NYC Extends Tax Exemption Deadline For Homeowners

NEW YORK CITY— The City has extended the deadline for homeowners seeking exemptions from its controversial pied-à-terre tax for a second time, giving property owners until Oct. 6 to show that their homes qualify as primary residences.

The city disclosed the new deadline in a court filing in a lawsuit challenging the rollout of the second-home surcharge.

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The Department of Finance previously moved the deadline from Aug. 21 and Aug. 24, depending on property type, to Sept. 18.

The City also received 2025 personal income tax information from the state and plans to use that data to determine which property owners qualify for exemptions.

As of Monday night, the City had received more than 5,500 exemption applications and approved about 2,900.

State officials estimated that about 13,000 properties would ultimately be subject to the tax.

The surcharge applies to non-primary residences valued at $5 million or more when the property is a one- to three-family home.

For condominium and cooperative units, the threshold is $1 million.

State officials projected that the tax would generate about $500 million annually.

The City has sent about 17,000 letters to property owners who may have to pay the tax.

The exemption process has become the central issue in a lawsuit filed this month by homeowners who accuse the Department of Finance of improperly shifting the burden of proving a property's primary-residence status onto homeowners.

The homeowners argue that the City should obtain the records needed to establish whether a property qualifies for the exemption rather than requiring owners to prove it themselves.

Last week, former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro asked the court to add four homeowners as plaintiffs. The city has since granted exemptions to all four.

Of the lawsuit's three original plaintiffs, only one received a letter indicating that the City considered him potentially liable for the tax. The city later determined that he qualified for an exemption as well.

The case is scheduled to return to court Aug. 31.