If you sell a home on Long Island, you pay the New York State transfer tax: 0.4% of the price. If you buy, you pay the mortgage recording tax if you have a loan, the title insurance, and the county clerk’s recording and tax map fees. You also pay a 1% mansion tax if a home costs $1 million or more.
In five East End towns of Suffolk County (East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold), buyers also pay the Peconic Bay tax. It is 2% in Riverhead and 2.5% in the other four, on the part of the price above an exempt amount.
New York City’s own transfer tax, its extra mansion tax and the higher state transfer tax rate for big sales do not apply in Nassau or Suffolk. This guide covers government and title charges, with two worked examples. It does not cover attorney fees, lender fees or broker commissions.
What the seller pays
State transfer tax
The state transfer tax is $2 for every $500 of the price, or part of $500. That works out to 0.4%, on any sale over $500 (state transfer tax law). The seller pays it. If the seller doesn’t pay or is exempt, the buyer must (who pays).
The tax is reported on Form TP-584, the state transfer tax return. Neither county clerk will record the deed until it is filed (filing rule). The title closer, the title company’s representative at closing, collects the tax and pays it when the deed is recorded.
The higher 0.65% rate on big sales applies only in very large cities, so even a $4 million house in Nassau or Suffolk pays 0.4%. Exemptions are covered in NYC and NYS transfer tax.
Long Island has no city transfer tax like those in Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Peekskill. The only local transfer tax form in either county’s recording package is the Peconic Bay form for the five East End towns, and that tax falls on the buyer.
If you are not a New York resident
A seller who is not a New York resident (a person, estate or trust) must do one of two things before the deed can be recorded (state law; Form IT-2663 instructions):
- Estimate and pay income tax on any gain, using Form IT-2663
- Certify on the TP-584 that an exemption applies
This is an advance on your income tax, not a transfer tax, but it comes out of your proceeds at closing.
Paying off your mortgage, and the commission
Your existing mortgage is paid off from the sale proceeds. The lender’s release, called a satisfaction, is then recorded with the county clerk, and you pay the recording fees:
- Nassau: the same $40 recording fee, per-page and endorsement page charges and $300 block fee as a mortgage, plus small cross-reference charges
- Suffolk: the per-page charges and the $200 mortgage verification fee
The full fee lists are in Nassau and Suffolk County Clerk land records. The title company may also charge a fee for handling the payoff, shown on the title bill.
Broker commission is set by your listing agreement. No law fixes the rate or who pays it.
What the buyer pays
Mansion tax
The mansion tax is 1% of the full price when a home sells for $1 million or more (mansion tax law). It covers a one-, two- or three-family house, a condo unit and a co-op unit. The buyer pays. If the buyer doesn’t pay or is exempt, the seller must.
The tax is on the whole price, not just the part over $1 million. A $1,000,000 house owes $10,000. A $999,999 house owes nothing. NYC’s extra mansion tax (law) does not reach Long Island.
Peconic Bay tax (East End towns only)
The Peconic Bay Region is the towns of East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold (region law). Each town may charge two taxes, if its voters approve them:
- Community Preservation Fund (CPF) tax: 2% of the price. It pays for land preservation and water quality projects (CPF law).
- Community Housing Fund tax: an extra 0.5%. It pays for housing programs (housing fund law).
East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold adopted the housing tax. It has applied since April 1, 2023, so those four towns charge 2.5%. Riverhead did not adopt it and stays at 2% (Stewart bulletin NY000689; RiverheadLOCAL, March 2026). Both rates are set by a state law due to expire on December 31, 2050. The tax also covers the villages inside those towns.
Who pays. The buyer pays. If the buyer doesn’t pay or is exempt, the seller must (who pays). Buyer and seller both sign the Peconic Bay return. It is filed and paid along with the state transfer tax, and the clerk won’t record the deed without it (filing rule). The title closer usually collects the tax at closing and files the return with the deed at the Suffolk County Clerk (Southampton Town FAQs).
The exempt amount. The tax applies only to the part of the price above these amounts:
| Town | Rate | Improved | Vacant |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Hampton | 2.5% | $400,000 | $100,000 |
| Shelter Island | 2.5% | $400,000 | $100,000 |
| Southampton | 2.5% | $400,000 | $100,000 |
| Southold | 2.5% | $200,000 | $75,000 |
| Riverhead | 2% | $150,000 | $75,000 |
These are the amounts on the Peconic Bay return in use since April 1, 2023. Riverhead’s figure is uncertain. The state law lists $200,000 for Riverhead. The return, underwriter guidance and 2026 local reporting still show $150,000, and the return is what the clerk receives (Stewart, Upcoming Changes to the Peconic Bay Region Transfer Tax). Confirm the current amount with the title closer.
The $2 million cliff. The state law gives the exemption only on homes priced at $2 million or less. Above that, the tax runs on the full price. In Southampton, a $2,000,000 house owes $40,000, but a $2,100,000 house owes $52,500. Southold wrote the same $2 million limit into its own code in 2023 (Southold Town Code).
The limit isn’t applied the same way everywhere:
- In East Hampton and Shelter Island, the return denies the exemption at $2,000,000 or more. So a sale at exactly $2 million is treated differently there than in Southampton.
- For Riverhead, underwriter guidance from 2023 shows no $2 million limit, although the state law states it for every town.
Other exemptions. The law also exempts, among others:
- Transfers to government bodies
- Gifts and other transfers where no money changes hands
- A change in how you hold title, where the real owners stay the same
- Certain open space and affordable housing transfers
First-time buyers. In East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold, a first-time buyer purchasing a primary residence can be fully exempt. The price and household income must fall within limits tied to the State of New York Mortgage Agency’s Suffolk County limits on the contract date. The town must approve the application before closing. A “first-time homebuyer” is someone who, in the prior three years, has not owned a primary residence and is not married to someone who has, and who owns no vacation or investment home.
Mortgage recording tax
If you have a loan, you pay mortgage recording tax when the mortgage is recorded. Nassau and Suffolk charge only the state’s mortgage taxes, totaling 1.05% of the loan (state law; Suffolk County Clerk, Mortgage Tax).
- On a home with six or fewer units, a bank or other institutional lender pays 0.25% and you pay 0.80%.
- If the lender is a private person or a credit union, that 0.25% does not apply at all.
- On a one- or two-family home, your share drops by a further $30.
- A cash buyer pays none.
The breakdown is in Nassau and Suffolk County Clerk land records. The sworn statements filed with the mortgage, and the savings from a CEMA, are in mortgage recording tax. A CEMA is an agreement that transfers an existing, already-taxed mortgage to the new lender, so tax is paid only on the new money.
Title insurance
By custom, the buyer pays for both the owner’s policy and the lender’s policy. Rates come from the TIRSA rate manual, the rate book filed with the state for New York title insurers (Long Island is in its Zone 2). When both policies are issued at once, the lender’s policy costs 30% of its normal rate, up to the owner’s policy amount.
An owner’s policy under $1 million may cost less than the manual rate, through an underwriter’s approved discount. Lender’s policies and owner’s policies of $1 million or more follow the manual. See what title insurance costs and title insurance endorsements.
The premium includes the title and tax searches for one tax lot. Municipal searches are extra lines on the title bill.
Recording and tax map fees
Both counties add a verification charge on top of the clerk’s basic fees:
- Nassau: each deed and each mortgage needs its own $270 Tax Map Verification letter from the Department of Assessment. The clerk also charges a $300 per-block fee on each.
- Suffolk: the county’s Real Property Tax Service Agency checks every document at $200 per tax lot. Mortgages carry a second $200 mortgage verification fee.
Every deed also carries the fee for Form RP-5217, the state’s property sale report: $125 for one- to three-family homes and residential condos, and $250 for other property (state law). Suffolk adds $5. By custom, the buyer pays to record the deed and the mortgage. Full fee lists are in Nassau and Suffolk County Clerk land records.
Searches, survey and other buyer costs
Municipal searches. These check building permits, the certificate of occupancy and street records. On Long Island they are run against the town or the village, and sometimes both. The two counties have 13 towns, 2 cities and dozens of villages, each with its own building department. Each search is a separate charge on the title bill. See Long Island municipalities explained and Long Island certificates of occupancy and open permits.
Survey. A new or updated survey lets the title company remove or narrow the standard exception for what a survey would show. See the survey exception.
Property taxes and escrow. Property taxes are split between buyer and seller in the closing adjustments, not paid as a fee. Nassau’s school and general tax bills and Suffolk’s December bill cover different periods. That changes who credits whom on a given closing date. See Long Island tax grievance and property tax at closing.
Suffolk sewer bills. Sewer charges in the former county sewer districts are no longer on the tax bill. Since January 1, 2026, the Suffolk County Wastewater Management District bills them separately (quarterly for homes). The county does not split those bills by date, and an open balance is usually dealt with at closing (Suffolk County, Sewer Billing Services; water and sewer charges at closing).
Lender deposits. A lender may also collect a first tax escrow deposit. In a mapped flood zone, it may collect the first year of flood insurance (flood zone and flood insurance on Long Island).
Who pays what
| Charge | Amount | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| NYS transfer tax | 0.4% | Seller (law) |
| Satisfaction recording | Clerk schedule | Seller (custom) |
| IT-2663 estimated tax | Nonresidents | Seller (law) |
| Mansion tax | 1% at $1M+ | Buyer (law) |
| Peconic Bay tax | 2% or 2.5% over exemption | Buyer (law) |
| Mortgage recording tax | 1.05%, borrower 0.80% | Borrower, lender 0.25% |
| Owner’s title policy | TIRSA Zone 2 | Buyer (custom) |
| Loan title policy | 30% of loan rate | Buyer (custom) |
| Deed and mortgage recording | Clerk schedule | Buyer (custom) |
| Tax map verification | $270 Nassau / $200 Suffolk | Buyer (custom) |
| RP-5217 fee | $125 / $250 | Buyer (custom) |
| Municipal searches | Per title bill | Buyer (custom) |
“Law” means a statute names who pays, and makes the other side liable if that person doesn’t pay or is exempt. “Custom” means no law assigns the charge, so the contract and local practice decide. Either way, the contract can shift the cost between buyer and seller.
Example 1: $750,000 house in Nassau, $600,000 loan
A hypothetical one-family house in the Town of Hempstead, on one tax lot, bought with a bank loan. The figures leave out page-based recording fees, endorsements, municipal searches, survey, attorney and lender fees, and tax adjustments.
| Buyer item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage recording tax, borrower share | $4,770 |
| Owner’s policy (TIRSA rate) | $3,336 |
| Loan policy (simultaneous) | $696 |
| Deed: clerk fixed fees | $485 |
| Deed: Tax Map Verification letter | $270 |
| Mortgage: clerk fixed fees | $345 |
| Mortgage: Tax Map Verification letter | $270 |
| Buyer total | $10,172 |
How the numbers work:
- Mortgage tax: $600,000 × 1.05% = $6,300. The lender pays $1,500 (0.25%). You pay the remaining $4,800 less $30.
- Owner’s policy: $3,336.10 at the manual rate, rounded to whole dollars. An underwriter discount would lower it.
- Loan policy: 30% of the $2,319.55 full loan rate.
- Deed fees: the $40 recording fee, $5 endorsement page, $300 block fee, $5 TP-584 filing fee, $125 RP-5217 fee and $10 deed notification fee.
- Mortgage fees: $40, $5 and $300.
- No mansion tax applies below $1 million.
The seller pays the state transfer tax of $3,000 ($2 × 1,500), plus the satisfaction recording for any existing mortgage.
