Clarkstown's proposed Community Preservation Act is usually described as a 0.75% charge on real estate closings. That rate is in the state law. But the tax only applies to the part of a price above the Rockland County median residential sale price, and the latest state figure for that median is $780,000. For a buyer looking at a typical New City single-family home, that exemption brings the cost close to zero. For a buyer at $1.2 million, it comes to a few thousand dollars. The tax isn't in effect yet, and voters won't decide on it until 2027.
The clause the headline rate leaves out
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the enabling legislation on July 31, 2026. It is Assembly bill A11349, which replaced Senate bill S10276A, and it became chapter 191 of the 2026 laws. In its August 10 announcement, the Town described the measure as "a one-time .75% fee on real estate closings."
The bill text has an exemption that changes the math:
"An exemption from the tax which is equal to the median sales price of residential real property within the applicable county, as determined by the Office of Real Property Services pursuant to section four hundred twenty-five of the Real Property Tax Law, shall be allowed on the consideration of the conveyance of improved or unimproved real property or an interest therein."
The law also says who pays. The buyer, called the grantee, owes the tax. If the buyer doesn't pay, or is a party the law exempts, the seller has to pay it.
The state publishes the county median the exemption refers to. On the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance's county median sale price table, Rockland County's 2025 median residential sale price is $780,000, based on 1,928 qualifying sales. The table counts only arm's-length, non-condominium residential sales.
The same rate at New City price points
If the current figure applies, the first $780,000 of a price is exempt and the 0.75% rate applies only to the amount above it. The table below uses that arithmetic. The first three rows are published September 2026 medians for Rockland County. The last three are example prices.
| Purchase price | What the price represents | Amount above $780,000 | Estimated tax at 0.75% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $524,900 | Rockland condo median, September 2026 | $0 | $0 |
| $747,000 | Rockland median, all property types, September 2026 | $0 | $0 |
| $795,000 | Rockland single-family median, September 2026 | $15,000 | $112.50 |
| $1,000,000 | Example | $220,000 | $1,650 |
| $1,200,000 | Example | $420,000 | $3,150 |
| $1,500,000 | Example | $720,000 | $5,400 |
The September 2026 single-family and condo medians come from the OneKey MLS Local Market Update for Rockland County, which shows 139 single-family closings that month and 495 single-family homes in inventory. The $747,000 figure covers single-family, condo, and co-op sales together and comes from the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors market dashboard.
Local coverage gave a much higher number. In its August 19 roundup, the Rockland County Business Journal said that, based on real estate data platforms, the tax would add about $5,000 to a median-priced single-family home in Clarkstown. You get roughly that number by applying 0.75% to the full price. With the statutory exemption subtracted first, a home at the September 2026 county single-family median owes about $112.
Where the revenue would come from
According to the Town, the assessor's office estimates the act would raise nearly $5 million a year. At 0.75%, $5 million in tax means about $667 million in taxable consideration each year, and only dollars above the exemption are taxable. That revenue has to come from sales well above the county median.
The law covers more than house sales. Taxable conveyances include exchanges, assignments, foreclosure-related transfers, options, certain long-term leases, and transfers of a controlling interest in an entity that owns real property. The Business Journal described the tax as paid by "home and commercial building buyers." Commercial property sales and the upper end of the single-family market would carry most of the cost. Buyers near or below the county median would pay little or nothing.
Some transfers are exempt. They include transfers to government bodies, gifts made without consideration, deeds that only correct a prior record, and property permanently restricted under conservation or development-rights agreements. The exemptions listed in the statute don't include a separate first-time buyer exemption.
The threshold has risen each year
The $780,000 exemption isn't fixed. The law ties it to the median the state publishes, and Rockland's published median has risen every year:
- 2023: $665,000 across 1,961 sales
- 2024: $746,300 across 2,038 sales
- 2025: $780,000 across 1,928 sales
For a single-family home near the median, the tax depends on how current prices compare with the published figure. The OneKey MLS report shows a Rockland single-family median of $795,000 for September 2026, up 1.3% from $785,000 in September 2025, and a median of $779,000 for the 12 months through September 2026. The trailing 12-month median is almost exactly the same as the exemption. So a typical single-family home sits right at the line, and only the more expensive part of the market is clearly above it.
