NYC Second Home Tax (2026): Who Pays, How Much, and Your 3 Ways Out

Q: "Pied-à-terre tax," "second-home tax" — which name is the real one?

Technically, neither. The statute describes an annual surcharge on non-primary residences, enacted in New York's FY 2026–27 budget. Reporters and legislators have said 'pied-à-terre tax' since 2014, and 'second-home tax' is the everyday translation. One law, three labels.

Q: Has the tax genuinely taken effect, or is this still a bill?

It is on the books and running. The State Legislature approved the surcharge on May 27, 2026, Governor Hochul signed it May 28, 2026 inside the FY 2026–27 budget, and it has applied citywide since July 1, 2026. Absent an extension, it expires June 30, 2031.

Q: What does a condo or co-op actually pay?

Through Phase 1 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028) the surcharge is charged against the DOF market value — the Market Value line on your Notice of Property Value, an income/§581 figure, not the assessed value behind your regular property-tax bill. The rate is flat: once market value clears the threshold it applies to the unit's full market value — 4% at $1M–$3M, 5.25% at $3M–$5M, and 6.5% at $5M or more. A unit with a $1.39M market value owes 4% of the entire $1.39M, not 4% of the slice above $1M. For Class 2 condos and co-ops the assessed value runs about 45% of market value and is only your regular property-tax figure — never the surcharge base, and never your contract price. Starting July 1, 2028 (Phase 2), condos and co-ops are revalued on comparable sales and move toward the class-1 schedule of roughly 0.8%–1.3% over a $5M threshold.

Q: And a townhouse or 1–3 family home?

Houses are measured on their DOF market value. Nothing is owed below $5 million; at $5 million or more the rate applies to the full market value — a flat 0.8% from $5M–$15M, 1.05% from $15M–$25M, and 1.3% past $25M.

Q: How can I tell whether my unit clears the $1 million line?

Look up the DOF market value — the Market Value line on your annual Notice of Property Value, not the sale price and not the assessed value — at nyc.gov/finance. Because DOF values condos and co-ops off an income model, plenty of $4M-plus apartments carry a market value under $1M, while some cheaper units sit over it. Your assessed value is about 45% of that market value and is only your regular property-tax figure, never the surcharge base. This is the law's biggest trap, and it costs nothing to have a professional pull the figure for you.

Q: What are the legal ways to owe nothing?

Three moves. One: sign an arm's-length lease of 12 months or longer with a tenant who treats the home as their primary residence. Two: have the home occupied more than half the year as the primary residence of you or an immediate family member (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild). Three: sell. A unit merely listed for rent while sitting empty stays taxable — only a real qualifying lease counts.

Q: When do notices arrive and when is money due?

The Department of Finance must send its first non-primary-residence notices by August 30, 2026. If yours is wrong, you can push back with proof of primary residence — a tax return showing the address, or a qualifying lease. The first payment falls due January 1, 2027, and thereafter the surcharge rides on the semi-annual property tax bill. Existing abatements and exemptions do not reduce it.

Q: How much is the city expecting to collect?

The NYC Comptroller's office has pegged the surcharge at roughly $500 million per year, earmarked for city priorities under the FY 2026–27 budget deal.

Before anything else

Your 60-second briefing

✓
This one passed. A decade of dead-on-arrival proposals ended when Albany approved the surcharge on May 27, 2026 and Governor Hochul signed it May 28, 2026 in the FY 2026–27 budget. Live citywide since July 1, 2026; scheduled to expire June 30, 2031 unless renewed. The statute calls it a surcharge on non-primary residences — "pied-à-terre tax" and "second-home tax" are just nicknames for the same law.
✓
Condos & co-ops are graded on DOF market value, not price. The Department of Finance market value — the Market Value line on your NOPV, an income-based figure usually far below what your unit would sell for — is what gets tested against the $1M line. Clear it and the rate hits your full market value, not just the slice above $1M: a flat 4% ($1M–$3M), 5.25% ($3M–$5M) or 6.5% (over $5M), yearly. Your assessed value — roughly 45% of market value — is only your regular property-tax figure, not the surcharge base.
✓
Houses get a different ruler. For 1–3 family homes, the measure is the DOF market value: below $5M owes nothing, and at $5M or more a flat rate hits the full value — 0.8% to $15M, 1.05% to $25M, and 1.3% beyond.
✓
There is a clean exit. No surcharge if the home is occupied more than half the year as the primary residence of you, an immediate family member (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild), or a tenant on an arm's-length lease of 12+ months. Holding through an LLC or trust changes nothing — the law looks through entities to the people behind them.
✓
The clock is already running. DOF mails its first notices by August 30, 2026, the first payment lands January 1, 2027, condos and co-ops are revalued on comparable sales in Phase 2 on July 1, 2028 — and the Comptroller expects the whole program to pull in about $500 million a year.

