Glossary

Mansion Tax

A supplemental real property transfer tax surcharge, imposed by a small number of states and cities above a specified sale price threshold, layered on top of the jurisdiction's standard transfer tax.

Despite the residential-sounding name, mansion taxes in major markets like New York City and Los Angeles apply broadly to high-value transactions across property types, including commercial real estate, whenever the sale price crosses the applicable threshold — meaning a large office, multifamily, or mixed-use transaction can trigger the surcharge just as a luxury home sale would. Rates are often tiered, with a higher percentage applying only to the increment above each successive threshold, or in some jurisdictions to the entire price once a threshold is crossed, which can create sharp cliff effects near a threshold and occasionally influences how a transaction is priced, phased, or structured to manage the incremental tax cost.