The New York City Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) is a city tax on deeds and other transfers of real property in the five boroughs when the price is more than $25,000. Rates run from 1% to 2.625% depending on whether the property is residential or commercial and whether the price is above or below $500,000.1NYC311. Real Property Transfer Tax The seller is the default payer, the return is due within 30 days of the deed, and it sits alongside separate New York State transfer taxes on the same closing statement.
What Transfers Are Taxed
The RPTT applies to any deed delivered from a seller to a buyer when total consideration exceeds $25,000.2American Legal Publishing. New York City Administrative Code 11-2102 – Imposition of Tax Consideration is not just cash. It includes the full purchase price plus any mortgages or liens the buyer assumes. Buy a $400,000 apartment and take over a $200,000 existing mortgage, and the consideration for RPTT purposes is $600,000.
The tax also reaches transfers of economic interests in real property. The common example is the sale of shares in a cooperative housing corporation: you are technically buying stock rather than a deed, but the city treats it as a taxable transfer.3NYC Administrative Code. NYC Administrative Code Title 11 Chapter 21 – Real Property Transfer Tax Certain long leases are taxable too, but only when the term plus renewal options exceeds 49 years, the tenant makes substantial capital improvements, and the lease covers substantially all of the building’s rentable space. All three conditions must be met.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. New York Codes, Rules and Regulations – Real Property Transfer Tax Leasehold Provisions
Rates and the $500,000 Cliff
Two variables set the rate: property type and price.1NYC311. Real Property Transfer Tax
- Residential one-to-three family homes and individual condo units, $500,000 or less: 1%.
- Residential, over $500,000: 1.425%.
- All other transfers (commercial, multi-unit residential), $500,000 or less: 1.425%.
- All other transfers, over $500,000: 2.625%.
The rate applies to the entire consideration, not just the amount over $500,000. Sell a condo for $510,000 and the 1.425% rate hits the full $510,000, producing a tax bill of $7,267.50. That creates a real cliff at the threshold: a $500,000 sale is taxed $5,000, but a $500,001 sale jumps to $7,125. Deals occasionally get structured just below $500,000 for this reason, though the reported consideration has to reflect the actual transaction.
Who Pays
The seller has the primary obligation. If the seller fails to pay or qualifies for an exemption, the obligation shifts to the buyer.5American Legal Publishing. New York City Administrative Code 11-2104 – Payment
The purchase agreement often overrides the default. Buyers in new-development purchases from sponsors almost always pay the RPTT as a condition of the deal. Resale contracts are more negotiable. Don’t assume the statutory default applies to your situation without reading the contract. And regardless of what the contract says between the parties, the city can pursue either the buyer or the seller for the full amount if the tax goes unpaid. A private agreement does not limit the Department of Finance’s collection authority.
Filing the Return Through ACRIS
Buyer and seller must file a joint RPTT return within 30 days of the deed’s delivery, even if the transfer is exempt or the tax owed is zero.6American Legal Publishing. New York City Administrative Code 11-2105 – Returns Both parties sign under oath, and a copy of the deed is attached. The return requires names, addresses, and Social Security or Employer Identification numbers for every party, along with the property’s location, the interest transferred, and the full consideration. You will also need the property’s Borough, Block, and Lot numbers to enter anything into the filing system.
All returns are submitted electronically through the Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS). The system walks you through the tax forms, generates a cover page, and takes payment by e-check or credit card. Staten Island transfers require a paper filing on top of the electronic submission.7NYC Department of Finance. ACRIS Once you submit, documents cannot be edited. Make sure the consideration on the return matches every other closing document; mismatches invite audits.
Deadlines, Penalties, and Interest
The RPTT and return are due within 30 days of the transfer, with a five-day grace period.1NYC311. Real Property Transfer Tax Missing that deadline triggers two separate penalty tracks.
Failing to file the return adds 5% of the tax owed for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at 25%. Failing to pay adds a separate 0.5% per month, also capped at 25%.8American Legal Publishing. New York City Administrative Code 11-2114 – Interest and Penalties The combined penalty for any single month cannot exceed 5%.9NYC Department of Finance. Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) If you are more than 60 days late filing, the minimum penalty is the lesser of $100 or 100% of the tax due.
Interest runs on the unpaid tax from the day after the due date and compounds daily. The commissioner of finance sets the rate quarterly; for the first quarter of 2026, the rate is 11%.1NYC311. Real Property Transfer Tax Once the city files a tax warrant, interest begins running on the penalties as well, calculated retroactively from the original due date. Penalties can be waived on a showing of reasonable cause. Interest cannot.
Exemptions
Section 11-2106 carves out several categories of exempt transactions.10American Legal Publishing. New York City Administrative Code 11-2106 – Exemptions
- Government entities: New York State, its agencies and political subdivisions, and the federal government (to the extent it is immune from taxation). International organizations such as the United Nations also qualify.
- Nonprofits operated exclusively for religious, charitable, educational, or similar purposes, provided no part of their earnings benefits private individuals and the organization does not primarily operate a for-profit business.
- Deeds conveying property for no consideration or nominal consideration.
- Changes in ownership form: moving property into your own LLC or corporation for no consideration other than receiving the entity’s ownership interest, as long as the beneficial ownership stays the same. The reverse also applies, when property moves back to owners in exchange for surrendering their interest or upon liquidation.
- Transfers made under a confirmed Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, which federal law exempts from state and local stamp taxes.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1146 – Special Tax Provisions
One trap catches people off guard: even when a transfer is fully exempt, you still must file the RPTT return through ACRIS, with an affidavit explaining the basis for the exemption. Skip the filing and the Department of Finance may issue an assessment as though no exemption existed. Government entities are the only category exempt from both the tax and the filing requirement.
The State Taxes That Also Hit Your Closing
The city RPTT is only one layer, and buyers who budget for it alone are frequently short at closing. New York State imposes its own transfer tax on every conveyance where consideration exceeds $500, at $2 per $500 of consideration (0.4%). The seller pays it. For high-value transactions in a city of one million or more residents, meaning New York City, the state adds a supplemental $1.25 per $500 when consideration reaches $3 million for residential property or $2 million for other property.12New York State Senate. New York Tax Law Section 1402 – Imposition of Tax
On top of both, buyers face the “mansion tax” on residential purchases of $1 million or more. The base mansion tax is 1% of the full purchase price, paid by the buyer.13New York State Senate. New York Tax Law Section 1402-a – Additional Tax Properties above $2 million face graduated rates that climb with price, reaching 3.9% on purchases of $25 million or more. The mansion tax on a $2 million apartment is $25,000 by itself, before the RPTT is added.