How to Complete and File Form NYC-RPT: Real Property Transfer Tax Return

Form NYC-RPT is the Real Property Transfer Tax return that the grantor and grantee file jointly whenever real property changes hands in any of New York City’s five boroughs. You prepare and submit it electronically through the Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), and the deed cannot be recorded until the return is accepted and any tax due is paid. The tax reaches sales of land and buildings, transfers of cooperative apartment shares, long-term leasehold grants, and transfers of controlling interests in entities that own NYC real estate.

When You Have to File

The default rule is broad. A joint return must be filed by both grantor and grantee for every deed, instrument, or transaction, whether or not any tax is actually due. The Commissioner of Finance may waive the filing requirement only when the total consideration is $25,000 or less.¹ In practice, nearly every residential or commercial sale in the city triggers a return.

Some less obvious transactions also require the form:

A transfer of 50% or more of the voting power, stock value, capital, or profits of an entity that owns NYC real property is taxed the same as a direct sale, even though no deed changes hands.
Co-op transactions transfer shares of stock in the cooperative corporation rather than a deed, but the city treats them identically for RPTT purposes. Both sponsor sales and resales are covered.²
Granting, assigning, or surrendering a leasehold interest is taxable when the consideration exceeds the applicable threshold, with separate rate tiers.³

“Consideration” is not limited to the cash purchase price. It includes any mortgage balance the buyer assumes and the cancellation or discharge of the seller’s debt. A transfer where no cash changes hands but the buyer takes over a $600,000 mortgage triggers the same tax as a $600,000 cash sale.¹ Exempt transactions usually still require a return to document the transfer, so skipping the filing because you believe the deal is tax-free is a mistake.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather everything the form asks for before you open ACRIS. A missing field can stop you from generating the return or delay recording.

Social Security numbers for individual grantors and grantees, or Employer Identification Numbers for LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and trusts. Every party listed needs a number.
The property’s Borough, Block, and Lot (BBL), the three-part identifier that links the return to the parcel. You can find it on prior tax bills, the most recent deed, or the Department of Finance’s property lookup.
The property classification. The form separates one-to-three-family homes, individual condo units, individual co-op units, and commercial or other property. Your selection drives the tax rate.
The total consideration, including cash paid, mortgages assumed, and debt discharged.
The contract date and the closing date.

When the grantor or grantee is an entity, the return also asks for the legal name, formation jurisdiction, and EIN.

Filing Through ACRIS

All Real Property Transfer Tax returns are submitted electronically through ACRIS, regardless of the borough.⁴ For properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, the entire process is electronic: you generate the return, upload the deed and cover page, pay, and the City Register records the documents. For Staten Island, the RPTT return still goes through ACRIS, but you also have to file paper documents with the Richmond County Clerk’s office. All documents for a single transaction must be submitted the same way, either all electronically or all on paper.

The general workflow:

Create the ACRIS cover page that will accompany the deed.
Complete the NYC-RPT form itself. Enter the BBL, property type, parties’ names and identification numbers, the consideration, and any applicable exemption codes. ACRIS calculates the tax based on your entries.
Attach supporting documents, including the executed deed and any supplemental forms such as New York State Form TP-584-NYC.
Sign electronically, submit the package, and pay the tax due.

Both the grantor and grantee must sign. If either party fails to sign, that party may face penalties as a non-filer, and the Department of Finance can docket a judgment against both parties.⁵ Closing attorneys or title companies typically handle the ACRIS submission for both sides at the closing table, but the legal responsibility sits with the grantor and grantee personally.

How the Tax Is Calculated

NYC RPTT uses a two-tier rate structure that turns on property type and total consideration, with the dividing line at $500,000.

