A Different Set of Offices Entirely
Yonkers is an incorporated city in Westchester County, immediately north of the Bronx. The New York City Department of Buildings has no authority here; the City of Yonkers permits its own work. Deeds record with the Westchester County Clerk rather than through ACRIS. And the New York City Real Property Transfer Tax does not apply, because that tax reaches only property inside the five boroughs.
What does apply is the New York State transfer tax at $2 per $500 of consideration, which is charged statewide, and the statutory disclosure and claim rules set out on our page covering New York disclosure and claim requirements.
Do New York City Rules Apply to a Yonkers Property?
The Tax Difference Is Real Money
The housing runs from 1900s attached brick through 1920s and 1930s two and three family construction to post-war detached houses. The New York State transfer tax of $2 per $500 applies here as everywhere in the state. The New York City rates of 1% and 1.425% do not, because that tax reaches only the five boroughs — which on a $600,000 sale is a difference of roughly $8,550 in the seller's favour.
A seller inside the five boroughs pays the city transfer tax on top of the state's. A Yonkers seller pays the state tax and whatever the city and county impose locally, which is a different and generally lighter stack.
On a property near the border, that difference is worth establishing precisely rather than assuming. Which side of the line a parcel sits on changes the net proceeds meaningfully, and a buyer modelling the city rate on a Westchester property has priced it wrong in your favour or theirs.
We do not publish the Yonkers or Westchester County transfer tax rates here, because they are set locally and we have not confirmed the current figures. Your closing attorney will quote the exact combined position for your address.
What Is a Burned Yonkers House Worth Compared With the City?
Stock and Structure
Yonkers runs to a mix of one to four family houses, both detached and attached, alongside older multi-family stock, much of it built through the first half of the twentieth century. Because the housing is more varied than any single borough's, the same questions decide the arithmetic: attached or detached, frame or masonry, one family or several, and whether anyone was in occupancy.
Where a house is detached and frame, a serious fire usually leaves the land as the asset. Where it is attached masonry, the party wall considerations are the same as anywhere else attached construction dominates, and a surviving shell is worth more than it first appears.
Yonkers in Context
The borough immediately south, where the same density of multi-family stock brings tenancy questions to the front of every file, is covered on our page about dense multi-family stock. The city-wide permitting regime that stops at the boundary is set out on our page for property inside the five boroughs.
Yonkers Questions
Is Yonkers Part of New York City?
No. It is a separate city in Westchester County with its own government, building department and recording office.
Do I Pay the NYC Transfer Tax?
No. The city Real Property Transfer Tax applies only within the five boroughs. The state transfer tax applies statewide, and local rates apply on top.
Where Do I Search for Prior Deeds on the Property?
The Westchester County Clerk, not ACRIS. A search in the city system will not find a Yonkers property.