NYC Comptroller: Pied-à-terre tax could fall far short of $500 million goal

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Apr 30, 2026

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NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pied-à-terre tax could fall short of the $500 million she’s aiming for — by more than $100 million — New York City Comptroller Mark Levine found in a report released Thursday.

The report said the tax, which would place a surcharge on second homes valued at $5 million or more, could yield between $340 million and $380 million, much lower than the $500 million goal set by the governor. The comptroller also found the tax would impact a slightly smaller number of properties than Hochul has estimated: 11,200 instead of 13,000.

“This report provides a clear-eyed, impartial analysis of the proposed pied-à-terre tax – what it could raise, where the uncertainties are, and what assumptions must be clarified,” Levine said. “I am committed to working with my partners across the City and State to ensure our budget meets the needs of New Yorkers.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has applauded the tax as a “tax the rich” measure that will help the city balance its budget as it faces a budget gap as large as $5.4 billion.

“Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul have been clear that this pied-a-terre tax will generate $500 million dollars in revenue annually to help close the city’s inherited budget gap,” Mamdani’s spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said. “The Comptroller’s report makes one thing very clear: thoughtfully crafting and implementing this legislation will do exactly that.”

But Hochul has been light on the details about the tax, leaving questions about how it would be implemented and which properties it would impact and how.

Levine said the tax could still raise the governor’s targeted amount, but cautioned that the outcome becomes less likely when taking into account rented units, behavioral changes after the tax is put in place and other unknown factors.

The governor’s office was also insistent that they’d engineer the tax to result in half a billion: “While details of the policy are still being negotiated, the Governor’s proposal will generate at least $500 million for New York City,” Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for the governor, said.

The report comes as the state budget is nearly a month past its April 1 deadline, and as city lawmakers formally voted Thursday to delay the mayor’s executive budget proposal.

James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, which has been staunchly opposed to the tax and lobbied hard against similar taxes in previous years, said that Levine’s report was “yet another confirmation” the tax wouldn’t bring in the expected tax revenue.

“If implemented haphazardly, this tax would result in less investment, less housing and less revenue for the City, State and MTA,” Whelan said in a statement.

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