New York charges a tax when a mortgage on real property is recorded. In New York City the total rate is 2.05%, 2.175% or 2.80% of the loan, depending on the loan size and property type. In Westchester County it’s 1.30%, and in the City of Yonkers 1.80%. On most home loans the lender pays 0.25% of that and you pay the rest. So your out-of-pocket rate is lower than the headline rate.
The tax is usually the largest government charge a borrower pays at a New York closing.
How the tax is built
The mortgage recording tax is a stack of state and local taxes. All are collected at recording. All are figured per $100 of the loan amount.
| Part of the tax | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Basic tax | 0.50% | State tax law |
| Special additional tax | 0.25% | State tax law |
| Additional tax (inside the MCTD) | 0.30% | State tax law |
| New York City tax | 1.00%, 1.125% or 1.75% | NYC mortgage tax law |
| Westchester County local tax | 0.25% | Form MT-15, Table 5 |
| City of Yonkers tax | 0.50% | Yonkers mortgage tax law |
The Yonkers tax is charged on top of the Westchester tax.
MCTD is the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, which includes NYC and Westchester.
The state parts (1.05% in total) apply everywhere in NYC and Westchester. The local parts are what make the rates differ.
Current rates: total, lender’s share and your share
Published rate charts often mix two numbers. The total (gross) rate is the full tax due at recording. The borrower’s net rate is the total minus the 0.25% the lender pays on most home loans. An NYC rate of 1.80% or 1.925% is the borrower’s net rate, not the full tax.
The table assumes a bank or other institutional lender and a property with six or fewer homes in it. That is when the lender pays the 0.25%. Rates are from Form MT-15 (rev. 1/25), Tables 4 and 5, the state’s mortgage recording tax return.
| Location and loan | Gross rate | Lender pays | Borrower net |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYC, any property, under $500,000 | 2.05% | 0.25% | 1.80% |
| NYC, 1-3 family or condo, $500,000+ | 2.175% | 0.25% | 1.925% |
| NYC, 4-6 family, $500,000+ | 2.80% | 0.25% | 2.55% |
| NYC, all other property, $500,000+ | 2.80% | 0% | 2.80% |
| Westchester County (outside Yonkers) | 1.30% | 0.25% | 1.05% |
| City of Yonkers | 1.80% | 0.25% | 1.55% |
In the NYC rows:
- “1-3 family or condo” means a one- to three-family house or a residential condo unit
- “4-6 family” means a building with four to six homes
- “all other property” means 7+ units, mixed-use and commercial
- “$500,000+” means a loan of $500,000 or more
For one- and two-family homes, take a further $30 off the borrower’s share (explained below).
Three points about the NYC rates:
- The rate applies to the whole loan, not just the part over $500,000. A $500,000 loan on a condo unit is taxed at 2.175% on the full $500,000.
- The middle city rate (1.125%) is only for one-, two- and three-family houses and individual condo units. A four-family building with a loan of $500,000 or more falls into “all other” at 2.80%. The lender still pays the 0.25%, because the building has six or fewer units.
- Staten Island uses the same rates. Only the place you record differs. The NYC Department of Finance collects the tax through the City Register (ACRIS) for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The Richmond County Clerk collects it for Staten Island.
In Westchester you pay the tax to the Westchester County Clerk at recording. Yonkers doesn’t have its own recording office. The County Clerk collects the Yonkers tax and sends it to the city. The Yonkers tax law currently runs through August 31, 2027. It has been extended before, but confirm the rate for any loan recorded after that date.
Who pays which part
The lender’s 0.25%
The 0.25% special additional tax is the only part the law splits between lender and borrower (state tax law):
- Property with six or fewer homes, each with its own kitchen: the lender pays. The lender can’t pass it on to you, directly or indirectly. The one exception: if the lender is a tax-exempt organization, you pay.
- Same property, but the lender is an individual (not a company) or a credit union: the 0.25% doesn’t apply at all. Think of a seller who lends you part of the price, or a family member lending to a buyer. The total rate is 0.25% lower, and nobody pays that 0.25%.
- All other property (seven or more units, commercial, mixed-use with more than six units): the borrower pays the 0.25% along with everything else. If the borrower is a tax-exempt organization, the lender pays instead.
There is no owner-occupancy test. The six-unit line is about the number of homes in the property.
Your share
You pay everything else: the basic tax, the additional tax, and the city or county taxes. That comes from practice and the loan documents, not the law. The law doesn’t assign these parts to either side, so the loan terms decide. Home loans put the cost on the borrower.
On a purchase, the mortgage recording tax is the buyer’s cost because it’s the buyer’s loan. It’s separate from the transfer tax, which applies to the deed. For Westchester city transfer taxes, see Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Peekskill transfer taxes.
The $30 deduction for one- and two-family homes
For a one- or two-family home, the first $10,000 of the loan is left out of the 0.30% additional tax (state tax law). Form MT-15 does this on line 4 by subtracting $10,000 before applying that rate.
In NYC and Westchester that saves $10,000 × 0.30% = $30. That’s why closing statements and title rate sheets show “less $30” for one- and two-family homes. The figure is $25 only in counties outside the MCTD, where the rate is 0.25%. The $25 figure never applies in NYC or Westchester.
