---
title: "NYC Mortgage Recording Tax: Rates, Who Pays and How to Reduce It"
description: "NYC mortgage recording tax is 1.80% or 1.925% of your loan for a condo or house, and nothing for a co-op. The full rate is 2.175% because your lender pays the rest. Rates from MT-15, who pays each part, and the two ways to pay less."
url: "https://realestaterebatesnewyork.com/guides/nyc-mortgage-recording-tax"
source: "Real Estate Rebate Team"
datePublished: "2026-08-26"
dateModified: "2026-09-11T16:25:04.659Z"
---

# The NYC Mortgage Recording Tax

NYC Mortgage Recording Tax · By Régis Roumila · August 26, 2026

Four different percentages are quoted for this tax and all of them are correct. Here is which one is your number, who pays the rest, and the two ways the bill legitimately comes down.

If you are financing a condo or a house in New York City, the mortgage recording tax will be one of the largest single lines on your closing statement. On a $1,600,000 mortgage you pay $30,770. Your lender pays a further $4,000 on top of that, and by law cannot ask you for it. Work out your own number in the NYC mortgage recording tax calculator.

The tax is charged on your loan, not on the purchase price. It does not apply to co-ops at all. And if you are buying with cash, there is no mortgage to record and no tax.

## Why every source quotes a different percentage

Search for the mortgage recording tax, or just the mortgage tax as many New Yorkers call it, and you will be told it is 1.8%, or 1.925%, or 2.05%, or 2.175%. Every one of those numbers is correct. They are answers to two different questions, and almost nobody says which question they are answering.

2.05% and 2.175% are the statutory total, meaning everything remitted to the City Register when your mortgage is recorded. That is the figure in Table 4 of New York State Form MT-15, and it is usually what your lender's Loan Estimate shows, because the lender is reporting the whole payment rather than your share of it.

1.8% and 1.925% are what you pay. The gap between the two is a quarter of a percent called the special additional tax, and on most residential property that quarter point belongs to the lender.

So when your broker says 1.925% and your Loan Estimate says 2.175%, nobody is wrong and no money has gone missing. Ask which of the two numbers you are looking at and the confusion disappears.

### Which percentage is your number?

Both figures below are real and both appear in published sources. Only one of them is the amount you write a cheque for.

- **The statutory total — 2.175%**: Everything remitted when the mortgage is recorded, including the lender's quarter point. Often the figure on a Loan Estimate.
  Correct, but it is not your cost.
- **What the buyer pays — 1.925%** (Use this value): The same tax after the special additional tax your lender is required to cover.
  This is the figure to budget from.
- **On a $1,600,000 mortgage — $30,770** (Result): Your share. The lender pays a further $4,000 that cannot be charged back to you.
  An estimate. Confirm with your attorney and title company.

**The statutory total and the buyer's share differ by the quarter point. Confirm which one a quoted figure refers to before you budget from it.**

## Four taxes, collected as one

What everyone calls the mortgage recording tax is really four separate taxes charged at the same moment.

- A basic tax of 0.50%, under section 253(1) of the Tax Law. Yours.

- An additional tax of 0.30% inside the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, which includes all five boroughs. Yours, less a small exclusion covered further down.

- A New York City tax of 1.00%, 1.125% or 1.75%, depending on the size of the loan and what you are buying. Yours.

- A special additional tax of 0.25%, the quarter point. This is the one that is usually not yours.

Section 253(1-a)(a) puts that last one on the lender wherever the property has six or fewer residential dwelling units, and states that it "shall not be paid or payable, directly or indirectly, by the mortgagor". That is unusually blunt language for a tax statute, and it has teeth. In State v. Intercounty Mortgagee Corp. the First Department ordered lenders who had passed the cost on to make restitution.

### New York City rates by property type

The statutory total against what the buyer actually pays. Rates from NYS Form MT-15, revision 1/25, Table 4.

| Property | Loan under $500,000 | Loan $500,000 or more | Buyer pays at $500,000+ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Condo (one residential unit) | 2.05% less $30 | 2.175% less $30 | 1.925% less $30 |
| House, 1 or 2 family | 2.05% less $30 | 2.175% less $30 | 1.925% less $30 |
| House, 3 family | 2.05% | 2.175% | 1.925% |
| Building, 4 to 6 residential units | 2.05% | 2.80% | 2.55% |
| Building, 7 or more residential units | 2.05% | 2.80% | 2.80% |
| Commercial | 2.05% | 2.80% | 2.80% |
| Co-op | No tax | No tax | $0 |

**Notice the two right-hand columns diverge only where the lender owes the quarter point. At seven or more units and on commercial property the buyer pays the whole 2.80%.**

*Source: NYS Form MT-15 (rev. 1/25), Table 4*

## When your lender does not pay the quarter point

The six-unit rule has exceptions, and one of them will catch a small but real number of buyers.

