One exemption decides it

The surcharge reaches property that is nobody's primary residence. If the property is the primary residence of any one of five people, it is exempt. One yes is enough.

It is worth being precise about the word any. The five criteria are alternatives, not conditions. You do not need to satisfy more than one, and satisfying one is not made stronger by explaining the other four.

The surcharge behind these criteria carries three names: non-primary residence property surcharge on the notice itself, pied-a-terre tax in everyday use, and the PAT tax in law-firm client alerts. The exemption, and the five people who can carry it, are the same under each.

Who uses this property as their primary residence?

One yes is enough. Pick the person, and the path appears.

The five criteria, as the notice lists them

  1. The owner of the property
  2. A tenant or subtenant
  3. One or more individuals who collectively hold a majority interest in the LLC, corporation, or partnership that owns the property
  4. An immediate family member of the owner or majority interest holder
  5. The sole beneficiary of a trust

Each one has its own page here: the owner, a tenant or subtenant, entity ownership, an immediate family member, a trust beneficiary, and the edges where the answer is genuinely unsettled.

The date the answer is judged on

Primary residence status is judged as of the taxable status date, January 5 of the preceding fiscal year. For the 2026-27 tax year that is January 5, 2026. The law was enacted on May 28, 2026, so the date deciding this year's surcharge fell months before the statute existed.

That is the calendar, not an argument you can file. What matters? Who was using the property as a primary residence on January 5, 2026, and which ordinary documents show it? We document the facts as they are. Nothing on this site is about rearranging how a property is used.

If the structure is complicated, or the qualifying resident is somebody other than you, MGNY Consulting works these responses. The criteria are the criteria either way.

Check the city’s record for your property

The Department of Finance publishes the market value the surcharge would be charged on. Enter your building address or 10-digit borough-block-lot number.

See the city’s record

Opens the free lookup on pied-a-terre.mgnyconsulting.com in a new tab, with your search carried over. No sign-in needed to see the record.

On this site

The owner pathThe owner criterion: what DOF treats as residency indicators, which documents establish it, and when a different one of the five criteria fits better.The tenant or subtenant pathA tenant or subtenant makes the property exempt. The natural person rule, arm's length leases, month-to-month pathways, and whose documents prove it.Entity-owned: the majority interest pathUnits held by an LLC, corporation, or partnership qualify through the individuals who collectively hold a majority interest. Documents, and the limits.The immediate family member pathAn immediate family member of the owner or majority holder can qualify the property. The relationship proof, the residency proof, and the spouse pathway.The trust path: sole beneficiaryProperty held in trust qualifies through the sole beneficiary. What did the final rule change about contingent interests, and which documents count?The honest edges of the exemptionVacancy between tenants, the one-year hardship continuation, statutory residents, and estates: where the surcharge rule runs out or stays unresolved.

Sources