The $30 comes off the borrower’s share. Buildings with three or more homes don’t qualify. The Tax Department’s guidance on the deduction doesn’t address condo units. Check how the recording office (or the ACRIS calculator) treats a condo unit before relying on the $30.
Worked examples
These are hypothetical loans at current rates.
NYC condo purchase, $600,000 bank loan. The property is a condo unit and the loan is $500,000 or more, so the total rate is 2.175%.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Gross tax: $600,000 × 2.175% | $13,050 |
| Lender pays: $600,000 × 0.25% | $1,500 |
| Borrower pays: $600,000 × 1.925% | $11,550 |
These figures leave out the $30 deduction, which is limited to one- and two-family homes (see above).
Same $600,000 loan on a one-family house.
| Location | Gross tax | Lender pays | Borrower pays (net of $30) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYC | $13,020 | $1,500 | $11,520 |
| Westchester (outside Yonkers) | $7,770 | $1,500 | $6,270 |
| Yonkers | $10,770 | $1,500 | $9,270 |
Loan size matters near the NYC $500,000 line. On a one-family house in NYC, a $499,999 loan costs the borrower about $8,970 (1.80%, less $30). A $500,000 loan costs $9,595 (1.925%, less $30). This is why borrowers sometimes keep the loan just under $500,000.
How to pay less
CEMA: pay tax only on new money
The main tool is a CEMA, short for consolidation, extension and modification agreement. Under state tax law, a new mortgage is exempt to the extent it covers debt that was already taxed under a recorded mortgage. Your existing mortgage is transferred to the new lender and combined with a new mortgage for the extra amount. You pay tax only on the new money, not on the unpaid balance of the old loan.
Example: an NYC homeowner owes $400,000 and refinances into a $450,000 loan. Without a CEMA, the full $450,000 is taxed. With a CEMA, only the $50,000 of new money is taxed.
A CEMA needs your current lender to transfer the mortgage. That adds lender fees, attorney fees and time. It’s available on refinances. With the seller’s lender cooperating, it’s also available on some purchases. The exemption is claimed at recording with a sworn statement of the facts. Not every loan program allows it. Co-op loans can’t use it, because there’s no recorded mortgage to transfer. For the full process, costs and an example, see what a CEMA is and what it saves.
Other cases where the tax is lower or doesn’t apply
- An individual or a credit union lends on a property with six or fewer homes: the 0.25% doesn’t apply.
- Nonprofit borrowers: some nonprofits pay less or nothing. See the professional section below.
- Co-op loans: the tax applies to a mortgage that puts a lien on real property (state tax law definitions). A co-op loan is secured by shares and a lease, not a recorded mortgage. So co-op buyers don’t pay mortgage recording tax on their loan. The building’s own mortgage is taxed.
- Documents that add no new debt: a correction or change to a mortgage that secures no new money is exempt.
Working out and checking the tax
For NYC properties in the four ACRIS boroughs, the ACRIS “Calculate Taxes / Fees” tool works out the tax from the loan amount and property type. The title agency or closer calculates the tax, collects it at closing and pays it when the mortgage is recorded; see who does what at a New York closing. Form MT-15 is needed mainly when a mortgage covers property in more than one taxing area. An example is a parcel partly in Yonkers and partly elsewhere in Westchester. To read recorded mortgages and confirm that tax was paid on a prior loan (useful for a CEMA), see how to read ACRIS for title.
Details for attorneys and title professionals
- Nonprofit borrowers. Organizations exempt from federal income tax and run on a nonprofit basis are exempt from the 0.25% special additional tax. Mortgages given by voluntary nonprofit hospital corporations, fire companies and voluntary ambulance services are exempt from the mortgage recording tax entirely. The state’s exemptions law lists further narrow exemptions (exemptions).
- Limits on the $10,000 exclusion. The Tax Department’s guidance says it applies only once to each mortgage that isn’t supplemental to an earlier recorded mortgage. It doesn’t apply to a document modifying an earlier recorded mortgage that originally secured $10,000 or more. The statute’s test is property “principally improved or to be improved by a one or two family residence or dwelling.”
- Spreading agreements. In NYC, a spreading agreement that adds property owned by a different party is taxable (supplemental mortgage rules).
- Where each rule is. Official sources lists the subsection behind each rate and payer rule in this guide.
Official sources
- NY Tax Law § 253: Recording tax (basic tax (1), special additional tax (1-a)(a) and (b), additional tax (2)(a), exemptions (3))
- NY Tax Law § 253-a: New York City mortgage recording tax, (1)(D) rates
- NY Tax Law § 253-d: City of Yonkers recording tax
- NY Tax Law § 255: Supplemental mortgages and additional instruments, (1)(a)(ii) spreading agreements, (2)(a) sworn statement
- NY Tax Law § 252: Exemptions (see also § 253(1-a)(b) for organizations exempt under Internal Revenue Code § 501(a))
- NY Tax Law § 250: Definitions
- NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, TB-MR-5: $10,000 exclusion for one- and two-family residences
- NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Form MT-15 (rev. 1/25), Mortgage Recording Tax Return
- NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Mortgage recording tax overview
- NYC Department of Finance, Mortgage recording tax