In a typical New York sale, the buyer pays the fee to record the deed, while the seller usually pays the transfer taxes, but almost everything here is negotiable and depends on your contract. Recording is a small, fixed cost compared to the taxes, and skipping it is a mistake that can cost you the property. Here is who pays for what, and why it matters.
1 Who pays the recording fee
The recording fee is the charge the City Register (or the county clerk) collects to enter your deed into the public record. In a standard purchase, this falls to the buyer as part of closing costs, because the buyer is the one who benefits from having their new ownership recorded and protected. On a gift or a transfer between family members, the person taking title typically pays it, since they are the one who needs the protection of a recorded deed.
2 Recording fee vs transfer tax
People confuse these two, but they are very different amounts:
| Charge | Usually paid by |
|---|---|
| Deed recording fee | Buyer / person taking title |
| NY State transfer tax | Seller |
| NYC Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) | Seller |
| Mortgage recording tax | Buyer (if financing) |
The recording fee is modest. The transfer taxes are based on the sale price and can be substantial, which is why who pays them is often negotiated in the contract.
3 It is negotiable
None of this is carved in stone. In a hot market a seller may push transfer taxes onto the buyer, and in a slow market a buyer may ask the seller to cover more. What actually governs is the language in your purchase contract, so the real answer to who pays is whatever the two sides agreed to in writing.
4 Gifts and family transfers
When a parent adds a child to a deed or transfers a home for little or no money, there is no seller collecting proceeds to pay the taxes, so the family usually covers both the recording fee and any transfer-tax filing out of pocket. Even a gift or a one-dollar transfer generally requires the transfer-tax forms to be filed, so budget for that, not just the recording fee.
5 Getting it recorded
If you want the deed notarized, the transfer-tax forms prepared, and the whole package recorded correctly the first time, that is exactly what we do. See our NYC document recording service, or call 347-762-0262 to talk through your situation.
See also: what an attorney charges to transfer a deed
Need a deed recorded in NYC?
We notarize, prepare the transfer-tax forms, and file it through ACRIS, done right the first time.
By custom in New York the buyer or person taking title pays the recording fee, while the seller pays the transfer taxes. Your contract can change this.
Is the recording fee the same as the transfer tax?
No. The recording fee is a modest charge to enter the deed in the public record. Transfer taxes are separate and based on the sale price.
Who pays on a family transfer or gift?
Usually the person receiving the property, since there is no seller collecting proceeds. Transfer-tax forms are typically still required.
Related: how to record a deed in NYC and how to transfer a deed in NYC.
See also: how to get a copy of your deed in NYC, step by step.
See also: do you get your deed after paying off your mortgage.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Who pays which cost is set by your contract and can vary. Confirm current fees and rules or consult a professional before closing.
Related: ACRIS NYC: How to Search Property Records and Record a Deed
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What the buyer normally pays
Custom in New York City is that the buyer pays the recording fees. That covers the deed, the mortgage if there is one, and the associated filings.
The buyer also typically pays the mortgage recording tax where a new mortgage is being recorded, which on a New York City purchase is frequently the largest single line in the closing costs after the down payment. See how that tax works.
What the seller normally pays
The transfer taxes. The New York State Real Estate Transfer Tax and the New York City Real Property Transfer Tax are customarily the seller’s responsibility, filed on the TP-584 and the applicable city return.
The seller also usually pays for recording the satisfaction of their own mortgage, so the payoff is cleared from the record.
Custom is not law
This is the part worth understanding. These allocations are convention, and the contract governs. Parties can and do agree otherwise, particularly in negotiated deals, new development sales where the sponsor shifts costs to the purchaser, and family transfers where nobody is at arm’s length.
Read the contract rather than assuming the custom applies, and where a transfer is between relatives for no money, agree in writing who is paying before anything is filed.
Family transfers still cost something
A transfer for no money is not free. The forms are generally required even at zero consideration, recording fees still apply, and exemptions have to be claimed correctly rather than assumed.
Budget for the filings, and get the borough, block and lot right on every one of them, because a rejected submission means paying to file again. See how to find a BBL.
What we charge, and what is government money
Our recording service starts at $350 plus government fees, and the distinction matters. The service fee is ours. The recording fees and transfer taxes are the city’s and the state’s, and we pass them through rather than mark them up.
Ask any provider to separate those two figures. A quote that blends them is a quote you cannot compare.
The fees nobody quotes you up front
Beyond the base recording fee, a New York City filing usually carries a per page charge, a separate fee for each additional lot or unit referenced, and the cost of the required cover pages generated by the system. On a co op or condo the numbers change again because of the unit structure.
There is also the practical cost of getting it wrong. A submission rejected for a bad block and lot, a missing tax form, an unsigned page or a defective acknowledgment comes back unrecorded, and the second attempt costs the same as the first. Where a lender or a buyer is waiting on the recording, the delay is often more expensive than the fee.
Who actually pushes the paperwork through
In an attorney handled closing, the attorney or the title company files. In a private transfer between family members, nobody is doing it unless somebody hires it out, which is exactly how deeds end up signed, notarized and then sitting in a drawer for years.
If there is no attorney and no title company on your transaction, assume the filing is yours and price it in before the signing rather than after.