Tax bill lookup | Bill payment | FAQ | Tax rates

Tax bills for the 2025-26 school year are in the mail. This year’s tax bills are due Tuesday, Sept. 30. Bills can be paid by mail or in person at Pioneer Bank. Payment information, school tax rates, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and more can be found below.

Tax Bill Information

Residents of the Bethlehem Central School District can look up their school tax bill online by clicking on this link.

Itemized exemptions on 2025-26 tax bills

The school district uses the Northeast Regional Information Service (NERIC) for tax bill services. NERIC has alerted district officials that the 2025-26 BCSD tax bills mailed to district residents do not itemize/list all tax exemptions for qualified taxpayers. The exemptions have been applied to the taxable amount, but are not printed individually on the bill. The tax amount due on the 2025-26 printed bills is correct. 

Taxpayers can use the district’s online tax bill lookup to view or print a bill that lists all itemized exemptions.

Paying Your Tax Bill

The due date for school tax bill payment (without penalty) is Tuesday, Sept. 30. 

PLEASE NOTE: Tax payments cannot be accepted at the Town of Bethlehem offices.

• Mail-In Payments (must be clearly postmarked by USPS on or before Sept. 30, 2025, to avoid penalty): Checks should be made payable to the Bethlehem Central Tax Collector.
• Mail payment**, along with the appropriate bill stub to:
  Bethlehem Central School District
  • Bethlehem Central High School
    School Tax Collector
    700 Delaware Avenue
    Delmar, NY 12054
  • Drop box located at the Main Entrance to the high school (must be received on or before Sept. 30, 2025 to avoid penalty)

• In-Person Payments (must be received on or before Sept. 30, 2025, to avoid penalty): This option is only available from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31. No payments can be accepted after October 31. In order to make your school tax payment in person, you must bring your entire bill with you to one of the following locations:
  • Pioneer Bank – Delmar Branch 184 Delaware Avenue, Delmar M-W: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Th-F: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Pioneer Bank – Glenmont Branch 329 Glenmont Road, Glenmont M-W: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Th-F: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,  Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Credit card payments are NOT accepted at Pioneer Bank. Credit card payments must be made online.

• Online Payments (must be received on or before Sept. 30, 2025, to avoid penalty):
  • Credit card: Pay your school taxes using your Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card. Click here to be taken to our online payment provider’s site. Their fee includes a 2.35% site fee per transaction. Each parcel tax payment incurs a separate transaction fee.  A per-item minimum of $2 is charged for all transactions, and there is a $10 charge-back fee for credit cards.
  • E-check: This is a convenient, fully automated electronic payment system allowing you to pay taxes directly from your checking or savings account. Please make sure that e-checks are allowed on the account you are using.  A $0.50 fee is charged on all settled transactions, and $15 will be charged for checks returned due to non-sufficient funds. Click here to pay by E-check.

Frequently Asked Questions

To see our taxpayer FAQ, please click here.

School Tax Rates

The Board of Education typically sets the tax rates for each school year in August. The tax rates are based upon the total tax levy for the year in the approved budget and final municipal assessments for the Town of Bethlehem and the Town of New Scotland. Tax rates sometimes vary between the towns because property in each is assessed at different levels in relation to full market value. After the towns submit final assessment information to the state Office of Real Property Services each summer, the state assigns each community an equalization rate to account for these differences in assessment practices. The equalization process is designed to fairly apportion the total tax levy between the towns and result in similar tax bills for properties with similar values regardless of municipality. The district does not control any part of the assessment or equalization process.

Listed below are the school tax rates for the past several years. Tax rates are per $1,000 of assessed property value. *Note: The district sets final tax rates each August, after the towns finalize assessment figures and the state sets the equalization rates.

• Town: Bethlehem
  • 2025-26:  $22.33
  • 2024-25:  $22.27
  • 2023-24: $21.61
  • 2022-23: $21.27
  • 2021-22: $21.51

• Town: New Scotland
  • 2025-26:  $21.99
  • 2024-25:  $22.59
  • 2023-24: $21.90
  • 2022-23: $22.58
  • 2021-22: $21.98