- Seven or more residential units, or property that is wholly commercial. The quarter point is yours, so the statutory total and your share are the same 2.80%.

- A lender that is a federal savings association. A federal banking regulation lets federal thrifts charge borrowers the actual costs of making a loan, and in Dime Savings Bank of New York, FSB v. State of New York the Second Department held that this overrides the state rule against passing the tax on. If your lender is a federal savings bank, it can lawfully charge you the 0.25%.

- A lender that is a section 501(a) non-profit. It is exempt, so the tax falls to you.

- A lender that is a private individual or a credit union, on a property with six or fewer residential units. Here the tax is not imposed at all, so the statutory total drops and your share stays where it was.

Mixed-use property is a fifth case with no clean answer. The law asks whether the residential part of the property is worth more than the commercial part, measured by cost or fair market value. If it is, the lender pays. If it is not, you do. Your attorney will know which; no calculator can.

This is worth one question to your lender before closing. On a $1,000,000 condo mortgage the difference is $2,500. The calculator lets you switch lender type and see the effect on your own loan.

### What it costs on a real purchase

A condominium with 80% financing, and the same $2,000,000 purchase paid two different ways.

| Purchase price | Mortgage | Statutory total | Lender pays | You pay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| $500,000 | $400,000 | $8,170 | $1,000 | $7,170 |
| $1,000,000 | $800,000 | $17,370 | $2,000 | $15,370 |
| $2,000,000 | $1,600,000 | $34,770 | $4,000 | $30,770 |
| $2,000,000 | Cash | $0 | $0 | $0 |

**The last two rows share a purchase price and differ only in the financing. That is the clearest way to see that the tax follows the mortgage rather than the purchase.**

*Source: Calculated from NYS Form MT-15 (rev. 1/25) Table 4 and verified against the NYC Department of Finance ACRIS calculator*

## The $30 that nobody explains

On a one- or two-family dwelling the first $10,000 of the loan is excluded from the additional tax. At 0.30% that is exactly $30 off the bill, which is why careful sources quote an odd figure like $15,370 rather than a round $15,400.

The Department of Finance applies the same exclusion to an individual condominium unit. It does not apply it to a three-family house.

That distinction is easy to miss, because a three-family gets the same 1.125% city rate as a one- or two-family, so you would reasonably assume the two rules track each other. They do not, and neither does the rule about who pays the quarter point. Three tests sit on the same property and none of them share a cut-off: the $10,000 exclusion stops after two units, the 1.125% city rate stops after three, and the lender's quarter point stops after six.

## Co-ops pay nothing

A co-op purchase carries no mortgage recording tax. Not a reduced rate. None.

Buying a co-op means buying shares in a corporation together with a proprietary lease. Those are personal property, not real property, so there is no deed and no mortgage to record. Your lender takes a security interest in the shares and files a UCC-1 financing statement, which costs a filing fee rather than a tax.

On an $800,000 loan that is roughly $15,370 a condo buyer pays and a co-op buyer does not. It is the largest single line-item difference between the two, and it belongs next to the maintenance figures when you are comparing.

## Three things that catch buyers out

The $500,000 line is a cliff, not a slope. On a four-family house a $499,999 mortgage owes $10,250. Push it to $500,000 and it owes $14,000, because the city rate jumps from 1.00% to 1.75% on the whole amount. One extra dollar of borrowing costs $3,750.

Other mortgages count toward that line. Mortgages recorded against the same property by the same or related borrowers inside twelve months are added together to decide the rate, and there is a presumption that anything within twelve months is related. ACRIS asks about it on every filing.

A credit line is taxed on the whole line. The tax is charged on the maximum amount the mortgage may secure, not the amount you have drawn. Open a $200,000 home equity line on a condo and never touch it, and the tax is still charged on the full $200,000.

## A purchase CEMA, and what it really saves

If the seller still owes money on their mortgage, that mortgage can sometimes be assigned to you rather than paid off, and consolidated with your new loan. Because section 255 of the Tax Law only taxes new or further indebtedness, the tax then falls on the difference rather than on the whole amount. This is a purchase CEMA, short for consolidation, extension and modification agreement.

It is genuinely worth asking about, and it is also oversold. Everything below has to line up.

The mortgage recording tax calculator will price a purchase CEMA on your own numbers under More options, and shows the saving separately from your main figure because it depends on people who have not agreed to it yet.

### A purchase CEMA on an $800,000 loan

The seller owes $600,000. You are borrowing $800,000. Only the difference is taxed.

