The NYC Non-Primary Residence Surcharge, Explained: Who Pays, Who Is Exempt, and the October 6 Deadline
Who pays, who is exempt, the October 6 deadline, and how a response to the Department of Finance is actually filed.
Update, August 25, 2026: the Department of Finance has extended the exemption application deadline a second time, from September 18 to October 6, 2026. The appeal window under 19 RCNY 62-06(b)(1) is the same filing and the same date. The City’s sworn court papers state that the emergency rule lets the Commissioner extend the deadline for good cause and that DOF extended it for any property owner that has not yet submitted such documentation until October 6, 2026 (O’Brien v. City of New York, NYSCEF Doc. 29, paragraphs 39 and 40, sworn August 25, 2026).
Update, August 18, 2026: the court order of August 10 was stayed the same evening, and on August 13 the Appellate Division kept the stay in place while the City appeals. The rollout is running, the roll is still posted, applications are being decided, and the deadline in force at the time did not move. See where the case stands.
The surcharge reaches condominium and cooperative units the Department of Finance values at $1 million or more, and one- to three-family homes valued at $5 million or more, when the city does not have a qualifying primary resident on record for the property. It applies for fiscal year 2027, and the first surcharge lands with the property tax bill of January 1, 2027.
Three names, one surcharge: the letter from the Department of Finance says non-primary residence property surcharge, New Yorkers say pied-a-terre tax, and law firms writing to their clients have shortened that to the PAT tax. Whichever name brought you here, this page is about the same charge. What a pied-à-terre is in the first place, and what makes an apartment one in the city’s eyes, is covered in what is a pied-à-terre.
Who has to pay the surcharge?
| Property | DOF market value | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Condos and co-ops (Class 2) | $1M to $3M | 4.00% |
| $3M to $5M | 5.25% | |
| $5M and above | 6.50% | |
| One- to three-family homes (Class 1) | $5M to $15M | 0.80% |
| $15M to $25M | 1.05% | |
| $25M and above | 1.30% |
The rate applies to the entire market value once the threshold is crossed, not only to the portion above it. Note that DOF market value is not a sale price; for Class 2 units it runs well below what the apartment would trade for.
Which properties are exempt?
A property is exempt when any one of five people uses it as a primary residence:
- The owner of the property
- A tenant or subtenant
- One or more individuals who collectively hold a majority interest in the LLC, corporation, or partnership that owns the property
- An immediate family member of the owner or majority interest holder
- The sole beneficiary of a trust
The exemption is not automatic. Somebody has to tell the Department of Finance which relationship applies, with documents, through the city’s response portal.
When is the deadline to respond?
The notices mailed July 22, 2026 printed August 21 for homes and condos and August 24 for cooperative units. Those dates have been superseded twice: on August 1, 2026 the Mayor and the Finance Commissioner extended the deadline to a single date for everyone who received a notice, and the Department of Finance extended it again to October 6, 2026.
What happens if the notice is ignored?
The surcharge is added to the January 1, 2027 bill. After a determination there are two appeal tracks: a review with the Department of Finance, and the Tax Commission, where Class 2 owners file Form TC107 by March 1, 2027 or within 30 days of a final determination, whichever is later. Responding before October 6 is simpler than either. How a regular property tax appeal works, deadlines and forms included, is covered separately.
How is a response actually filed?
Every notice carries a unique security code that ties the response to the property on the portal at nyc.gov/npsurcharge. The filing itself is document work: each of the five exemption paths has its own set of acceptable proof under the city’s rule, and the documents have to agree with one another. Tax returns, DMV identification, leases, and trust papers each carry different weight depending on the path. Before assembling any of it, pied-a-terre.mgnyconsulting.com/check shows the Department of Finance value for a property and what the surcharge would cost each year, without an account. The portal’s guides at pied-a-terre.mgnyconsulting.com cover what the tax is, the five exemption criteria and the October 6 deadline.
What does it cost to ask MGNY?
Nothing. A real person answers at (212) 343-1111, right away, and the consultation is free. You engage us only if you want the response handled for you. MGNY has worked NYC property tax since 2008, with $50M+ in tax refunds secured for owners, 900+ developments with tax abatements secured and $30B+ represented in appeals.
Received a notice? Talk it through before October 6.
Call (212) 343-1111. A real person answers right away, the consultation is free, and you engage us only if you want the response handled for you.
Or look first: the free instant check shows the value the Department of Finance put on your property and what the surcharge would cost each year, free and without signing in. The notice itself, what it says and what the city has on record for your property, is walked through step by step at npsurcharge.com.
The numbers behind this page, the rate ladders and a worked example, are on the NYC pied-à-terre tax page; whether your property is on the list, and what the letter means, is on the pied-à-terre tax list page.
Sources: NYC Department of Finance, nyc.gov/npsurcharge, read August 2026; Mayor’s Office release of August 1, 2026 announcing the deadline extension; the adopted rule at 19 RCNY 62.
Get our updates first on Google. Deadlines move: ICAP applications now run to March 1, 2029, and this year’s surcharge exemption deadline moved twice before landing on October 6. Tap the button and Google adds MGNY Consulting to your preferred sources, so our coverage surfaces first in your results. No signup and no email, and one tap undoes it.
