More Stories






Confusion is mounting over New York City’s new pied-à-terre surcharge after the Department of Finance released a public list of residential properties and began notifying homeowners via mail who were initially believed to be subject to the tax.
The new tax applies to secondary properties worth more than $5 million. It's estimated to generate $500 million to help offset the city's budget gap. But some lifelong New Yorkers say they have received warning notices anyway. prompting concerns about how the city is determining who owes the tax.
The Department of Finance says the list, which includes over 900,000 addresses and names, reflects all properties on the tax roll, not a targeted group of homeowners.
“The property tax roll that was posted last week is a reflection of all properties across New York City, not a reflection of those specifically that the pied-à-terre tax will be levied on,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
Richard Lee, the city's finance commissioner, said the department relied on existing records, which could be outdated, to determine residency status and that publishing the supplemental roll is a legally standard protocol.
“The supplemental roll, which was provided as required, was all residential properties already on the final roll,” Lee said. “You will find even myself on this supplemental roll because I am a homeowner. The misconception that it is a targeted, specific list is false.”
The city has hired more than a dozen civil service workers to help sift through the documents to determine the correct exemptions are made ahead of the tax implementation date next year.
Homeowners who received letters indicating they may be subject to the surcharge can submit exemption applications.
The deadline is Aug. 21 for residential homes and condos and Aug. 24 for co-ops.