Step 1 · Free · Report by email

Find out if you're even in the game

Everything hinges on one number you've probably never read: the DOF market value — the Market Value line on your Notice of Property Value. It bears no resemblance to your purchase price, and it isn't the assessed value you pay regular property tax on. Give us the address and we'll pull the city's official figures, run the surcharge test, and email you a written report — typically within the hour, always at no charge.

Why guessing fails (FY 2026–27 roll): at 56 Leonard St in TriBeCa, a condo that changes hands around $4.5M carries a DOF market value of $1,390,768 — and that market-value figure is the surcharge base. It clears the $1M line, so a flat 4% lands on the entire $1,390,768: ≈$55,600 a year. Its DOF assessed value of $625,846 (about 45% of market value) is just the number behind the regular property-tax bill — not the surcharge base. Now take a unit whose DOF market value lands at $3.6M: the flat 5.25% applies to the full amount, so if it isn't anyone's primary residence the bill is ≈$189,000 a year. Identical statute, very different numbers. The address decides.

Market Value & Pied-à-Terre
Tax Exposure ReportCONQUEST

56 Leonard Street, Apt 6WTax Class 2 · R4

DOF market value — surcharge base$1,390,768

DOF assessed value (45% — not the base)$625,846

Surcharge test — over $1M thresholdOVER — ~$55,600 / YEAR

Est. open-market value~$4,500,000

Open the sample report (PDF) →

Your report, on us

NYC property address *

Unit / apt * This is a 1–3 family house / townhouse — no apartment number My home is a co-op (not a condo) Name Email (the report goes here) * Phone Where you stand

A free service from Conquest built on official NYC Dept. of Finance records. Submitting means we may contact you about your property. Your information is never sold.

Step 2

The three moves

If your property is caught, the law leaves exactly three doors open — and one expensive way to stand still. Every door runs through the same test: is the home somebody's primary residence for more than half the year?

Play 01

Lease it — 12 months, arm's length

Put a real tenant on a bona fide lease of at least one year, with the unit as their primary residence, and the surcharge disappears while rent flows in. At today's near-record Manhattan rents, that swap often turns a tax problem into a yield story. One warning: a vacant unit "on the market" earns no exemption — only a signed, qualifying lease does. We handle the leasing, the vetting and the paperwork.

Play 02

Make it somebody's home

Occupy it yourself — or move in a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent or grandchild — as a genuine primary residence for the majority of the year. Expect to prove it: tax filings, DMV, voter rolls. And since a residency change reshuffles your state and city tax position, loop in your CPA before you switch.

Play 03

Exit the position

Sometimes the honest answer is that a recurring flat 4%–6.5% of full market value breaks the case for holding. A senior Conquest agent will give you a data-backed read on what the unit commands right now, set against what a 12-month lease would earn — so the rent-versus-sell call is made with numbers, not nostalgia.

The non-move

Stand still and pay

Do nothing and the surcharge simply stacks on top of property tax, common charges and insurance — every year, with no abatement or exemption offsetting a dollar of it. For most owners, this is the board's worst square.

Step 3

The damage, itemized

Condos & co-ops — Phase 1 (Jul 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2028)
DOF market value	Rate on full market value
Below $1,000,000	Exempt
$1M – $3M	4%
$3M – $5M	5.25%
Above $5M	6.5%

Read this twice: the brackets run on the DOF market value from your NOPV — the Market Value line, an income-model figure that routinely sits far under sale price — and the rate is flat: clear the $1M line and it applies to your entire market value, not just the slice above $1M. Your assessed value (about 45% of market value) is only your regular property-tax figure, not the surcharge base. That's why a $4M condo can owe nothing while a $2.5M unit in another building owes plenty. Never assume; look it up — or let us look it up for you, free.

1–3 family homes (DOF market value)
Market value	Rate on full market value
Below $5,000,000	Exempt
$5M – $15M	0.8%
$15M – $25M	1.05%
Above $25M	1.3%

Mark July 1, 2028. That's Phase 2, when condos and co-ops are revalued on comparable sales and move toward the class-1 rate schedule (~0.8%–1.3% over $5M). Owners who squeak under today's threshold can get pulled in then — and some who owe now will fall out. Re-test your exposure every year.

Step 4

Your deadlines

July 1, 2026 — already behind youThe surcharge switched on for fiscal year 2026–27. Whatever your unit's status was, the meter started here.
By August 30, 2026 — watch the mailDOF must send its initial non-primary-residence notices by this date. Wrongly tagged? Answer with evidence — a tax return showing the address, or a qualifying 12-month lease — before the deadline printed on the notice.
January 1, 2027 — first money dueYear one's surcharge arrives with your property tax statement, then recurs semi-annually. It's collected like property tax, liens and all — this is not a bill to test.
July 1, 2028 — Phase 2Condos and co-ops are revalued on comparable sales toward the class-1 rate schedule. Re-run your numbers before this date.
June 30, 2031 — scheduled sunsetThe law expires here unless Albany votes to keep it. Plan as if it stays.

What the city has racked up from second-home owners since July 1, 2026

Running projection derived from the NYC Comptroller's estimate of ≈$500 million per year in surcharge revenue, accrued continuously since the July 1, 2026 start date. An illustration, not an official tally.

Step 5

Put a number on it

Type in a value and see your estimated Phase 1 exposure instantly. Condo or co-op? Use the DOF market value — the Market Value line on your Notice of Property Value or tax bill (find yours at nyc.gov/finance) — not the assessed value and not the purchase price, either of which will mislead you.

The math is flat — once your market value clears the threshold, the bracket rate applies to the full value — and it's informational, not tax advice. DOF's final billing mechanics may vary; the free review pins down your exact figure.

Property type DOF market value ($)

Step 6 · No fee, no obligation

Talk to a senior agent

Send the building and a senior Conquest agent comes back — usually the same day — with three things:

① the unit's official DOF market value and a clear yes/no on whether the surcharge touches you, ② your projected annual cost for FY 2026–27 and again under Phase 2, and ③ a straight rent-versus-sell model: the rent a qualifying 12-month lease would achieve, the price the unit would command today, and which path leaves more in your pocket.

You won't get a listing pitch unless you ask for one. Rather talk it through? Call +1 (646) 480-6095 — answers 24/7, or ask for a live advisor or message us on WhatsApp.

Still checking boxes

Owner questions, answered straight

"Pied-à-terre tax," "second-home tax" — which name is the real one?

Technically, neither. The statute describes an annual surcharge on non-primary residences, enacted in the FY 2026–27 state budget. "Pied-à-terre tax" has been the press-and-Albany shorthand since 2014, and "second-home tax" is the everyday translation. One law, three labels — this page covers it under all of them.

Has the tax genuinely taken effect, or is this still a bill?

It's on the books and running. The Legislature approved it May 27, 2026, Governor Hochul signed it May 28, 2026 inside the FY 2026–27 budget, and it has applied citywide since July 1, 2026. Absent an extension, it expires June 30, 2031.

Which owners end up writing the check?

Anyone whose NYC residential property is nobody's primary home — not the owner's, not an immediate family member's (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild), and not a qualifying tenant's. In scope: Class 1 houses (1–3 family) above $5 million in market value, and Class 2 condo and co-op units above $1 million in DOF market value.

What does a condo or co-op actually pay?

