Whether you’re selling a walk-up with a restaurant downstairs, a rental building or a luxury apartment, new rules can change what a property is worth and who will buy it. That’s why New York City’s pied-à-terre surcharge belongs in the investment conversation.
The tax doesn’t apply to all these properties, but the differences in how they are treated matter when buyers compare their options.
The measure was heralded as a levy on absentee billionaires, projected to bring in around $500 million in new annual revenue for the city. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it a tax when he announced its rollout over the summer. The law calls it a surcharge.
The legal distinction matters. Ongoing lawsuits challenge whether its revenue can be excluded from the city’s constitutional real estate tax limit. Separate litigation has challenged how the city identified properties potentially subject to the charge.
The courts will decide those issues. In the meantime, buyers and sellers have deals to negotiate. Who owned the property, who lived there, and whether it was held through a trust or an LLC are all questions that can affect whether the charge applies, what the property costs to own, and what a buyer is willing to pay.
Whatever the name, the surcharge is an additional annual expense for properties where it applies. For the 2026–27 and 2027–28 tax years, affected residential condos and co-ops face rates of 4 percent to 6.5 percent of the applicable Department of Finance value. That’s the city’s valuation, not necessarily the purchase price.
Some second-home owners also stand to lose a co-op or condo tax abatement they’ll no longer qualify for.
Co-op owners face a particular concern. A charge associated with one apartment is billed through the co-op corporation, rather than billed directly to that unit’s shareholder. That means your neighbor’s bill can become your building’s problem if it goes unpaid.
An existing property tax exemption on a property owned by a nonprofit also may not shield it from the new surcharge. So universities, religious organizations and charities should review their exposure before selling.
Buyers need to pay attention, too. The city’s final rules say the surcharge, penalties and interest constitute a lien on the property. So changing owners doesn’t make that exposure disappear.
It’s important to know what’s covered. Commercial office and retail condos and ordinary Class 2 rental buildings are outside the surcharge’s scope. Some smaller mixed-use buildings fall into Class 1 and need individual review. Having apartments above a storefront does not, by itself, tell you the answer.
A rental walk-up with ground-floor retail is a different investment from a second home apartment, but, depending on the building’s legal use and existing tenancies, it could offer a buyer a place to stay in New York while earning income from the other apartments and storefront.
For a buyer focused on income rather than accommodation, a commercial condo used as office, medical or retail space can provide rental income without the pied-à-terre surcharge.
The tenant, lease terms, common charges and building expenses all still need a close look, but, in my view, these alternative property types may become more attractive to some buyers as the additional costs of owning multiple assets subject to the surcharge become clearer.
Finally, each of the issues below ought to be reviewed with your attorney or tax adviser.
Check the property’s use on Jan. 5. A buyer’s intention to move in or rent out the property does not, by itself, eliminate a surcharge arising from its status on that date. The contract should address who bears any charge.
Leasing can take a property outside the surcharge. A qualifying tenant’s use of the property as a primary residence on the applicable taxable status date — under a bona fide, arm’s-length lease of at least one year — can qualify it for an exemption.
Entity structure matters. With an LLC or trust, review who holds the ownership or beneficial interests, who occupies the property, and whether the arrangement meets the exemption requirements. Do not assume that someone living there settles the question.
A buyer looking at a second home, a rental walk-up, or a commercial condo is weighing very different purchases, and the surcharge is another reason to understand those differences before making an offer.
For sellers, that means being ready to explain where their property stands. For buyers, it means knowing which costs they are taking on and how responsibility for any existing charge will be allocated in the contract.
In my view, that gives some buyers a reason to take a closer look at New York’s rental buildings and commercial properties, and that will definitely change who comes to the negotiating table.
Trystan Polsinelli is senior executive director at Compass Commercial.
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