Example 2: $1,500,000 house in Southampton, $1,200,000 loan
A hypothetical one-family house on built land in the Town of Southampton, Suffolk County, on one tax lot, with a bank loan, under a contract signed after April 1, 2023. The same items are left out.
| Buyer item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Peconic Bay tax (CPF 2% + housing 0.5%) | $27,500 |
| Mansion tax: 1% × $1,500,000 | $15,000 |
| Mortgage recording tax, borrower share | $9,570 |
| Owner’s policy (TIRSA rate) | $6,021 |
| Loan policy (simultaneous) | $1,247 |
| Deed: fixed fees and verification | $375 |
| Mortgage: fixed fees and verification | $440 |
| Buyer total | $60,153 |
How the numbers work:
- Peconic Bay tax: 2.5% of $1,100,000 (the $1,500,000 price less Southampton’s $400,000 exempt amount). That’s $22,000 to the CPF and $5,500 to the housing fund.
- Mortgage tax: $1,200,000 × 1.05% = $12,600. The lender pays $3,000 and you pay $9,600 less $30.
- Owner’s policy: $1 million or more, so the manual rate applies with no discount.
- Deed fees: the $20 handling, $5 Commissioner of Education, $15 Cultural Education Fund, $5 TP-584 filing, $130 RP-5217 and $200 per-lot verification charges.
- Mortgage fees: $20, $5, $15, $200 per-lot verification and $200 mortgage verification.
The seller pays the state transfer tax of $6,000. If the seller is a nonresident, the IT-2663 estimated income tax on the gain also comes out of the proceeds.
The same house in Riverhead would carry Peconic tax at 2% instead of 2.5%, on the price above Riverhead’s exempt amount. The same house in Huntington, Islip or any Nassau town would carry none.
How to get an accurate number for your closing
- Confirm the town from the tax bill or tax map number. In Suffolk, the town decides whether the Peconic Bay tax applies and at what rate. A mailing address can cross town lines.
- Check the contract for any clause that shifts transfer taxes, the Peconic Bay tax or recording costs.
- Ask the title company for a pro forma (estimated) title bill and recording estimate. It lists premiums, endorsements, searches, page-based recording fees, verification fees and taxes.
- Compare those lines with your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure. The taxes and filed premiums should match the formulas above to the dollar.
For who prepares and collects each item at closing, see who does what at a New York closing.
Details for attorneys and title professionals
- Higher transfer tax rate. The extra $1.25 per $500, which brings the rate to 0.65% on large sales, applies only in a city of one million or more people. It never applies in Nassau or Suffolk.
- Riverhead exempt amount. The state law, as amended in 2021, lists $200,000 for both Riverhead and Southold. Riverhead did not adopt the housing tax, and the return’s allowance schedule (in use since April 1, 2023, per Stewart bulletin NY000689) still shows $150,000.
- $2 million limit. The state law’s limit on the exemption, homes priced at $2 million or less, is written for every town, not only some.
- TIRSA rate manual. Nassau and Suffolk are in Zone 2, the same zone as NYC and Westchester. The Zone 2 premium includes the title search and the tax search for one tax lot, with one title and one tax continuation (an update just before closing). Municipal department searches are excluded. The section numbers are listed under Official sources.
Official sources
- New York Tax Law § 253 (mortgage recording tax), § 663 (nonresident estimated tax), § 1402, § 1402-a, § 1402-b, § 1404 and § 1409 (transfer and mansion taxes)
- New York Tax Law Article 31-D, Peconic Bay Region: § 1449-aa, § 1449-bb, § 1449-cc, § 1449-dd and § 1449-ee
- New York Town Law § 64-e (community preservation funds) and § 64-k (community housing funds)
- New York Real Property Law § 333 (RP-5217 fee)
- NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Form IT-2663 instructions
- Suffolk County Clerk, Mortgage Tax, Deed Fee Schedule and Mortgage Fee Schedule
- Nassau County Clerk, Land Recording Fees; Nassau County Department of Assessment, Tax Map Verification
- Town of Southampton, Community Preservation Fund FAQs; Town of Southold Code, Real Estate Transfer Tax
- Suffolk County Department of Public Works, Sewer Billing Services
- Stewart Title, bulletin NY000689 and Upcoming Changes to the Peconic Bay Region Transfer Tax (changes effective April 1, 2023)
- TIRSA Rate Manual, Seventh Revision (10/01/2024), Sections 3 and 10 and Part II