Erie County Transfer Tax: Rates, Mansion Tax, and Form TP-584

The Erie County transfer tax is $4.50 for every $500 of the sale price, or 0.9% of the total, combining New York State’s $2 per $500 base tax with Erie County’s $2.50 per $500 additional tax.¹² The seller pays it, and it has to be paid before the county clerk will record the deed. Residential sales of $1 million or more carry an additional 1% mansion tax paid by the buyer.³

How the Tax Is Calculated

The tax has two parts stacked together. New York State charges $2 per $500 of consideration under Tax Law Section 1402.² Erie County adds $2.50 per $500 under Article 31-B of the Tax Law.¹ Any fractional part of $500 rounds up, so a sale at $250,100 is taxed as if the price were $250,500. The tax only applies when consideration exceeds $500.

A few examples:

$200,000 sale: 400 units of $500 × $4.50 = $1,800
$350,000 sale: 700 units × $4.50 = $3,150
$500,000 sale: 1,000 units × $4.50 = $4,500

The Mansion Tax

Residential property selling for $1 million or more triggers an additional 1% tax on the full price, applied to houses, condos, and co-op units that could serve as a personal residence.³ The buyer pays this one, not the seller.⁴

There is no proration or phase-in. A $999,999 sale owes nothing; a $1,000,000 sale owes $10,000. On a $1.2 million home, the buyer pays $12,000 in mansion tax on top of the $10,800 in base and county transfer taxes the seller owes.

Who Pays and What Happens If They Don’t

Tax Law Section 1404 puts the standard transfer tax on the grantor, meaning the seller, and it can’t be shifted to the buyer indirectly unless the purchase contract says so expressly.⁵

If the seller doesn’t pay or is exempt, the obligation shifts to the buyer, and at that point both parties are jointly and severally liable. The county can collect from either one. The buyer has the right to sue the seller for reimbursement, plus interest and penalties, but that’s a lawsuit after the fact rather than a fix at closing.⁵

Exemptions

Tax Law Section 1405 exempts several categories of transfer:⁶

Deeds to or from New York State, the United States, and their agencies and subdivisions. If a government entity sells to a private buyer, though, that buyer still owes the tax.
Changes in form only, such as moving a property from your own name into your own LLC.
Bona fide gifts where no money changes hands and no debt is assumed.
Any transfer for $500 or less.

Even an exempt transfer requires a Form TP-584 with the exemption box marked. The county clerk won’t record the deed without it.⁷

One point of confusion worth clearing up: a 1031 like-kind exchange defers federal capital gains tax, but New York treats it as a taxable conveyance for transfer tax purposes. Expect to pay the full $4.50 per $500 on both the property you sell and the replacement you acquire.

Form TP-584 and the 15-Day Rule

Form TP-584 is the combined transfer tax return, credit line mortgage certificate, and estimated income tax certification. Every conveyance in Erie County requires one, whether or not tax is owed.⁷ You can download it from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance or pick it up at the Erie County Clerk’s office.

To fill it out you need:

Full legal names and Social Security or employer identification numbers for both seller and buyer
The property’s street address, municipality, and Section-Block-Lot tax map designation
The total purchase price shown on the closing disclosure or contract
If claiming an exemption, the specific statutory basis

The form is due to the county recording officer no later than 15 days after delivery of the deed.⁷ In practice, filing happens simultaneously with recording, because the clerk won’t record a deed without a completed TP-584 and payment. If the deed isn’t recorded and the 15-day window is missed, interest and penalties can accrue.

Other Recording Fees

The transfer tax is the largest cost, but the clerk charges several other fees when a deed is recorded:¹

Statutory recording fee: $45
Per-page charge: $5 for each written side
TP-584 filing fee: $10
RP-5217 Real Property Transfer Report: $125 for residential or farm property, $250 for other property

On a typical residential transaction with a four-page deed, these add roughly $200 to the transfer tax. They appear as separate line items at closing, and the attorney or title company collects them along with the transfer tax.

How to Pay and Record

Payment and documents go to the Erie County Clerk when the deed is presented for recording.¹ The clerk accepts cash, personal or certified check, money order, and Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit cards.

Erie County also allows electronic recording through approved facilitators, which most Buffalo-area attorneys and title companies use.⁸ The facilitator transmits the documents and pays the applicable taxes and fees electronically, which is faster than mailing or hand-delivering. Once the clerk accepts the filing, the deed is indexed in the county records and the original is mailed back to the new owner.⁹

If the Seller Is a Foreign Person

The transfer tax is a state and county matter, but one federal rule can override the closing arithmetic. Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), when the seller is a foreign person the buyer must withhold 15% of the amount realized on the sale and remit it to the IRS.¹⁰ A buyer who fails to withhold when required is personally liable for the tax. The closing attorney should flag this well before the settlement date.

1
Erie County Clerk. Land Record Fees
2
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1402 – Imposition of Tax
3
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1402-A – Additional Tax
4
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Publication 577 – FAQs Regarding the Additional Tax on Transfers of Residential Real Property
5
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1404 – Liability for Tax
6
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1405 – Exemptions
7
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form TP-584
8
Erie County Clerk. e-Recording
9
Erie County Clerk. Record a Deed
10
Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding