NYC Real Estate Alert: Will Small Building Owners Receive Good News in the New Year?

As of today, the Tax Commission of New York City requires land parcels having a tentative actual assess valuation of $1,000,000 or more, and income exceeding $100,000 to include form TC 309 - Accountant’s Certification (“TC309”) as an attachment to form TC 201 – Income and Expenses Statement (“TC-201”) when filing with the Tax Commission of the City of New York.

Over the last few years it has been argued that the valuation amount is antiquated and causes a burden to small building owners for TC 201 audit compliance. TC 309 audit certification costs can vary and become very expensive, depending on the size and complexity of a building’s operations. The valuation amount for $1,000,000 was established by law in the early 1970s and, as everyone knows, New York City real estate values have increased tremendously since that time. Inflation and overall rentable space demand has driven values up over time, however, the limit set for filing the TC 309 has not changed. This may change on or about January 9, 2019. Around this time, it is expected that the City Council will vote on a bill to increase the TC 309 threshold from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000. If passed, it will apply to the 2019/20 tax year (2018 reporting year). Based on feedback from those close to the process, this bill has a good chance of passing. This will be good news for many small building owners to start the New Year. Please contact a professional at Citrin Cooperman who can walk you through determining if your building will fall under the new requirement.