Citywide Property Taxes for Co-Ops and Condos Hit Record Highs in 2025

The tentative assessment roll for the 2025-2026 tax year newly released by the Department of Finance (DOF) shows that average taxes for co-ops and condos across all boroughs have not only increased, but have also reached record levels.

Sobering numbers. Citywide, average taxes for co-ops are up 2.38%, and for condos, 2.23%. Pre-pandemic, the average citywide tax per unit for co-ops was under $9,000; for condos it was under $13,000. Today, that has risen to $9,578 for co-ops and $15,134 for condos. Condos in Brooklyn and Queens and co-ops in Staten Island saw the biggest hikes, each exceeding a 6% increase. Property taxes are a key source of revenue for New York City, and the increases come amid Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to fund $114.5 billion in programs for the upcoming year. “It’s the cost of living in the city, which has an ever-escalating budget of its own,” says Benjamin Williams, who heads the property tax department at the law firm Rosenberg & Estis. 

The final bill for the tax year beginning in July 2025 will be calculated using a co-op or condo’s assessed value — a percentage of the market value — and the tax rate. Under the city’s arcane system, assessed values for co-op apartments are pegged to the value of comparable rental apartments in the neighborhood. Williams points out that market values used for tax assessments don’t reflect actual sale prices. As rents rise, so do tax assessments, regardless of whether sale prices increase. 

Shareholders and unit-owners — especially seniors and those on fixed incomes — are feeling the pinch. Robert Pollack, senior partner at the law firm Marcus & Pollack and a board member of the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums (CNYC), says the compounding increases are “unsustainable,” especially as co-ops and condos are not income-producing properties and their occupants “generally do not have personal incomes that have increased commensurate with real estate taxes.”

Filing a protest. Tax assessment figures can be challenged, and the deadline to file is April 1. The Tax Commission, a separate entity from the DOF, reviews these claims and decides whether to offer reductions. “Any item that might impact a building’s value should be considered as a reason for protest,” says Rebecca Poole, director of membership and communication at CNYC.

Boards can file protests without the risk of increased assessments should their units be deemed underassessed. “There’s no downside,” Williams says. Most recent data puts the median assessment reduction at around 8.5%. In 2023, 17% of the combined co-ops and condos that challenged their assessed values were offered a reduction, with 19% of condos getting offers compared with 15% of co-ops. For properties assessed over $2 million, a $175 hearing fee applies. Tax certiorari attorneys, the professionals who do this work, typically operate on a contingency basis, charging between 15% and 20% of the tax savings achieved.