Calculator
Manhattan Rent vs Buy Calculator
The generic rent-vs-buy calculators don’t know about NYC’s mansion tax, mortgage recording tax on condos, co-op flip taxes, or how NY State + NYC income tax alone eats the entire $40K SALT cap for typical luxury buyers — making property tax effectively non-deductible. This one does. Model your specific apartment and see when buying breaks even with renting.
Purchase price
$
Down payment
%
Mortgage rate
%
Property type
Monthly common charges
$
Equivalent monthly rent
$
What it would cost to rent a comparable apartment in the same building or neighborhood.
Time horizon
years
Investment return
%
+ Show advanced inputs
Annual rent growth
%
Annual home appreciation
%
Marginal tax rate
%
Annual property tax
$
Attorney fee
$
Annual home insurance
$
Primary residence
Filing status
What the math accounts for
- Buying. Down payment + mansion tax + mortgage recording tax (condos) + title insurance (condos) + attorney. Monthly: P&I, maintenance/CC, property tax, insurance — less mortgage interest deduction (first $750K of debt).
- Selling at horizon. 6% broker, NYC + NY State transfer taxes, co-op flip tax, attorney, capital gains tax (federal 20% + NIIT 3.8% + NY State 6.85% + NYC 3.876%, less primary-residence exclusion).
- Renting. Rent rises annually. Down payment + closing kept invested at your specified ROI. Monthly differential between rent and buy also invested.
Why generic calculators get NYC wrong
- Mansion tax cliff. Generic calculators miss the 1–3.9% cliff at $1M, $2M, $3M, $5M+ thresholds.
- Condo mortgage recording tax. 1.8–1.925% of the loan amount — generic calcs don’t add it.
- Co-op flip tax. 1–3% of sale price on the way out. Adds up over time.
- SALT cap. OBBBA raised the SALT cap to $40K for 2025–2029 (was $10K), phasing out 30% per dollar above $500K MAGI down to $10K at $600K+, then reverting to $10K in 2030. But NY State + NYC income tax at top brackets already exceeds $40K, so for most Manhattan luxury buyers property tax deduction is still effectively zero. Generic calculators wrongly credit a full deduction.
- Mortgage interest cap. Deductible on the first $750K of mortgage debt only — made permanent by OBBBA in 2025 (was scheduled to revert to $1M, now stays at $750K indefinitely).
What the answer means
- Break-even year. The point where the appreciation + principal paydown + tax benefits overtake the rent-and-invest scenario.
- Manhattan break-even. Usually falls in years 4–7 in stable markets. Below 3 years, almost always rent. Above 8 years with low rates, almost always buy.
- Net wealth. Your liquid + asset position at horizon end. Apples-to-apples comparison assuming same income.
Looking at a specific apartment?
The number that matters isn’t the generic break-even — it’s whether the building’s actual maintenance trend, flip tax, and board culture line up with your time horizon. A 30-minute call gets you that read.
Schedule a consultation →