The transfer-tax ledger
A seller closing a $2.5 million Manhattan condo pays $35,625 in New York City Real Property Transfer Tax, $10,000 in state transfer tax, and—at a 5% commission—$125,000 to brokers before attorney fees, managing-agent charges, and adjustments touch the proceeds.
The city's RPTT is 1.425% on residential sales above $500,000 when the property is a one-, two-, or three-family house, an individual condominium unit, or a cooperative apartment. Sales that do not meet those criteria pay 1.00% above the same threshold. The state charges 0.4% on most transfers and 0.65% on qualifying residential sales with consideration above $3 million.
Both taxes are calculated on consideration—the sale price plus any additional value the buyer delivers—not on the property's assessed value or DOF market value. A $3.2 million co-op sale therefore owes $45,600 in city RPTT (1.425% × $3.2M) and $20,800 in state tax (0.65% × $3.2M), for a combined transfer-tax bill of $66,400.
Commission is contractual. A 5% rate on that $3.2 million sale costs the seller $160,000. Attorney fees, payoff costs, transfer fees, recording charges, co-op flip taxes, and pro-rated common charges are transaction-specific and can add $15,000–$50,000 to the deduction column.
The formula is: seller net = sale price − NYC RPTT − NYS transfer tax − commission − other closing costs.
The $3 million state-tax threshold
New York State's transfer tax jumps from 0.4% to 0.65% at $3 million for qualifying residential transfers. On a $2.99 million sale the state collects $11,960; on $3.01 million it collects $19,565—a $7,605 increase driven by $20,000 of additional consideration.
The 0.65% rate applies to transfers of one-, two-, or three-family houses, individual condominium units, and cooperative apartments. Commercial property and non-qualifying residential structures remain at 0.4% regardless of price.
A seller weighing a $2.95 million offer against a $3.05 million counteroffer should calculate the marginal cost: the extra $100,000 in gross proceeds yields $98,575 after the new 1.425% city and 0.65% state rates, before commission and other costs eat into the gain.
Commission and the net-proceeds gap
Commission rates vary. A 5% arrangement on a $4 million Brooklyn townhouse costs $200,000; a 6% rate costs $240,000.
The combined drag of transfer taxes and commission is steepest in the $3–5 million band. A $4 million sale at 5% commission pays $57,000 in city RPTT, $26,000 in state tax, and $200,000 in commission—$283,000 before any other closing cost. That is 7.075% of the gross price.
At 6% commission the same sale loses $323,000, or 8.075%. A seller netting $3.65 million on a $4 million list price has absorbed $350,000 in transfer taxes, commission, and closing costs—8.75% of the headline figure.
Other seller closing costs
Attorney fees for a residential closing typically run $3,000–$7,000. Mortgage payoff and related recording or UCC charges depend on the outstanding balance and lender.
Co-op buildings often impose a flip tax—a transfer fee paid by the seller, calculated as a percentage of the sale price (commonly 1–3%) or a per-share amount. A 2% flip tax on a $1.8 million co-op sale is $36,000.
Managing agents and co-op boards may charge move-out fees, document-preparation fees, or administrative costs. Transfer fees in condominium buildings are less common but appear in some declarations. Pro-rated common charges, special assessments, and real-estate-tax adjustments are credited or debited at closing depending on the fiscal-year timing.
A conservative closing-cost estimate for a seller is 1–2% of the sale price beyond transfer taxes and commission, though co-op flip taxes can push that figure higher.
What the pied-à-terre surcharge is not
New York City's Article 30-C non-primary-residence surcharge—commonly called the pied-à-terre tax—is an annual charge on covered property, not a transfer tax. It does not appear in a seller's closing statement unless the parties' contract allocates an accrued or anticipated surcharge as an adjustment.
The surcharge took effect July 1, 2026, for the 2026–27 tax year and sunsets June 30, 2031. It is calculated on the property's DOF market value (the figure on the Notice of Property Value), not on sale consideration. A $2 million condo sale does not trigger a $2 million surcharge base; the surcharge base is whatever DOF determines the unit's market value to be, independent of any transaction.
Phase-one rates for condominiums and cooperatives are 4% on market value between $1 million and $3 million, 5.25% from $3 million to $5 million, and 6.5% at $5 million and above. Houses pay lower rates at higher thresholds. The rates are flat within each band: a unit with $1.5 million in DOF market value owes 4% on the full $1.5 million—$60,000—if it is a non-primary residence.
