The mansion tax is a buyer-paid New York State tax under Tax Law Section 1402-a. It applies to residential purchases at $1,000,000 or more, and the rate applies to the entire purchase price, not just the amount above the threshold. The tiers are: $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 pays 1.00%; $2,000,000 to $2,999,999 pays 1.25%; $3,000,000 to $4,999,999 pays 1.50%; $5,000,000 to $9,999,999 pays 2.25%; $10,000,000 to $14,999,999 pays 3.25%; $15,000,000 to $19,999,999 pays 3.50%; $20,000,000 to $24,999,999 pays 3.75%; and $25,000,000 and above pays 3.90%. Because the rate hits the whole price, every tier line is a cliff: a $1,999,999 contract owes $20,000 and a $2,000,000 contract owes $25,000, so one extra dollar of price costs $5,000 in tax. At $999,999 there is no mansion tax at all. Run your own number through the NYC mansion tax calculator, and see the full mansion tax guide for the bracket table and four legal ways to reduce the bill.
The single largest line is the mansion tax: 1.25% of $2,000,000, or $25,000, paid by the buyer in cash at closing and not financeable. On a condo, add title insurance, the mortgage recording tax if you finance (1.925% on loans of $500,000 and above, 1.8% below that), and attorney fees that typically run $3,000 to $4,500 in NYC. On a co-op, there is no title insurance and no mortgage recording tax, because you are buying shares rather than real property, but you will pay building application, credit, and move-in fees set by the board. Buyer-side totals commonly land between 2% and 6% of the price depending on property type and financing. The full NYC closing cost breakdown itemizes every line, and the mansion tax calculator handles the tax piece. Confirm your own figures with your attorney before you sign.
The mansion tax is the same for both. Everything around it is not. A co-op board reviews your finances, interviews you, and can decline without stating a reason; many boards also cap financing, require post-closing liquidity of one to two years of carrying costs, and restrict subletting. Co-ops frequently charge a flip tax of 1% to 3% at resale, which comes out of the seller proceeds. A condo has no board interview, only a right of first refusal, and generally allows purchase through an LLC or trust, which is why non-resident and investor buyers concentrate there. Condo closing costs are higher because of title insurance and mortgage recording tax; co-op monthly maintenance bundles property tax and building debt into one payment, so the sticker comparison is not apples to apples. Read the co-op versus condo comparison, then browse NYC homes priced $1M to $2M.
A pied-a-terre is a home that is not your primary residence, usually a second home kept for part-time use. You can buy one in NYC, but the building rules matter more than the law. Most condos permit it; many co-op boards either prohibit part-time occupancy or approve it only with a larger down payment and stricter liquidity. Two taxes to plan for: the one-time mansion tax at closing on any purchase at $1,000,000 or more, and the NYC pied-a-terre surcharge, which is annual rather than one-time, took effect for city fiscal years starting July 1, 2026, and is written to expire June 30, 2031 unless Albany renews it. One detail decides whether the surcharge reaches you: through June 2028 the threshold is measured against the Department of Finance valuation on the property tax bill, not the sale price, which is $5,000,000 for a one-to-three-family house and $1,000,000 for a condo or co-op, because the city values apartments well below market. Owners who received a July 22, 2026 non-primary notice have until September 18, 2026 to respond at nyc.gov/npsurcharge, and the first charge lands on the bill due January 1, 2027. See the pied-a-terre buying guide and the September deadline alert. Confirm your own position with a CPA, since residency and entity choice change the math.
You are buying the building, not a unit inside one, so there is no board, no maintenance charge, and no common charge, and there is also nobody else responsible for the roof, the boiler, the facade, or the sidewalk. The diligence moves onto you: certificate of occupancy and legal use, open Department of Buildings violations, Landmarks Preservation Commission approval requirements if the house sits in a historic district, and the condition of every system in the house. If the property is a two-to-four unit with tenants, existing leases and any rent regulation transfer with the building. Financing is underwritten as a house rather than as a share loan, and the mansion tax applies at $1,000,000 or more exactly as it does on an apartment. Start with NYC townhouses for sale.
Some sellers do not want their address browsing-visible before they commit to a price strategy. If that is you, ask for a private consultation: a pricing and marketing review, one broker, no obligation. Direct line 917.416.7433. What that meeting covers is the pricing analysis, the comparable sales that set the number, and the sequence for going to market, so you can decide what gets published and when. If you would rather see the public work first, the track record page lists transactions sorted by price point.
The production is done in house. I shoot the listing video and 3D tours myself and have since 2020, which means the schedule is mine and a re-shoot after a price change or a staging change does not wait on a vendor. Pricing comes from my own analysis of listing and sale data rather than a template estimate, and the same analysis is what I bring to an offer negotiation, including where a price sits against a mansion tax tier line. Every piece runs in English and Spanish. The NYC luxury market report shows the data work, and homes priced $1M to $2M shows current inventory at the entry of that range.