Through Phase 1 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028) the base is the DOF market value — the Market Value line on your NOPV, not the assessed value behind your regular property-tax bill. The rate is flat: once market value clears the threshold it applies to the full market value — 4% at $1M–$3M, 5.25% at $3M–$5M, and 6.5% at $5M or more. So a $1.39M unit owes 4% of the whole $1.39M, not 4% of the slice above $1M. Assessed value runs about 45% of market value and is never the surcharge base or your contract price. From July 1, 2028, Phase 2 revalues condos and co-ops on comparable sales toward the class-1 schedule of roughly 0.8%–1.3% above a $5M threshold.

And a townhouse or 1–3 family home?

Houses are measured on their DOF market value. Below $5 million owes nothing; at $5 million or more the rate applies to the full market value — a flat 0.8% from $5M–$15M, 1.05% from $15M–$25M, and 1.3% past $25M.

How can I tell whether my unit clears the $1 million line?

Pull the DOF market value — the Market Value line on your annual Notice of Property Value, not the sale price and not the assessed value — at nyc.gov/finance. Because DOF values apartments off an income model, plenty of $4M-plus units carry a market value under $1M while some cheaper ones sit over. Your assessed value is about 45% of that and is only your regular property-tax figure, not the surcharge base. It's the single most misread piece of the law, and we'll check it for you free.

What are the legal ways to owe nothing?

Three: (1) an arm's-length lease of 12+ months to a tenant who makes the home their primary residence; (2) occupancy for more than half the year as the primary residence of you or an immediate family member (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild); (3) a sale. A unit merely listed for rent while empty stays taxable — only a real signed lease counts.

My property sits in an LLC or a trust — does that change anything?

No shelter there. The statute looks straight through entities: trust beneficial owners count as covered owners, as do majority holders of LLCs, partnerships and corporations. Watch the reverse trap too — where no single person holds a majority (think sibling-split family LLCs), the property can be surcharged regardless of who lives in it, unless an arm's-length tenant occupies it as a primary residence.

When do notices arrive and when is money due?

DOF must mail its first non-primary-residence notices by August 30, 2026. If yours is wrong, rebut with documentation — a tax return showing the address, or a qualifying lease — by the deadline on the notice. The first payment is due January 1, 2027; after that the surcharge rides the semi-annual property tax bill, and no existing abatement or exemption reduces it.

How much is the city expecting to collect?

The NYC Comptroller's office has projected roughly $500 million a year from the surcharge, earmarked for city priorities under the FY 2026–27 budget deal.

Rent it out or sell it — how do I decide?

With numbers, not instinct. A 12-month lease erases the surcharge and produces income, which wins for many owners; for others, a recurring flat 4%–6.5% of full market value tips the case toward selling into today's market. Market value, carrying costs, achievable rent and how you actually use the home decide it — and the free review models both paths for your specific unit.

Extra credit

Go deeper

Twelve Years of Trying
Every run at this tax from 2014 to 2026 — who killed each one, and what finally changed.
The Albany Endgame
Inside the final push: Mamdani's video, Griffin's $6B threat, and Hochul's calculus.
The $238M Spark
How one record-setting purchase at 220 Central Park South resurrected a dead bill.
2019 vs. 2026, Side by Side
What the enacted law kept, dropped and toughened compared with the old proposals.
Mansion Tax vs. This Tax
A one-time closing cost versus an annual bill — how NYC's two luxury levies stack up.
Building-by-Building Numbers
Actual DOF market values inside 56 Leonard, 220 CPS, 432 Park, 15 CPW and more.
News & Updates
Dated coverage as DOF rules land and notice season unfolds — and what each item means for you.

Show your work

Primary sources

NY Governor's Office — Pied-à-terre tax announcement
NYC Comptroller — The Pied-à-Terre Tax and Its Potential Revenues
Dechert LLP — New York City Imposes Pied-à-Terre Tax (June 2026)
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP — NYC Enacts Annual "Pied-à-Terre Tax" on Second Homes
NYC Dept. of Finance — Property value lookup (NOPV / market value)

Published by a licensed real estate brokerage as educational material, accurate as of July 17, 2026 and revised as DOF releases implementation guidance. Nothing here is legal, tax or accounting advice — bring your specific facts to your attorney or CPA.