NYC closing costs, worked
New York City layers four separate taxes onto a residential transaction, and the two biggest are calculated on different numbers — one on the mortgage, one on the price. This page shows the current rates and works them through real amounts. Every figure is cited at the foot of the page.
Static tables, on purpose: there is no calculator here and no field to type into. lender.nyc does not collect anything about you or your transaction. This is general information, not tax or legal advice — your attorney and your accountant should confirm the numbers on your actual deal.
1. Mortgage recording tax — charged on the loan
Charged when a mortgage is recorded against real property in the five boroughs. It is calculated on the mortgage amount, not the purchase price, and the $500,000 threshold is measured against that loan amount.
| Mortgage amount and property type | Statutory total | You typically pay |
|---|---|---|
| Under $500,000 — any property | 2.05% | 1.80% |
| $500,000 and over — 1, 2 or 3 family house, or an individual residential condominium unit | 2.175% | 1.925% |
| $500,000 and over — everything else (4+ family, mixed use, commercial) | 2.80% | 2.55%, or 2.80% if over six residential units |
Two details that get garbled everywhere. First, the $30 you see mentioned is not the lender's share — it is the $10,000 exclusion from the 0.30% MCTD additional tax, and it applies only to property improved by a one- or two-family residence. Not three-family, not a condo unit. Second, the "you pay" column assumes an ordinary institutional lender on small residential; a genuine commercial borrower pays the full statutory rate.
| Scenario | Loan | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queens two-family house | $450,000 | 1.80% | $8,070 (after the $30 credit) |
| Manhattan condominium unit | $800,000 | 1.925% | $15,400 |
| Brooklyn co-op (share loan) | $600,000 | — | $0 |
The co-op line is not a rounding error. A co-op is financed with a share loan secured by stock and a proprietary lease; nothing is recorded against real property, so no recording tax arises at all. It is the single largest structural cost difference between a co-op and a condo in New York, and national closing-cost guides almost never mention it.
On a refinance, the same tax would fall on your entire balance again — unless the deal is structured as a CEMA, which taxes only the new money. See how a CEMA works.
2. Mansion tax — charged on the price
A buyer-paid tax on residential conveyances of $1,000,000 or more. The 1% base applies statewide; the supplemental tiers apply in New York City. It is a cliff, not a bracket — cross a threshold by one dollar and the higher rate applies to the entire price.
| Entire consideration | Base | NYC supplemental | Effective total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000,000 to under $2,000,000 | 1.00% | — | 1.00% |
| $2,000,000 to under $3,000,000 | 1.00% | 0.25% | 1.25% |
| $3,000,000 to under $5,000,000 | 1.00% | 0.50% | 1.50% |
| $5,000,000 to under $10,000,000 | 1.00% | 1.25% | 2.25% |
| $10,000,000 to under $15,000,000 | 1.00% | 2.25% | 3.25% |
| $15,000,000 to under $20,000,000 | 1.00% | 2.50% | 3.50% |
| $20,000,000 to under $25,000,000 | 1.00% | 2.75% | 3.75% |
| $25,000,000 and over | 1.00% | 2.90% | 3.90% |
The cliff is worth real money. At $1,999,000 the mansion tax is $19,990; at $2,000,000 it is $25,000. Six thousand dollars turns on the last thousand of the price — which is why New York contracts sometimes land on oddly specific numbers just under a tier.
3. Transfer taxes — usually the seller's
| Tax | Applies to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| NYC RPTT — residential | 1–3 family, individual condo or co-op unit; $500,000 or less | 1.00% |
| NYC RPTT — residential | Same, over $500,000 | 1.425% |
| NYC RPTT — commercial and other | $500,000 or less / over $500,000 | 1.425% / 2.625% |
| NYS transfer tax | All conveyances | 0.40% |
| NYS additional base tax | NYC residential $3M+; NYC non-residential $2M+ | 0.25% |
Transfer taxes are the seller's by default. New-development sponsor sales frequently shift them to the buyer by contract — if you are buying from a sponsor, that clause is worth more attention than the appliance package.
4. Putting it together
| Line | Who pays | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage recording tax | Buyer | 1.925% of $1,050,000 | $20,213 |
| Mansion tax | Buyer | 1.00% of $1,400,000 | $14,000 |
| NYC RPTT | Seller | 1.425% of $1,400,000 | $19,950 |
| NYS transfer tax | Seller | 0.40% of $1,400,000 | $5,600 |
| Buyer's closing taxes | — | — | $34,213 |
| Seller's closing taxes | — | — | $25,550 |
Roughly $60,000 of tax on a $1.4M apartment, before anyone has been paid for actual work. That is the number to have in mind before you make an offer — and the reason co-op buyers, who skip the recording tax entirely, often find their cash-to-close materially lower on the same price.
Frequently asked questions
Is the mortgage recording tax based on the purchase price?
No — on the mortgage amount. This is the single most common mistake. A $900,000 purchase with a $400,000 mortgage is taxed at the under-$500,000 tier, because the $500,000 threshold is measured against the loan.
Why do I see 1.8% and 1.925% quoted everywhere instead of 2.05% and 2.175%?
Both are right, from different sides. The statutory New York City totals are 2.05% and 2.175%. Of that, 0.25% is the special additional tax, which by law the lender pays and may not charge back to you on a building of six residential units or fewer. The figures brokers quote are what you actually pay: the statutory rate minus that 0.25%.
Who pays what at a NYC closing?
Broadly: the buyer pays the mortgage recording tax and the mansion tax; the seller pays the NYC Real Property Transfer Tax and the New York State transfer tax. Sponsor sales at new developments commonly shift the transfer taxes onto the buyer by contract — read the offering plan.
Do co-ops pay any of this?
A co-op purchase pays no mortgage recording tax, because a share loan is not a recorded mortgage on real property. It does pay the transfer taxes and, above $1,000,000, the mansion tax — those are taxes on the conveyance, and a co-op conveyance counts.
Did the mansion tax go up in 2026?
No. A large increase appeared in the one-house budget bills for 2026 and was dropped from the final agreement. The tiers below are the ones enacted in 2019 and they are still the current rates as of August 2026. Be careful with 2026 blog posts that hedge about new rates.
Sources
- tax.ny.gov — NYS Form MT-15 (1/25), Table 4 — statutory mortgage recording tax rates by locality, including the three New York City tiers used below. Schedule B carries the $10,000 exclusion for 1–2 family homes.
- nysenate.gov — NY Tax Law §253(1-a) — the 0.25% special additional tax is payable by the mortgagee and may not be paid, directly or indirectly, by the mortgagor where the property has not more than six residential dwelling units.
- tax.ny.gov — NYS Form TP-584-NYC-I (8/25) — mansion tax supplemental rate table and the NYC additional base tax, effective for conveyances on or after July 1, 2019.
- tax.ny.gov — NYS Department of Taxation and Finance — real estate transfer tax overview, including the $2 per $500 state rate.
- portal.311.nyc.gov — NYC311 / Department of Finance — Real Property Transfer Tax rates for residential and commercial conveyances.
- nysenate.gov — NY Tax Law §255 — supplemental mortgages: the statutory basis for a CEMA, under which a consolidating instrument is not taxed as a new mortgage except as to new indebtedness.