Not in effect yet, and when voters decide
The state enabling law is signed and in force. The local transfer tax it authorizes is a separate step, and the Town and local reporting both describe it as going to a referendum before it can apply to Clarkstown closings. The Business Journal reported that the Town missed the August 3 deadline for the November 3, 2026 ballot. It also reported that the Rockland County Board of Elections confirmed the missed deadline and said the Town could hold a special election or wait until November 2027. The Town's October 7 survey page says the act "will be put to a voter referendum next year."
If voters approve it, the money goes into a dedicated fund for buying land with open space, scenic resources, historic landmarks, agriculture, and natural resources. A new Clarkstown Community Preservation Board would rank properties for acquisition. Under the law, that board has five or seven unpaid residents. A majority must have conservation or land-preservation experience, at least one must be an active farmer, and Town Board members can't serve on it.
Orangetown has a similar measure on its ballot. The town adopted a 0.3% transfer tax, paid by the buyer, with a $100,000 exemption for improved property and $50,000 for vacant land. Orangetown's community preservation page says voters decide on November 3, 2026. Orangetown has the lower rate. But because its exemption is a flat dollar amount, its tax reaches far more ordinary sales than Clarkstown's median-based exemption would.
The building pause covers the lower-priced housing
In September, the Town Board also adopted a six-month building moratorium. It pauses approvals for multifamily housing, large subdivisions, and commercial or industrial projects. The Board can extend it once, for up to six more months. Exemptions include individual residential projects, small subdivisions, commercial projects under 5,000 square feet, and the Nanuet Hamlet Center. In its release on the law, the Town said the pause relates to the Community Preservation Act and a planned rewrite of its zoning code.
Most of the paused projects are apartment proposals in New City's Main Street shopping centers. The 2023 zoning change for the H4 district, the shopping-center land between Main Street and Route 304, allows buildings up to 70 feet tall and 10 units per acre, or up to 13 units per acre with the affordable housing incentive. The proposals filed under that zoning include:
- New City Living: a six-story, 152-unit building at the DeCicco's shopping center and the neighboring property at 254 South Main Street, as the Rockland County Business Journal first reported in 2023. The Business Journal reported that it is subject to the moratorium.
- Clarkstown Plaza: a four-story, 50-unit building at South Main Street and Schreiver Lane, according to the Business Journal's 2025 report.
- New City Center at the ShopRite plaza: a five-story mixed-use building with about 103 apartments. It received a SEQRA negative declaration on May 20. In June, the Business Journal reported that a lawsuit challenging the approvals led to a temporary restraining order. The moratorium exempts projects that already have a negative declaration, and the paper said it was unclear whether the pause covers this project.
Taken together, the two measures work at opposite ends of the market. The proposed tax would land mostly on sales above $780,000. The moratorium pauses most of the planned apartment buildings, and the September 2026 Rockland condo median of $524,900 shows how far below the exemption that kind of housing usually sells.
Quick answers
Would the seller ever pay? The statute's text says the seller has the duty to pay if the buyer fails to pay or is exempt.
How does the exemption read for a condo purchase? The statute applies the exemption to the consideration of any conveyance. Using the published $780,000 figure, the arithmetic for a sale at the September 2026 Rockland condo median comes to $0.
When could the tax start? The enabling law took effect when it was signed. The Town says the tax itself goes to a voter referendum in 2027, and a local real estate attorney can explain how its timing would interact with a particular contract.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm how any transfer tax would apply to your own purchase or sale with a real estate attorney or tax professional.
If you're weighing a New City purchase or sale over the next year, The Morales Group can show you where your price falls against the exemption line and what the referendum timing means for your closing date. Request a Personalized Market Plan.