1. Before contract: **Ask whether the seller has an assignable mortgage** [Important]
   The seller has to agree, and so do both banks. Raising it late is the most common reason a CEMA does not happen.
2. The assignment: **$600,000 of the seller's mortgage is assigned to you**
   Rather than being satisfied and discharged, the existing mortgage is transferred and consolidated with your new one.
3. The tax: **Only the $200,000 of new money is taxed** [Important]
   Section 255 taxes new or further indebtedness, not the amount carried over.
4. What it costs: **Fees on both sides, and a seller who wants a share**
   A lender CEMA fee commonly between $500 and $2,000, assignment and title fees, extra legal fees, and a seller who will usually ask to split the saving because a CEMA cuts their state transfer tax too.
5. One more catch: **A consolidated instrument loses the $10,000 exclusion**
   The exclusion is not available on an instrument that modifies a previously recorded mortgage. Whether the new money is documented separately, which would keep it, is your attorney's drafting decision.

**The saving is real but it is not all yours, and it is not free. Raise it before contract, not at the closing table.**

## New construction: the credit almost nobody mentions

If you are buying a newly built condominium from the sponsor, there may be a credit waiting that no brokerage article we could find discusses.

When a sponsor builds, it pays mortgage recording tax on its construction or blanket mortgage. Section 339-ee of the Real Property Law then gives each buyer, on the first sale of their unit, a credit against their own mortgage recording tax equal to their percentage interest in the common elements multiplied by the tax the sponsor already paid. On a large building that can be most of the bill.

Three limits matter. The credit never covers the special additional tax. It disappears entirely if the first unit in the building sold more than two years after the construction or blanket mortgage was recorded. And it is not automatic: it is claimed by an affidavit that your title company files with your mortgage, using figures the sponsor's attorney supplies.

So the useful move is not to calculate it yourself. It is to ask the sponsor's attorney, in writing, whether a 339-ee credit is available on your unit and what the figures are. If the answer is yes, your title company needs it before closing.

## Refinancing

There is no automatic exemption for a refinance, and the common belief that you never pay again is wrong often enough to be expensive.

Staying with your existing lender, the transaction is normally structured as a consolidation, so tax falls only on new money. Moving to a new lender, your old lender has to be willing to assign the mortgage so it can be consolidated. Some will, some will not, and it is a commercial decision rather than a rule. Ask both lenders before you assume the answer.

## Where this sits in your closing costs

On a financed purchase this is usually the largest single tax you pay, ahead of the mansion tax at most price points. A $2,000,000 condo with 80% financing carries $30,770 of mortgage recording tax and $25,000 of mansion tax.

It is also not negotiable. What can move is what comes back to you: on an eligible purchase we share half the buyer-broker commission we receive, paid at closing, which on many transactions is the same order of magnitude as this tax.

Work out your own figure with the NYC mortgage recording tax calculator, then see the whole picture in the buyer closing cost calculator. If you are buying from a sponsor, new development closing costs in NYC covers what a sponsor purchase adds.

## Sources and methodology

This article was written by Régis Roumila, a licensed real estate broker in New York and New Jersey and the founder of Real Estate Rebate Team, with more than 25 years in the New York City market.

Every rate, threshold and exception above was read in the statute and in the Department of Taxation and Finance's own return rather than taken from a summary. Each figure was then checked against the New York City Department of Finance's ACRIS calculator on 26 August 2026, which is the tool the City itself uses to compute the tax when your mortgage is recorded. Where a published summary and the statute disagree, the statute controls, and this article says so on the page.

Two disagreements are worth naming, because both are widespread. The first is who pays the quarter point on larger buildings. Many published rate tables, and Google's own AI Overview as at 26 August 2026, apply the lender's 0.25% special additional tax to commercial property and to buildings of seven or more residential units. Section 253(1-a)(a) puts it on the lender only where the property has six or fewer residential dwelling units, and says that "in all other cases, such tax shall be paid by the mortgagor". A commercial or seven-plus-unit borrower pays the full 2.80%, not 2.55%. The second is the rate itself. 1.80% and 1.925% are widely quoted as "the" mortgage recording tax. Those are the borrower's net figures, not the statutory total, which is 2.05% and 2.175%. Both pairs are correct and they answer different questions, which is what the second section of this article is about.

Primary sources

- NYS Form MT-15, Mortgage Recording Tax Return, revision 1/25. Table 4 carries the New York City rates used throughout this article

- NY Tax Law §253. The basic tax, the special additional tax and the additional tax, including the six-unit rule at §253(1-a)(a) and the $10,000 exclusion at §253(2)(a)

- NY Tax Law §253-a. The New York City tax and its $500,000 rate step

- NY Tax Law §255. A consolidating instrument is taxed only on new or further indebtedness, which is what makes a purchase CEMA work

- NYS Tax Bulletin TB-MR-5. The $10,000 residential exclusion, and the fact that a consolidated instrument loses it

