New York lawmakers want to expand the so-called “Mansion Tax” by adding a 1.425% tax on home sales between $500,000 and $1 million.

But in New York, $500,000 is not a mansion.

In many parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, that buys a studio apartment. In Queens or other boroughs, it may buy a small starter home. These are not luxury estates. They are modest homes for working families.

This proposal would add more than $7,000 in new taxes on a $500,000 home — paid upfront at closing. That’s on top of the down payment, legal fees, moving costs, and already high property taxes.

For first-time buyers, that extra cost could be the difference between buying a home and walking away.

New York is already one of the most expensive places in the country to live. Mortgage rates are high. Rent is high. Property taxes are high. Young families and middle-class residents are struggling to stay.

Expanding the Mansion Tax to include ordinary apartments and starter homes makes homeownership even harder.

If lawmakers want to tax mansions, then tax actual mansions. But redefining modest homes as “luxury” properties sends the wrong message and places a new burden on buyers who are simply trying to build a future here.

New York needs policies that make housing more affordable, not new taxes that raise the cost of buying a home.

We are calling on Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature to stop the expansion of the Mansion Tax and protect first-time homebuyers from higher closing costs.

Sign this petition to keep the Mansion Tax limited to real mansions and keep homeownership within reach.