Since late July, the Department of Finance has been mailing notices to owners of homes it believes are not a primary residence — the first formal step of New York City's new pied-à-terre tax. All notices are due to mail by August 30, 2026. On the DOF roll behind those letters, 24,173 properties citywide test over the surcharge thresholds. If one of these letters is in your mailbox, here is exactly what it means and what to do — in order, with the deadlines that matter.
First: what the letter is, and what it is not
The notice is not a bill. It means DOF's records show your property as a non-primary residence with a market value over the surcharge threshold — $1,000,000 of DOF market value for condos and co-ops, $5,000,000 for 1–3-family houses. It is the city telling you what it intends to assess unless you respond. Three groups get this letter: owners who genuinely owe the surcharge, owners who qualify for an exemption but must claim it, and owners caught by bad data — a stale mailing address, a co-op valuation surprise, an LLC the statute looks through. The response path is different for each, so the first job is figuring out which one you are.
The three deadlines
| Deadline | What it is | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| The date printed on YOUR letter | Your controlling deadline — it governs over anything published online, including this page | Everyone who received a notice |
| August 21, 2026 | DOF's published surcharge-exemption application deadline | Residential homes and condos |
| August 24, 2026 | DOF's published surcharge-exemption application deadline | Co-op units |
The 30-day clock. Under DOF's final rules (adopted July 14, 2026), once a notice lands you have 30 days to document that the home is a primary residence. Thirty days is short — tax professionals note that proving residency in a traditional New York audit can take the better part of a year. And if your notice was mailed to the pied-à-terre itself while you're away, the clock may run regardless. Don't wait to open mail.
Step by step: your next 30 days
① Read the date on your letter
Your letter's printed deadline controls. Put it in your calendar today, with a reminder a week out.
② Confirm what DOF thinks your home is worth
The surcharge is tested against your DOF market value — the "Market Value" line on your Notice of Property Value, not your assessed value and not your purchase price. Co-op values come from DOF's fractional-share method (your shares' fraction of the building's total value), which surprises shareholders on the high side. We'll pull your official number free, usually within the hour — that tells you whether you're arguing about residency, about value, or about nothing.
③ If the home IS your primary residence: rebut, with the right documents
DOF's rules specify the acceptable proof: your most recent state or federal income tax return showing the address — or a combination of two documents, such as a New York State driver's license or non-driver ID, a voter identification card, or other documentation DOF deems acceptable. Assemble these now and respond within your letter's window. A unit occupied more than half the year by an immediate family member (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild) as their primary residence also qualifies — document their occupancy the same way.
④ If it truly is a second home: run the numbers before you pay
You have three legal ways out, and each has lead time: a bona fide 12-month arm's-length lease to a tenant who makes it their primary residence (eliminates the surcharge entirely), family occupancy as above, or a sale. Which one wins depends on your exact DOF value and what your unit would rent or sell for — that's the math our free review does. See also: the keep-rent-sell framework.
⑤ Whatever you do, don't ignore it
An unanswered notice becomes a surcharge billed as assessed, enforced like property tax — interest accrues and liens follow. And don't get creative: DOF's rules impose a penalty of 50% of the surcharge for false primary-residence documentation, and up to 300% of an understatement (capped at 50% of the surcharge) for misleading valuation submissions.
"My name is on the city's list"
Alongside the mailings, the city published a roll of properties it classifies as non-primary — names and addresses — and press coverage has been aggressive. Being on the list follows the same logic as the letter: it reflects DOF's classification, not a final determination. The response paths above are unchanged. You can see every building on the roll in our searchable database, built from the same DOF file.
Got a letter? Know your number first.
Free emailed report: your unit's official DOF market value, whether the surcharge actually applies, and your realistic options before the deadline. Usually within the hour.
Check My Unit — FreeIf your letter is wrong
Wrong value, wrong classification, or a unit that shouldn't be on the roll at all — you have more room than the 30-day window suggests: DOF's supplemental roll is open to correction through December 2026, and separate challenge routes exist for valuation. We've laid out every channel, with honest notes on which are still being clarified, on the appeals page.
Disclaimer. This page is educational information from Conquest, a licensed New York real estate brokerage. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and no advisory relationship is created by reading it. Deadlines and figures reflect DOF's published rules and roll as of the "last updated" date above; the date printed on your own DOF letter always governs.