New York City has pushed back the deadline for residential property owners to request an exemption from the new pied-a-terre surcharge and is sending a new round of letters reflecting revised initial determinations.
Amid litigation over the rollout of the new pied-a-terre tax on residential properties that meet set value thresholds and don’t serve as a primary residence, New York City has extended a key deadline. Property owners now have until October 6 to apply for a surcharge exemption.
This is the second deadline extension — the city previously pushed the initial late August deadline to September 18.
New York City’s Department of Finance (DOF) also has added an eligibility guide to its non-primary residence property surcharge webpage. The tool walks owners through a series of questions about their property and provides guidance on what documents to have on hand and what to submit to request an exemption from the new tax.
City shrinks list of property owners potentially subject to tax
In addition, the city has taken some property owners off its list of those potentially required to pay the surcharge, according to an August 25 court filing by DOF general counsel Michael Smilowitz.
The court filing indicates a new round of letters will be sent to some New York City property owners reflecting the city’s updated stance on their potential pied-a-terre tax liability.
Smilowitz explained that when the city made initial determinations, the most recent state income tax data available was from 2024. DOF sent initial notices of potential tax liability to about 17,000 property owners in July based on that older data.
Now the city is mailing revised initial determinations to 1,210 property owners based on newly received 2025 personal income tax records, indicating DOF no longer identifies them as potentially being subject to the surcharge. Smilowitz says the updates are based on 2025 tax data the state shared on August 12.
In addition, the city is now sending updated letters to about 10,800 property owners indicating their 2025 tax data does not establish their property is used as a primary residence. Over half of these properties are owned by an entity or trust per the August 25 court filing.
Responding to the latest round of letters
These new letters “may be more important than the July notice,” explained Rosenberg & Estis attorney Benjamin Williams. “Some owners who previously thought they had to file a primary-residence submission may now be told that they have been cleared automatically. Others will learn that DOF still considers the property potentially subject to the surcharge or that DOF needs additional ownership and residency documentation.”
Williams added that trust and entity property owners should take particular note, because DOF may lack information needed to determine who owns a controlling interest or qualifies as a relevant beneficiary. “Those owners may still have to document both the ownership structure and the primary residency of the qualifying individual,” he explained.
With new DOF notices arriving as soon as this week, Williams advises property owners to “read the new notice carefully and determine whether the property has been cleared or whether a response is still required.”
Meanwhile, the city is already taking action on submitted exemption applications. Smilowitz shared that DOF received 5,544 submissions from property owners as of August 24. The city approved nearly 3,000 of those submissions as showing a property is, indeed, a primary residence exempt from the surcharge.
Smilowitz also noted that on August 24, DOF updated its website to clarify that listed properties are not necessarily subject to the surcharge. “Properties that DOF believes are subject to the surcharge receive notification directly by DOF and are given an opportunity to respond,” per DOF. “The vast majority of listed properties will not receive such a notice,” the agency adds.