- NY Real Property Law §339-ee. The new-construction condominium credit

- NYS Advisory Opinion TSB-A-13(2)R, on the scope of the §339-ee credit

- 20 NYCRR 642.2 to 642.4, the regulations implementing the above

- NYC ACRIS Tax/Fee Calculator. The City's own calculation tool, used to verify every figure here

- NYC Department of Finance, Mortgage Recording Tax

- NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Mortgage recording tax

Case law cited

- State v. Intercounty Mortgagee Corp., 87 AD2d 748 (1st Dept 1982), appeal dismissed 57 NY2d 954, leave to appeal denied 61 NY2d 601. Lenders who passed the special additional tax on to borrowers were ordered to make restitution

- Dime Savings Bank of New York, FSB v. State of New York, 174 AD2d 173 (2d Dept 1992). A federal regulation permits a federal savings association to charge the tax to the borrower, overriding the state rule

Related on this site

- NYC mortgage recording tax calculator. Your number, the statutory total, and the split between you and your lender

- NYC buyer closing cost calculator. Every buyer-side cost on a resale purchase, this tax included

- NYC mansion tax calculator. The progressive tax on purchases of $1M and above

- Condo vs co-op in NYC: the complete guide

- New development closing costs in NYC. Where the §339-ee credit fits

- How the Buyer Commission Share works

To have your own closing costs read before you make an offer, or for a buyer consultation, contact Régis Roumila.

This article is general information about a New York State and New York City tax and how it applies on a purchase. It is not legal advice, tax advice or mortgage advice, and it does not account for exemptions, apportionment between counties, or facts specific to your transaction. Rates and rules change. Confirm every figure with your attorney, your lender and your title company, and verify the amount due against the NYC Department of Finance's ACRIS calculator, before relying on any of it.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How much is the mortgage recording tax in NYC?

For a condominium or a one-, two- or three-family house, the buyer pays 1.80% of the loan below $500,000 and 1.925% at $500,000 or more. The statutory total is 2.05% and 2.175%, with the difference being the 0.25% your lender pays. On a $1,600,000 condominium mortgage that is $30,770 from you and $4,000 from your lender.

### Who pays the mortgage recording tax in New York?

You pay the basic tax, the additional tax and the New York City tax. Your lender pays the special additional tax of 0.25% wherever the property has six or fewer residential dwelling units, and Tax Law section 253(1-a)(a) says that portion cannot be passed to you directly or indirectly. The exceptions are property with seven or more units, wholly commercial property, a non-profit lender, and federal savings associations, where a federal regulation overrides the state rule.

### What is the special additional mortgage recording tax?

It is the 0.25% component imposed by Tax Law section 253(1-a)(a), often called the quarter point. It is the only part of the mortgage recording tax the statute assigns to a particular party. On residential property of six units or fewer it is the lender's, and courts have ordered lenders who charged it to borrowers to pay it back. If your lender is a private individual or a credit union, it is not imposed at all.

### Do co-ops pay mortgage recording tax?

No. A co-op loan is secured by shares in a corporation and a proprietary lease, which are personal property. No mortgage on real property is recorded, so the tax has nothing to attach to. Your lender files a UCC-1 financing statement instead. On an $800,000 loan that is about $15,370 a condo buyer pays and a co-op buyer does not.

### How do I calculate the mortgage recording tax?

Take the amount your mortgage secures, apply the rate for your property type and loan size, and remember that the rate applies per $100 of debt, so the base is rounded to the nearest $100. On a one- or two-family dwelling or a condominium, deduct $30 for the $10,000 exclusion from the additional tax. Our NYC mortgage recording tax calculator, linked above, does all of it and shows the split between you and your lender.

### Do I pay mortgage recording tax when I refinance?

There is no automatic exemption. If you stay with your existing lender the transaction is normally structured as a consolidation under section 255, so tax falls only on new money. If you move to a new lender, your old lender has to agree to assign the mortgage, and that is its decision rather than your right. Ask both lenders before assuming you will not pay.

### What is the mortgage recording tax rate on commercial property in NYC?

For a mortgage of $500,000 or more on commercial property or a building with seven or more residential units, the rate is 2.80% and the borrower pays all of it, because the lender's quarter-point obligation only applies to property with six or fewer residential units. A building with four to six residential units is also 2.80% in total, but there the lender still pays the 0.25%, so the borrower pays 2.55%. Below $500,000 every property type is 2.05%.

### Does the $10,000 exclusion apply to a condo?

Yes. The exclusion removes the first $10,000 of the loan from the additional tax, worth $30 in New York City, and the Department of Finance applies it to an individual condominium unit as well as to one- and two-family houses. It does not apply to a three-family house, even though a three-family gets the same 1.125% city rate. The three tests in this tax have three different cut-offs: the exclusion stops after two units, the 1.125% rate stops after three, and the lender's quarter point stops after six.

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