What you walk away with when you sell

The seller pays New York State transfer tax at $2 per $500 of the sale price, which works out to 0.4 percent. A $700,000 sale owes $2,800. The New York City surcharges of 0.25 to 2.9 percent apply only inside the five boroughs, never in Suffolk or Nassau. Several online calculators apply them statewide, which overstates a Long Island seller's cost by thousands of dollars.

The mansion tax is 1 percent of the entire purchase price on any residential sale of $1,000,000 or more. The buyer pays it, not the seller. It is a cliff, not a bracket: a sale at $999,999 owes nothing and a sale at $1,000,000 owes $10,000. That cliff can push buyers to offer just under the line, so a seller pricing near $1,000,000 should know the math on both sides.

The commission covers the listing broker's work from pricing through closing: marketing, photography, showings, negotiation and paperwork. It also typically covers compensation to the buyer's agent. The rate is negotiable and agreed in the listing agreement before the sign goes up.

This sheet covers the five largest seller costs. It does not include prorated property taxes, outstanding liens or judgments, mortgage prepayment penalties, recording fees, or HOA transfer fees. Your attorney handles the final settlement statement, which is the binding document.

These are general ballpark estimates based on standard Long Island closing costs. Contact your lender for accurate payoff figures and your attorney for a precise settlement statement. The actual net depends on your specific mortgage terms, tax prorations, and any negotiated credits.