N.Y. Tax Law 1444 – Exemptions
* § 1444. Exemptions. 1. The following shall be exempt from the payment of the real estate transfer tax:
Terms Used In N.Y. Tax Law 1444
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Consideration: means the price actually paid or required to be paid for the real property or interest therein, including payment for an option or contract to purchase real property, whether or not expressed in the deed and whether paid or required to be paid by money, property, or any other thing of value. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Conveyance: means the transfer or transfers of any interest in real property by any method, including but not limited to, sale, exchange, assignment, surrender, mortgage foreclosure, transfer in lieu of foreclosure, option, trust indenture, taking by eminent domain, conveyance upon liquidation or by a receiver, or transfer or acquisition of a controlling interest in any entity with an interest in real property. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- First-time homebuyer: means a person who has not owned a primary residential property and is not married to a person who has owned a residential property during the three-year period prior to his or her purchase of the primary residential property, and who does not own a vacation or investment home. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Household income: means the total combined income of all the owners, and of any owners' spouses residing on the premises, for the income tax year preceding the date of making application for the exemption. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Income: means the adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes as reported on the applicant's latest available federal or state income tax return subject to any subsequent amendments or revisions, reduced by distributions, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, received from an individual retirement account and an individual retirement annuity; provided that if no such return was filed within the one year period preceding taxable status date, income shall mean the adjusted gross income that would have been so reported if such a return had been filed. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: means an individual, partnership, limited liability company, society, association, joint stock company, corporation, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise, any combination of individuals, and any other form of unincorporated enterprise owned or conducted by two or more persons. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Primary residential property: means any one or two family house, townhouse or condominium located in the town which is to be owner occupied by such homebuyer. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Real property: means every estate or right, legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent, in lands, tenements or hereditaments, including buildings, structures and other improvements thereon, which are located in whole or in part within the town. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
- Town: means the town of Brookhaven, in the county of Suffolk. See N.Y. Tax Law 1440
(a) The state of New York, or any of its agencies, instrumentalities, political subdivisions, or public corporations (including a public corporation created pursuant to an agreement or compact with another state or Dominion of Canada); and
(b) The United Nations, the United States of America or any of its agencies or instrumentalities.
2. The tax shall not apply to any of the following conveyances:
(a) Conveyances to the United Nations, the United States of America, the state of New York, or any of their instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions (or any public corporation, including a public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another state or the Dominion of Canada);
(b) Conveyances which are or were used to secure a debt or other obligation;
(c) Conveyances which, without additional consideration, confirm, correct, modify or supplement a deed previously recorded;
(d) Conveyances of real property without consideration and otherwise than in connection with a sale, including deeds conveying realty as bona fide gifts;
(e) Conveyances given in connection with a tax sale;
(f) Conveyances to effectuate a mere change of identity or form of ownership or organization where there is no change in beneficial ownership, other than conveyances to a cooperative housing corporation of the real property comprising the cooperative dwelling or dwellings;
(g) Conveyances which consist of a deed of partition;
(h) Conveyances given pursuant to the federal bankruptcy act;
(i) Conveyances of real property which consist of the execution of a contract to sell real property without the use or occupancy of such property or the granting of an option to purchase real property without the use or occupancy of such property;
(j) Conveyances of real property, where the entire parcel of real property to be conveyed is the subject of one or more of the following development restrictions:
(1) agricultural, conservation, scenic, or an open space easement,
(2) covenants or restrictions prohibiting development,
(3) a purchase of development rights agreement,
(4) a transfer of development rights agreement, where the property being conveyed has had its development rights removed,
(5) said real property is subject to the development restriction of an agricultural district or individual commitment, pursuant to Article 25 of the agriculture and markets law,
(6) real property subject to any locally adopted land preservation agreement, provided said exemption is included in the local law imposing the tax authorized by this article;
(k) Conveyances of real property, where the property is viable agriculture land as defined in subdivision seven of § 301 of the agriculture and markets law and the entire property to be conveyed is to be made subject to one of the development restrictions provided for in subparagraph two of paragraph (j) of this subdivision provided that said development restriction precludes the conversion of the property to a non-agricultural use for at least three years from the date of transfer, and said development restriction is evidenced by an easement, agreement or other suitable instrument which is to be conveyed to the town simultaneously with the conveyance of the real property; or
(l) Conveyances of real property for open space, parks, or historic preservation purposes to any not-for-profit tax exempt corporation operated for conservation, environmental or historic preservation purposes.
(m) Conveyances of real property to any tax exempt corporation, incorporated pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation law or the private housing finance law, where said conveyance is for the purposes of providing affordable housing opportunities within the town and such corporation is incorporated for the purposes of providing housing opportunities. For the purposes of this paragraph, "affordable housing" shall mean housing opportunities exclusively for town residents whose income is at or below the median income for the town.
3. In the town, an exemption of two hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be allowed on the consideration of the conveyance of improved real property or an interest therein and an exemption of one hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be allowed on the consideration of the conveyance of unimproved real property.
4. Primary residential property purchased by one or more persons, each of whom is a first-time homebuyer shall be exempt from the payment of the real estate transfer tax provided that:
(a) the primary residential property is within the purchase price limits defined by the state of New York mortgage agency low interest rate mortgage program in the non-target one family categories for Suffolk county in effect on contract date for the sale of such property; and
(b) the buyer's household income does not exceed the income limits defined by the state of New York mortgage agency low interest rate mortgage program in the non-target, one and two person household category for Suffolk county in effect on the contract date for the sale of such property.
5. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner of such building on a form prescribed by the town. The application shall be filed with the town. If satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this section, the town shall approve the application and the conveyance of such primary residential property shall be exempt from the real estate transfer tax imposed by this article.
* NB Repealed December 31, 2025