Residential transfers (one-to-three-family homes, individual co-op units, individual condo units): 1% of the consideration when the price is $500,000 or less, and 1.425% when it exceeds $500,000.⁵
All other transfers (commercial, industrial, multi-family above three units, vacant land): 1.425% at $500,000 or less, and 2.625% above $500,000.³

The rate applies to the entire consideration, not just the amount above $500,000. A residential condo selling for $510,000 is taxed at 1.425% on the full $510,000, producing a tax of $7,267.50. Leasehold grants and assignments follow the same tiers based on the consideration for the leasehold interest.³

Common Exemptions

Several transfers are exempt from the tax, though most still require a return with an exemption code selected. The exemption removes the tax, not the paperwork.⁶

Transfers by or to New York State, its agencies, public corporations, and political subdivisions are fully exempt. Federal agencies and instrumentalities are exempt to the extent they are immune from taxation, but a buyer receiving property from a federal entity remains liable.
Transfers by or to qualifying nonprofits organized exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes are exempt, provided no earnings benefit a private individual and the organization is not primarily a for-profit business.
A deed given solely as collateral for a debt, and a deed returning that security, is not a taxable transfer.
Transfers between a principal and an agent, straw man, dummy, or conduit acting on the principal’s behalf are not taxable.

Transfers between related entities, court-ordered partitions, and nominal-consideration deals between family members tend to attract scrutiny during audits, so keep supporting documentation.

Deadline and Consequences of Filing Late

The tax must be paid within 30 days after the grantor delivers the deed to the grantee, and in any event within 30 days after the deed is recorded.⁷ Because a deed cannot be recorded until the return is filed and the tax is paid, the deadline most often matters for transactions without a standard closing, such as controlling-interest transfers where no deed is recorded. Those still have 30 days from the date of the transfer.

Late payment triggers interest on the unpaid balance, compounded daily and generally not waivable even for a reasonable excuse. The Department of Finance can also pursue both grantor and grantee for unpaid tax through a docketed judgment, which becomes a lien enforceable against either party’s assets.⁵ An unfiled or incorrectly filed return also blocks the deed from entering the public record, leaving the buyer without recorded evidence of ownership.

Other Transfer Taxes Filed at the Same Closing

NYC RPTT is not the only transfer tax on a five-borough sale. New York State imposes its own tax under Tax Law Article 31, which requires a separate return on Form TP-584-NYC. Both forms are typically prepared and filed together at closing.⁸

Additional state layers apply to higher-value transactions:

A mansion tax of 1% on residential properties where the consideration is $1 million or more.
An additional base tax of $1.25 per $500 of consideration for residential conveyances of $3 million or more, and for non-residential conveyances of $2 million or more.
A supplemental tax on residential transfers of $2 million or more, with rates from 0.25% to 2.9% depending on the price bracket.

These are separate from the NYC RPTT but clear through the same closing process.⁸ When the seller is a foreign person or entity, the buyer may also need to withhold 15% of the amount realized under FIRPTA and remit it to the IRS on Form 8288.⁹ Foreign sellers who expect a lower actual liability can apply for a reduced withholding certificate on Form 8288-B before closing.¹⁰ FIRPTA withholding is a federal obligation, but it affects the same closing proceeds and should be coordinated with the RPTT filing.

Federal Income Tax Treatment

You cannot deduct NYC RPTT on your federal income tax return as a real estate tax. The IRS classifies transfer taxes and stamp taxes as non-deductible.¹¹ A buyer adds the amount to the property’s cost basis, which reduces any taxable capital gain on a later sale. A seller, who typically pays the tax in a standard transaction, treats it as a selling expense that reduces the amount realized.

1
New York City Administrative Code. NYC Administrative Code 11-2105 – Returns
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NYC311. Real Property Transfer Tax
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New York City Administrative Code. NYC Administrative Code 11-2102 – Imposition of Tax
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Department of Finance. ACRIS
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New York City Department of Finance. Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT)
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New York City Administrative Code. NYC Administrative Code 11-2106 – Exemptions
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New York City Administrative Code. NYC Administrative Code 11-2104 – Payment
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Real Estate Transfer Tax
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Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8288-B
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 530, Tax Information for Homeowners