UPDATE** On October 8, 2021 Governor Kathy Hochul signed this bill into law.

An important amendment to the Peconic Bay Tax, currently a 2% tax on real estate transfers in the 5 East End towns (East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island, Riverhead, and Southold), has made its way to the Governor’s desk.

Currently, proceeds from the tax can only be used for the towns to purchase land to preserve and for water quality projects. The amendment is to allow the East End towns to raise the tax an additional 0.5% by referendum to create a community housing fund. The fund would, among other things, provide loans and grants to people who live and work in the towns to buy a home, and provide funds to buy existing properties for use by the towns’ affordable housing programs.

Further, the amendment increases the minimum threshold exemption for each town and would increase the purchase price limit for the first-time homebuyer exemption from $863,940 to $1,079,925 for East Hampton, Southampton, and Shelter Island. Please see this post for a greater explanation of the first-time homebuyer exemption.

The amendment was delivered to the Governor on September 28, 2021. She has 30 days to sign the bill into law or it is considered vetoed. We will provide an update on whether the Governor has signed the bill into law. The text of the bill can be found here.

For any questions related to the Peconic Bay Tax, please call our office at 631-527-5103.

PLEASE NOTE that this article is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship and the information within does not substitute for a consultation with an attorney.

Copyright 2021 Crouch McWilliams Law Group, PLLC