NY Mansion Tax on Hamptons Real Estate: What Buyers Owe at Every Price Point

What Is the New York Mansion Tax?

The New York mansion tax is a progressive buyer-paid transfer tax on residential real estate purchases of $1,000,000 or more anywhere in New York State. It applies to all Hamptons purchases at or above that threshold — Southampton, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, Montauk, Water Mill, Sagaponack, every address on the East End.

Despite the name, the tax has nothing to do with whether the property resembles a mansion. A $1.1M starter cottage in Sag Harbor, NY triggers the same tax as a $30M oceanfront estate on Meadow Lane in Southampton, NY. The name is political theater left over from when the $1M threshold was first enacted in 1989. The threshold has not been adjusted for inflation since.

In New York City, the rates are higher than the rest of the state. The Hamptons falls under the general New York State schedule, not the NYC schedule — an important distinction if you're comparing your Hamptons purchase to a Manhattan transaction.

The New York Mansion Tax Rate Schedule for Hamptons Buyers

As of May 2026, the New York mansion tax rate schedule for purchases outside New York City — including all Hamptons addresses — is as follows:

Purchase Price	Rate	Tax Owed
$1,000,000 – $1,999,999	1.0%	$10,000 – $19,999
$2,000,000 – $2,999,999	1.25%	$25,000 – $37,499
$3,000,000 – $4,999,999	1.5%	$45,000 – $74,999
$5,000,000 – $9,999,999	2.0%	$100,000 – $199,999
$10,000,000 – $14,999,999	2.5%	$250,000 – $374,999
$15,000,000 – $19,999,999	3.0%	$450,000 – $599,999
$20,000,000 – $24,999,999	3.25%	$650,000 – $812,499
$25,000,000 and above	3.9%	$975,000+

The tax is applied to the entire purchase price, not just the amount above the threshold. A $2,000,000 purchase is taxed at 1.25% on the full $2,000,000 — that's $25,000, not $10,000 on the first million and $1,250 on the second. This is a common misunderstanding that costs buyers who underbudget for closing.

What This Means at Common Hamptons Price Points

Most transactions in Southampton, NY and East Hampton, NY fall in the $2M–$10M range for the kinds of properties that draw serious out-of-state buyers. Here is what the mansion tax actually costs at those price points:

Purchase Price	Mansion Tax	What It Buys in Context
$1,500,000	$15,000	Village house in Sag Harbor, NY
$2,500,000	$31,250	Village or near-beach in East Hampton, NY
$4,000,000	$60,000	Southampton, NY off-ocean estate
$6,000,000	$120,000	Bridgehampton, NY waterfront or estate
$10,000,000	$250,000	Near-oceanfront in Southampton, NY
$20,000,000	$650,000	Oceanfront on Meadow Lane or Further Lane

On a $6M purchase in Bridgehampton, NY, the mansion tax alone is $120,000 — due at closing, in cash, on top of attorney fees, title insurance, recording costs, and any mortgage fees. At $10M, it's a quarter of a million dollars. Budget for it as a fixed line item before you make an offer, not as a surprise on the settlement statement.

How the Mansion Tax Compares Across the Northeast

New York's mansion tax is the most significant buyer-side transfer tax in the Northeast coastal markets covered by this platform — but it is not the only one. Understanding how it stacks up against other markets helps buyers who are evaluating multiple geographies.

• Nantucket, MA: 2% Land Bank fee on all purchases, paid by the buyer. No progressive structure — it's a flat 2% regardless of price. On a $5M purchase, that's $100,000 — identical to the Hamptons mansion tax at the same price point. Neither market has a closing-cost advantage over the other at $5M; the Nantucket fee becomes more expensive below $5M and less expensive above it relative to the NY schedule.
• Martha's Vineyard, MA: Same 2% Land Bank fee as Nantucket. No mansion tax analog.
• Newport, RI: No mansion tax. Rhode Island has a standard deed excise tax, but nothing approaching the NY mansion tax scale. Newport buyers at $3M face significantly lower transfer tax costs than Hamptons buyers at the same price.
• New Jersey Shore (Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Manasquan): No mansion tax. New Jersey does not impose a buyer-side mansion tax equivalent.

For buyers comparing the Hamptons to Newport, RI or the NJ Shore corridor purely on transaction cost, the mansion tax is a meaningful line item in favor of the Rhode Island and New Jersey markets — particularly at price points above $5M where the New York rate reaches 2.0% and above.

Can the Hamptons Mansion Tax Be Negotiated?

No. The New York mansion tax is a statutory obligation under New York Tax Law Section 1402-a. It is owed to New York State, not to any party in the transaction. There is no mechanism to negotiate it away, no exemption for primary residences, and no deferral option.

What you will occasionally see in Hamptons negotiations is a seller offering a closing cost credit — a dollar amount concession that the buyer can apply against mansion tax or any other closing cost. This is a separate negotiation between buyer and seller and does not reduce the tax itself. The tax is paid to the state; the credit is paid by the seller. In a supply-constrained market like East Hampton or Southampton, sellers have limited motivation to offer closing cost credits, particularly for properties with multiple interested buyers.

The one genuine planning consideration: if the purchase price is close to a rate threshold — particularly $2M, $3M, or $5M — there is legitimate reason to negotiate the price to fall below that threshold. The math is real. A purchase at $1,999,000 saves $5,000 over $2,000,000. A purchase at $4,999,000 saves $25,000 over $5,000,000. Whether the seller agrees is a separate question, but the financial logic for the buyer is sound.

Other Closing Costs Hamptons Buyers Should Budget For

The mansion tax is the largest single line item in Hamptons buyer closing costs at most price points, but it's not the only one. A complete closing cost budget for a Hamptons, NY purchase should include:

• New York State transfer tax: $2 per $500 of consideration — a minor cost relative to the mansion tax but owed on all transfers.
• Attorney fees: New York is an attorney-closing state. Budget $2,500–$5,000+ for a standard Hamptons transaction; more for complex title situations or co-op purchases.
• Title insurance: Lender's policy required if financing; owner's policy strongly recommended given the age and complexity of many East End properties.
• Mortgage recording tax: If financing, New York imposes a mortgage recording tax of $1.05 per $100 of mortgage amount (outside NYC). On a $3M mortgage, that's $31,500.
• Recording fees: Suffolk County recording fees for the deed and mortgage documents.
• Lender fees: Origination, appraisal, underwriting — varies by lender and loan structure.

Total buyer closing costs on a Hamptons, NY purchase — including mansion tax — typically run 3%–5% of the purchase price for financed transactions and 2%–3.5% for all-cash buyers who avoid mortgage recording tax.

The Hamptons Mansion Tax and the $1M Threshold — A Note on Market Realities

The $1,000,000 mansion tax threshold was set in 1989 and has never been adjusted for inflation. In the Hamptons, NY as of May 2026, there are effectively no meaningful single-family residential transactions below $1M. The entire market trades above the threshold. This means the mansion tax is a universal feature of every Hamptons purchase — not an edge case or a concern only for the highest-tier buyer.

In Montauk, NY — the most accessible price point on the East End — entry-level cottages and year-round homes start at roughly $1M–$1.5M. Buyers entering the Hamptons market for the first time at that price point owe a 1.0% mansion tax, which is manageable. The risk is that buyers who underestimate the tax at the point of entry also underestimate how much more significant it becomes when they eventually trade up within the market.