Free tool
NYC Commercial Rent Tax calculator
Leasing space in Manhattan below 96th Street? Enter the rent and see whether the city's Commercial Rent Tax applies, what the credits take off and what you would owe each quarter, with the Department of Finance's math shown line by line.
Estimated tax
$14,040 a year
About $3,510 a quarter, 3.9% of your rent.
On $360,000 a year in base rent.
If your total income was $5 million or less, the Small Business Tax Credit brings this to $0.
| Base rent | $360,000 |
|---|---|
| 35% rent reduction | -$126,000 |
| Base rent subject to tax | $234,000 |
| Tax at 6% | $14,040 |
| Tax due a year | $14,040 |
Filing: quarterly returns (Form CR-Q) due September 20, December 20 and March 20, and the annual return (Form CR-A) due June 20, for the tax year June 1 to May 31. The credits are claimed on those returns.
An estimate from the Department of Finance's published formulas, not tax advice. It leaves out the Commercial Revitalization Program special reduction, part-year premises and nonprofit exemptions. Confirm with your accountant.
How the tax is figured
- Is the space in the zone? Only premises in Manhattan south of the center line of 96th Street. Everywhere else in the city the tax was repealed.
- Base rent. The rent for the space for the tax year, less rent for any residential part and rent you receive from subtenants. Under $250,000 a year, stop: no tax.
- 35% reduction, then 6%. Take 35% off base rent and multiply the rest by 6%. That is 3.9% of base rent.
- Sliding credit. From $250,000 to just under $300,000, a credit of the tax x ($300,000 minus base rent) / $50,000, so the tax phases in instead of jumping.
- Small Business Tax Credit. With total income under $10 million and base rent under $550,000: the tax left after the sliding credit x an income factor x a rent factor. Each factor is 1 at the low end ($5 million or less of income, rent under $500,000) and shrinks to 0 across the phase-out band.
Source: NYC Department of Finance, Form CR-A and instructions, tax year June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, checked September 2026. The calculator annualizes monthly rent and assumes you occupy the space for the full year. It does not model the Commercial Revitalization Program special reduction, and it is not tax advice: confirm your filing with an accountant.
What it costs at common rents
Tax a year for one space in Manhattan below 96th Street. Rows are base rent a year; columns are your business's total income last tax year.
Where it applies
How the neighborhoods Leasemark covers sit against the 96th Street line.
In the zone
No Commercial Rent Tax
North of 96th Street, and every neighborhood in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
Questions
What is the NYC Commercial Rent Tax?
A New York City tax on the rent a business pays for commercial space in Manhattan south of 96th Street. The tenant owes it, not the landlord, and files returns with the Department of Finance. It only applies once base rent for a space reaches $250,000 a year.
How much is the Commercial Rent Tax?
6% of base rent after a 35% reduction, which works out to 3.9% of base rent. On $400,000 a year that is $15,600 before credits. Between $250,000 and $300,000 a sliding credit cuts it (at $275,000 the tax of $10,725 is halved to $5,363), and the Small Business Tax Credit can remove it.
What is the Small Business Tax Credit?
Since June 1, 2018, a business with total income of $5 million or less and base rent under $500,000 gets a credit equal to its whole tax, so it pays nothing. The credit phases out as total income rises from $5 million to $10 million and as rent rises from $500,000 to $550,000. For example, total income of $8 million keeps 40% of the credit: on $400,000 of rent the tax falls from $15,600 to $9,360.
Does the Commercial Rent Tax apply in Brooklyn, Queens or above 96th Street?
No. The tax was repealed for premises north of the center line of 96th Street in Manhattan and for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. A building on the south side of 96th Street is inside the zone.
Which spaces below 96th Street are exempt?
Base rent under $250,000 a year; premises in the World Trade Center area; retail stores (selling goods directly to consumers, which generally leaves out restaurants and bars) in the Lower Manhattan zone south of Murray, Frankfort and Dover Streets; government bodies and nonprofit religious, charitable and educational organizations; and a few others listed in the Form CR-A instructions. Some new leases in eligible buildings south of Canal Street also get a special reduction under the Commercial Revitalization Program.
When are Commercial Rent Tax returns due?
The tax year runs June 1 to May 31. Tenants subject to the tax file quarterly returns (Form CR-Q) by September 20, December 20 and March 20, and an annual return (Form CR-A) by June 20. A tenant below the threshold still files the annual return if its gross rent for a space is more than $200,000 a year or it receives more than $200,000 from subtenants.
Does the Commercial Rent Tax apply to subleases?
A subtenant pays the tax on the rent it pays, like any tenant. The tenant that sublets deducts the rent it receives from subtenants when it works out its own base rent, which can take it under the threshold.