Conquest's analysis of DOF's July 2026 Supplemental Market Value Roll shows roughly 24,000 units citywide with market values above the applicable threshold. Most are primary residences and owe nothing; the figures represent exposure, not a forecast of what the city will collect.
Manhattan holds 16,709 condos and co-ops above the $1 million threshold, with an average hypothetical surcharge of $68,559 if those units were non-primary. Brooklyn has 3,311 houses above the $5 million threshold, averaging $52,630. The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island together account for 148 units above their respective thresholds.
Exemptions and the October 13 deadline
The surcharge does not apply to a unit that serves as the primary residence of the owner or an immediate family member—spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild. It also does not apply if the unit is leased to an unrelated natural person under a 12-month arm's-length lease.
DOF mailed notices in August 2026 to owners whose properties may be subject to the surcharge. The exemption-application deadline for the 2026–27 tax year was October 13, 2026, extended by DOF on October 6, 2026, from the prior October 6 date. That deadline has passed.
An owner may appeal DOF's initial determination within 30 days after the date DOF transmits notice of that determination. If DOF does not send notice, the appeal deadline is 30 days after the surcharge appears on the assessment roll, according to DOF's adopted rules.
Three homeowners filed suit on August 7, 2026, challenging the city's implementation process. On August 10, 2026, New York Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi issued a temporary restraining order that temporarily halted implementation; the city appealed and indicated it would continue while the appeal proceeded. The available record does not establish a final appellate resolution as of late October 2026, so implementation remains legally contested.
Building the calculator
A transfer-tax calculator should accept the sale price, identify whether the property qualifies for the 1.425% city rate and the 0.65% state rate, apply the correct thresholds, and subtract commission and estimated closing costs.
The city's 1.425% rate applies to sales above $500,000 of one-, two-, or three-family houses, individual condominium units, and cooperative apartments. Everything else at that price pays 1.00%. The state's 0.65% rate applies to the same property types above $3 million; other transfers pay 0.4%.
A seller inputting a $2.8 million condo sale with a 5% commission should see: city RPTT $39,900 (1.425%), state tax $11,200 (0.4%), commission $140,000, and a placeholder for other closing costs. If the user changes the price to $3.2 million, the state tax jumps to $20,800 (0.65%) and the city RPTT rises to $45,600, for a new combined transfer-tax total of $66,400.
The calculator should not subtract the Article 30-C surcharge unless the user specifically indicates that an accrued surcharge will be allocated at closing. The surcharge is an annual charge on non-primary residences, not a standard seller closing cost.
What to watch
The first Article 30-C surcharge bills are due on the same date as the second semiannual installment of city real-property taxes under Charter § 1519-a for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. The exact calendar date depends on the applicable property-tax schedule.
Owners who did not apply for an exemption by October 13, 2026, and who receive a surcharge bill may still appeal DOF's determination within 30 days of the notice date. An owner may also challenge DOF's market-value figure through the NYC Tax Commission if the owner is simultaneously challenging the property's assessed value.
The litigation filed in August 2026 did not challenge the validity of the surcharge statute itself, only the city's implementation process. A final appellate decision will determine whether DOF's identification and exemption procedures survive judicial review.
Conquest maintains a free DOF market-value and surcharge checker that shows whether a specific property appears above the statutory threshold on DOF's July 2026 roll and calculates the hypothetical surcharge if the unit were non-primary. The tool uses the same DOF data that will govern the first bills.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the NYC transfer tax on a $3 million condo sale?
A $3 million condo sale pays $42,750 in NYC Real Property Transfer Tax (1.425% on sales above $500,000 for individual condominium units) and $19,500 in New York State transfer tax (0.65% on qualifying residential sales above $3 million), for a combined transfer-tax bill of $62,250.
Is the pied-à-terre tax included in my closing costs when I sell?
The Article 30-C non-primary-residence surcharge (pied-à-terre tax) is an annual charge on covered property, not a transfer tax, and does not appear in a seller's closing statement unless the parties' contract allocates an accrued or anticipated surcharge as an adjustment. It is calculated on the property's DOF market value, not on sale consideration.
What are typical seller closing costs in NYC besides transfer taxes and commission?
Attorney fees typically run $3,000–$7,000, and co-op buildings often impose a flip tax of 1–3% of the sale price (for example, $36,000 on a $1.8 million co-op at 2%). A conservative estimate is 1–2% of the sale price beyond transfer taxes and commission, though co-op flip taxes can push that figure higher.