NYC Affordability

New York State taxes conveyances of real property statewide when the consideration exceeds $500, at $2 for each $500 (or fraction of $500) of the price, which works out to 0.4%. In New York City it lands on top of the city’s own RPTT, so an NYC seller pays two transfer taxes on the same sale.

Since July 1, 2019, NYC sales have an extra state layer: an additional base tax of $1.25 per $500 (0.25%) when the consideration for a residential conveyance is $3 million or more (Tax Law § 1402(a)(2)). That takes the state’s rate to 0.65% at that tier, applied to the entire price. Residential here includes a one- to three-family house, an individual condo unit, or a co-op apartment. Non-residential NYC property hits the same 0.25% at $2 million, and mixed-use property counts as residential for this test.

The base tax and the additional base tax are both paid by the grantor (seller), and the state says the buyer shouldn’t pay them except as provided in the contract. If the seller doesn’t pay or is exempt, the buyer must. One quirk: when a buyer does pay the seller’s tax under the contract on a residential sale, that amount is excluded from the price the tax is computed on. Don’t confuse any of this with the state’s mansion tax or its NYC-only “supplemental” tax on residential sales of $2 million and up; those are generally buyer-paid and sit on the other side of the closing statement.

Worked example

A $750,000 condo owes the state $750,000 × 0.4% = $3,000, seller-paid, on top of $10,687.50 in city RPTT.

At the top end, the threshold is a cliff, not a bracket. A $2,999,000 sale owes $11,996 (0.4%). A $3,000,000 sale owes $3,000,000 × 0.65% = $19,500, so the last $1,000 of price costs the seller $7,504 in extra state tax. A $3,500,000 sale owes $14,000 in base tax plus $8,750 in additional base tax, $22,750 total. The seller closing costs guide walks through every other line item, and the Sale Net Proceeds Calculator applies both transfer taxes automatically.