How to Complete Form ET-117: New York Release of Estate Tax Lien

Form ET-117 is the application you file with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to release the automatic estate tax lien on a decedent’s real property or cooperative apartment so the estate can sell or transfer it. There is no filing fee. Processing takes roughly three to four weeks, plus seven to ten business days for the validated release to come back by mail.¹ ET-117 is never filed by itself. It always goes in with a companion form that tells the state about the estate’s size and tax status, and picking the right companion is the first real decision you have to make.

When You Need to File ET-117

Under New York Tax Law Section 982, an estate tax lien automatically attaches to every piece of property in a decedent’s New York gross estate at the moment of death and remains in place for 15 years, whether or not the estate actually owes any tax.² Title companies and buyers will not close while that lien is outstanding, so any estate selling or transferring real estate or a co-op needs a release first. The threshold question is not whether the estate is taxable; it is whether the state has confirmed the property can go.

One situation does not require ET-117: property held jointly by the decedent and the surviving spouse as the only joint tenants. That property passes to the spouse by operation of law and no release is needed.³

Pick the Right Companion Form

Three companion forms exist. Which one you use depends on how much time has passed since death, whether an executor has been appointed, and whether the estate is large enough to owe New York estate tax.¹

Form ET-30 is for the straightforward case: an executor or administrator has been appointed and fewer than nine months have passed since the date of death. You fill in estimated values for all estate assets and attach an original or verified copy of letters testamentary (or letters of administration) along with a copy of the death certificate.

Form ET-85 covers several in-between situations: the estate is not required to file a return and either no executor has been appointed or more than nine months have passed; or a return is required but you are still within the filing window (fewer than nine months without an appointed executor, or more than nine but fewer than fifteen months with a granted extension). ET-85 asks for an itemized estimate of the net estate and must be notarized. This is the only form in the whole process that carries a notarization requirement. Attach the death certificate, and if applicable, Form ET-130 for a tentative tax payment.³

Form ET-706 is the full New York State Estate Tax Return, required when the estate exceeds New York’s basic exclusion amount and the filing deadline has passed (more than nine months without an extension, or more than fifteen months with one). All tax must be paid in full with the submission. Include the death certificate and the supplemental documents the ET-706 instructions list. If you have already filed the return and are not amending it, send only the first page of ET-706 with “Copy for Lien Request” written on it.¹

For deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2026, the New York basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000.⁴ If the decedent’s federal gross estate plus includible taxable gifts exceeds that figure, the estate must file Form ET-706.⁵ Count the nine-month and fifteen-month windows from the actual date of death, not from when you started the paperwork.

Filling Out ET-117

Download the current version of the form from the Tax Department website. ET-117 has two separate sections, one for real property and one for cooperative apartments. Fill in only the section that fits your situation. If the estate includes both types of property, even in the same county, use a separate ET-117 for each.⁶

Decedent and Return Address

Enter the decedent’s full legal name, Social Security number, and exact date of death. The name and address at the top determine where the validated release will be mailed back, so verify both. Once the form is processed, the return address cannot be changed without submitting a new ET-117.¹

Property Description

This is where most rejections start. Work from the recorded deed and the most recent property tax bill. You need the full legal description (the metes-and-bounds or lot-and-block language from the deed, not just the street address) and the tax map identifiers: section, block, and lot numbers, which appear on the property tax bill.⁶ Every name on the form has to match the recorded deed exactly. A transposed lot number or a slightly different name will come back for correction.

Cooperative Apartments

For a co-op, skip the real property section. You need the name of the cooperative housing corporation, the number of shares allocated to the apartment, and the unit number. File a separate ET-117 for each cooperative corporation and for each purchaser. Validated co-op releases are not recorded with the county clerk; they go directly to the purchaser.⁶

Properties in More Than One County

Prepare a separate ET-117 for each county where the decedent owned property. Properties in the same county can sometimes share a form, but properties across different counties always need their own filings so the validated release can be recorded in the correct county clerk’s office.

Where to Mail It and How Long It Takes

Send the completed ET-117, the appropriate companion form, and all supporting documents to:¹

NYS ESTATE TAX PROCESSING CENTER
PO BOX 15167
ALBANY NY 12212-5167

Do not use the Tax Department’s private delivery service address for lien release requests. There is no fee.⁶ Use a tracked mailing method so you can confirm the package arrived; if it goes missing, you start over.

A complete application takes roughly three to four weeks to review, plus another seven to ten business days for the validated release to arrive by mail. Incomplete filings or missing documents can add significant time.¹ If a closing date is in play, submit as early as you can. The standard three-to-four-week window can stretch past two months when the Tax Department has to send forms back for correction and wait for your resubmission.

Recording the Validated Release

The stamped release from the Tax Department does not clear the title on its own. For real property, take the original validated release to the county clerk’s office in the county where the property sits and have it recorded.⁶ Tax Law Section 982(d) authorizes the recording.² The clerk charges a recording fee that varies by county. Until the release is on record, future title searches will still show the estate tax lien as an active encumbrance.

For a cooperative apartment, you do not go to the county clerk. Deliver the validated release directly to the purchaser or to the cooperative housing corporation.

Mistakes That Delay the Release

Wrong companion form. Filing ET-30 when more than nine months have passed, or filing ET-85 when the estate actually has to file a return, will send the package back.
Mismatched property descriptions. Legal description and section-block-lot numbers must match the recorded deed and tax bill exactly. Transposed digits are the single most frequent cause of rejection.
Missing death certificate. Every companion form path requires one.
Missing notarization on ET-85. ET-117 itself is not notarized, but ET-85 must be sworn before a notary public, commissioner of deeds, or an authorized Tax Department employee. Without the notary’s signature and stamp, the whole package comes back.
Wrong mailing address. Use only the PO Box in Albany; the private delivery address is not for lien release requests.¹

The Federal Lien Is Separate

Clearing the New York lien does not clear the federal one. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6324, the IRS places its own automatic lien on all property in a decedent’s gross estate for ten years from the date of death.⁷ If the estate is large enough to require a federal estate tax return (the federal filing threshold for 2026 is $15,000,000),⁸ you may need to request a certificate of discharge from the IRS by filing Form 4422 before the property can be sold. The IRS recommends submitting Form 4422 at least 45 days before the planned transaction date.⁹ Estates below the federal filing threshold do not need a discharge, though they may still want an IRS letter confirming no return is required.

1
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Release of Estate Tax Lien
2
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 982 – Lien for Estate Tax
3
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Form ET-85 New York State Estate Tax Certification
4
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Estate Tax
5
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form ET-706 New York State Estate Tax Return
6
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Form ET-117 Release of Lien of Estate Tax
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6324 – Special Liens for Estate and Gift Taxes
8
Internal Revenue Service. Estate Tax
9
Internal Revenue Service. Application for Certificate Discharging Property Subject to Estate Tax Lien