NYC Mansion Tax Calculator

The NYC mansion tax kicks in at $1,000,000 and is paid by the buyer. It is a cliff tax: a $999,999 purchase pays $0, a $1,000,000 purchase pays $10,000. In 25+ years closing co-op, condo, and HDFC deals across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, I have watched buyers lose five-figure sums by signing contracts that sit one dollar over a tier line, and I have helped buyers negotiate prices back under a threshold to save the same amount. This calculator shows the exact 2026 tier-by-tier cost so you know what you owe before your attorney runs the numbers at the contract stage.

How the NYC Mansion Tax Works

The mansion tax is a New York State transfer tax on residential conveyances of $1,000,000 or more. It applies to condos, co-ops, condops, HDFC co-ops, and one to three family houses throughout the state, with an extra tiered schedule layered on top for transactions in cities with a population over one million, which means NYC. The schedule has been in effect since July 1, 2019.

The buyer pays the mansion tax at closing as part of their closing costs, paid alongside the title-recording fees, attorney bill, and bank fees. The seller, by contrast, pays the New York State transfer tax (0.4%) and the New York City Real Property Transfer Tax (1.0% to 1.425% depending on price and property type). Buyers and sellers often confuse these three taxes because they all hit at closing, but they hit different sides of the deal.

The Cliff Problem

The single most important thing to understand about the mansion tax is that it is not a marginal tax. A marginal tax (like federal income tax) only taxes the dollars above each bracket. The mansion tax taxes every dollar of the purchase price at the bracket rate once a threshold is crossed.

That structure produces real cliffs at every tier boundary. Some examples:

At the $5M and $10M boundaries the cliff is so steep that the difference is larger than the entire price difference of one dollar. That is why luxury contracts very often sit at $4,999,999 or $9,999,999, never at the round number.

Legitimate Strategies to Minimize Mansion Tax

Two paths are legal and well-established. A third path that gets discussed in casual conversation is tax evasion. Be clear on the difference.

1. Negotiate the price below a tier line

This is the cleanest strategy and the one I use most often for clients sitting near a boundary. If a seller is asking $2,025,000, a $25,001 price reduction to $1,999,999 saves the buyer $5,001 in mansion tax (the bracket drops from 1.25% to 1.00%, applied to the entire price). The seller loses $25,001, the buyer saves $30,002, and the deal still clears. The negotiation is straightforward, fully disclosed, and recorded at the actual contract price.

2. Allocate value to personal property in a separate bill of sale

When a sale includes meaningful personal property (furniture, art, custom built-ins that legally qualify as removable, appliances above what would normally convey), buyer and seller can sign a separate bill of sale for those items at fair market value. The real-estate contract price is reduced by the bill-of-sale amount. This is legal only when the personal-property values are genuine, defensible, and documented; the items actually transfer; and the allocation does not push the deal below a tier line through inflated furniture valuations. Your attorney runs this analysis; ask before agreeing to anything.

What does NOT work

Two contracts for the same transaction (one for the apartment and one for "improvements" that are really the apartment), inflated furniture allocations, side payments outside the recorded purchase price, and any structure designed to misrepresent the true price to the recording office are tax evasion. The NY State Department of Taxation and Finance audits high-value transfers, and exposure includes back taxes, penalties, interest, and possible criminal referral for both buyer and seller. No legitimate broker or attorney will suggest these structures, and you should refuse them if they come up. Stick to path 1 or path 2.

Who Pays: Buyer, Always

The statute names the buyer (the "grantee") as the party liable for the mansion tax. That liability cannot be contractually shifted to the seller in a residential transaction. In commercial transactions and unusual residential structures (rare), parties sometimes negotiate a seller credit at closing that effectively reimburses the buyer for the mansion tax, but the buyer still writes the check. From a closing-cost budgeting perspective, treat the mansion tax as a buyer cost line item, always.

For a complete breakdown of what else the buyer pays at closing (mortgage recording tax, title insurance, attorney, bank fees), see the NYC Mortgage Calculator, which itemizes all of these in one screen.

Mansion Tax vs Transfer Tax

Buyers and sellers regularly mix up the three NYC closing taxes. Here is the cleanest comparison:

The full NYC Transfer Tax buyer and seller guide breaks down each tax with worked examples.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays the NYC mansion tax, the buyer or the seller?

The buyer pays. This is the opposite of the NYS and NYC transfer taxes, which are paid by the seller. The mansion tax is collected at closing as part of the buyer's closing costs.

How much is the mansion tax at $1,000,000?

$10,000, a flat 1.00% of the full purchase price. At $999,999 the mansion tax is $0. The tax is a cliff, not a marginal rate, so the entire price is taxed at the bracket rate once a threshold is crossed.

Do co-ops and HDFC apartments pay the NYC mansion tax?

Yes. The tax applies to any residential transfer of $1,000,000 or more in New York State, including condos, co-ops, HDFC co-ops, condops, and one to three family houses. There is no co-op or HDFC carve-out.

What are the 2026 NYC mansion tax brackets?

Under $1M: 0%. $1M to $1.999M: 1.00%. $2M to $2.999M: 1.25%. $3M to $4.999M: 1.50%. $5M to $9.999M: 2.25%. $10M to $14.999M: 3.25%. $15M to $19.999M: 3.50%. $20M to $24.999M: 3.75%. $25M and above: 3.90%.

Can a buyer reduce the mansion tax by negotiating below a tier line?

Yes. Because the tax is a cliff, a price reduction from $2,000,001 to $1,999,999 saves the buyer $5,001. Legitimate price negotiation is a standard tool. Splitting a single transaction into separate contracts to dodge the tax is tax evasion and creates legal exposure for both sides.

Once you know your mansion-tax exposure, the next step is your full closing-cost picture. The NYC Mortgage Calculator adds mortgage recording tax, title insurance, attorney, and bank fees on top. The NYC Property Tax Guide 2026 covers the recurring annual side. New to buying in NYC? Start with the NYC Buyer Guide, or browse live Manhattan market data to see how many active listings actually sit above the $1M threshold today.