volunteer firefighters and EMTS were required to serve five years before being eligible for tax exemption, but under this new law, they will only need to volunteer for two years before qualifying. This tax exemption allows volunteer firefighters and EMS workers to apply for an exemption of up to 10 percent of the assessed value of their main residential property if they live in the community in which they volunteer. a reduction is granted for the remainder of their time in Nassau County, regardless of whether they are active or inactive in volunteer work.

Local municipalities will need to agree to this change in order to allow the same exemption to apply to their share of property taxes.

“These dedicated volunteers answer the call of duty at any hour of the day or night, putting their safety at risk to the community and spending an incredible amount of time learning and preparing for the work they do so well.” This was stated by the presiding Richard Nicollo. “The partial estate tax exemption should also help with recruitment to keep our fire departments strong.”