Instead of introducing an annual pied-à-terre tax, a measure dreaded by much of the city’s real estate industry, the state’s 2019-2020 budget includes an expansion of the “mansion tax,” a one-time levy on residential sales, along with a heftier transfer tax.
The “mansion tax” ranges from .25 to 2.9 percent, in addition to the existing 1 percent tax that is already collected on residential properties sold for $1 million or more. The budget also included an extra .25 percent transfer tax on residential properties that sell for more than $3 million. The new taxes take effect July 1 of this year and are projected to generate $365 million in revenue.
To get an idea of what these taxes would look like for individual sales, we calculated the mansion and transfer taxes on the top 10 most expensive residential closings of 2018 in the city — both what they would’ve been last year and what they would look like if the new rules applied. If these 10 units closed with the new tax rules in place, the city and state would have collectively received $18.1 million in additional revenue. The average difference between the actual and hypothetical tax bills for these deals was $1.8 million.
(This analysis does not include Ken Griffin’s record-breaking $238 million deal in January at 220 Central Park South, but under the new tax rates the city and state would have hypothetically collected $14.3 million; under the old system, the bill was $6.9 million.)
1. 520 Park Avenue, DPH60; $74 million
Old taxes: $2.1M
Mansion tax: $740,000
Transfer tax: $1.4M
New taxes: $4.4M
Mansion tax: $2.88M
Transfer tax: $1.5M
2. 9-13 East 75th Street; $74 million
Old taxes: $2.1M
Mansion tax: $740,000
Transfer tax: $1.4M
New taxes: $4.4M
Mansion tax: $2.88M
Transfer tax: $1.5M
3. 432 Park Avenue, Unit 77A and 77B; $64 million
Old taxes: $1.8M
Mansion tax: $640,000
Transfer tax: $256,000
New taxes: $3.8M
Mansion tax: $2.5M
Transfer tax: $1.3M
4. 520 Park Avenue, DPH52; $62 million
Old taxes: $1.8M
Mansion tax: $620,000
Transfer tax: $1.1M
New taxes: $3.7M
Mansion tax: $2.4M
Transfer tax: $1.3M
5. The Getty, PH; $59.1 million
Old taxes: $1.7M
Mansion tax: $591,000
Transfer tax: $1.1M
New taxes: $3.5M
Mansion tax: $2.3M
Transfer tax: $1.2M
6. 70 Vestry Street, PH; $56 million
Old taxes: $1.6M
Mansion tax: $560,000
Transfer tax: $1M
New taxes: $3.3M
Mansion tax: $2.2M
Transfer tax: $1.1M
7. One57, Unit 85; $54 million
Old taxes: $1.5M
Mansion tax: 540,000
Transfer tax: $985,500
New taxes: $3.2M
Mansion tax: $2.1M
Transfer tax: $1.1M
8. 15 Central Park West; $50 million
Old taxes: $1.4M
Mansion tax: $500,000
Transfer tax: $912.500
New taxes: $3M
Mansion tax: $1.95M
Transfer tax: $1M
9. 443 Greenwich, Penthouse A; $43.8 million
Old taxes: $1.2M
Mansion tax: $438,000
Transfer tax: $799,350
New taxes: $2.6M
Mansion tax: $1.7M
Transfer tax: $908,850
10. 160 Leroy Street; $43.5 million
Old taxes: $1.2M
Mansion tax: $435,000
Transfer tax: $793,875
New taxes: $2.6M
Mansion tax: $1.7M
Transfer tax: $902,625
If these 10 units closed with the new tax rules in place, the city and state would have collectively received $18.1 million in additional revenue.