NYC 485-x calculator: the tax break that replaced 421-a
485-x — the Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers (ANNY) program — is NYC’s property-tax exemption for new residential construction, enacted April 2024 as the successor to 421-a. Projects of six or more units that include affordable housing skip some or all of their property taxes for 10 to 40 years. Describe your project below to see its tier, its year-by-year schedule, and what the exemption is worth in dollars.
Check a development site’s current tax bill
The “mini tax” is based on what the lot pays today, before construction. Look it up:
How long does the 485-x exemption last?
From 10 to 40 years after completion, plus a 100% construction-period benefit of up to 3–5 years, depending on project size and location:
| Project | Benefit after completion | Affordability | Wage floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150+ units, Wage Zone A Manhattan below 96th St; Greenpoint–Williamsburg; LIC–Hunters Point | 40 years at 100% (+ up to 5 construction years, mini tax waived) | 25% at 60% AMI, weighted average | $72.45/hr or 65% of prevailing, whichever is less |
| 150+ units, Wage Zone B Designated parts of Astoria/LIC (Queens) and Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens–Gowanus, Prospect Heights | 40 years at 100% (+ up to 3 construction years, mini tax waived) | 25% at 60% AMI | $63.00/hr or 60% of prevailing, whichever is less |
| 100+ units, citywide | 35 years at 100% (+ 3 construction years) | 25% at 80% AMI | $40.00/hr |
| 6–99 units, citywide | Years 1–25 at 100%, years 26–35 at your affordable share (20% minimum) | 20% at 80% AMI | None |
| 6–10 units, outside Manhattan, on a zoning lot permitting under 12,500 sq ft residential | 10 years at 100% (+ 3 construction years) | None — 50% of units rent-stabilized instead | None |
| Homeownership, 6+ units outside Manhattan | Years 1–14 at 100%, years 15–20 at 25% (+ 3 construction years) | Average assessed value ≤ $89/sq ft; buyers owner-occupy 5+ years | None under 100 units |
Wage floors are the statutory bases and rise 2.5% each July 1 starting in 2025. Filing fees run about $5,000/unit (100+ units), $4,000/unit (modest and homeownership), $3,000/unit (small).
What is the 485-x mini tax?
The exemption never erases the taxes the land already paid. Throughout the benefit you keep paying tax on the assessed value in place the year before construction started — the “mini tax” — plus any local improvement assessments. Only very large (150+ unit) projects get the mini tax waived, and only during the construction period. That’s why the calculator asks for the site’s current bill: it’s the floor under your savings.
What are the 485-x affordability and rent rules?
Affordable units are permanently affordable and permanently rent-stabilized — no more 35-year expirations. The trade in the other direction: market-rate units are not stabilized at all, where 421-a stabilized every unit during the benefit. Affordable units must share entrances and common areas with market-rate units. The small-building option (6–10 units outside Manhattan) skips income bands entirely and instead rent-stabilizes half the units.
485-x vs 421-a: what changed?
421-a (Affordable New York) expired for projects that started construction after June 15, 2022 (grandfathered projects got a completion extension to 2031). 485-x covers new starts through June 15, 2034 (completion by June 15, 2038) and trades a longer benefit — up to 40 years vs 35 — for permanent affordability and, on 100+ unit projects, construction wage floors. Buying in an existing building with a tax break? That’s likely 421-a — check when it runs out with the 421-a expiration calculator.
Worked example: what is 485-x worth in dollars?
A 120-unit rental in Queens outside the wage zones is the “large” tier: 35 years at 100%. If the finished building would owe $1.2 million a year in property taxes and the site paid $150,000 before construction, the owner keeps paying the $150,000 mini tax and saves about $1.05 million a year — roughly $36.8 million over the benefit, in exchange for 30 permanently affordable units at 80% AMI and a $40/hr construction wage floor.
Figures from RPTL §485-x and HPD’s implementing rules (28 RCNY ch. 63), cross-checked against law-firm program guides; verified August 2026. Savings estimates use a simplified model (constant tax and mini tax). This is a summary, not legal advice — confirm your project’s treatment with HPD or counsel.