He moved to Florida in 2019 and kept the Manhattan apartment. New York now wants $101,000 a year
A Florida move saved on income tax until New York noticed the apartment still claimed to be home. A change of domicile only counts if every record agrees.
By Sean Anees Saifi · Capital Wealth · Published Friday, October 16, 2026 · Source: The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, October 15, 2026, whose market figures are the Wednesday, October 14 close (U.S. News)
Key Points
New York City’s new pied-à-terre tax targets homes worth $5 million or more whose owners live mainly elsewhere.
Steve Witkoff made Miami Beach his primary home in 2019, but his Manhattan apartment kept a $24,000-a-year primary-residence abatement.
He repaid nearly $78,000 for the years he didn’t qualify and faces a $101,000-a-year surcharge, more than doubling his property-tax bill.
A Journal review of public records found other Florida residents collecting the city’s abatement for years after they stopped qualifying.
The city has added staff to check which apartments are second homes and to handle appeals.
$5 million
home value where the pied-à-terre tax starts
$101,000
Witkoff’s new annual surcharge on the Manhattan apartment
$24,000
yearly primary-residence abatement he gave up
$78,000
repaid to the city for years he wasn’t eligible
The apartment kept claiming to be a primary residence for years after its owner registered to vote in Florida.
In one line: A Florida declaration of domicile doesn’t help if the New York apartment still claims the primary-residence break, and the city now checks.
Steve Witkoff moved his home to Miami Beach in 2019. He registered to vote there and filed a Florida declaration of domicile. His Manhattan apartment kept getting a New York City tax break meant for primary residences. Now the bill has come. He gave up the $24,000-a-year abatement, repaid nearly $78,000 for the years he didn’t qualify, and faces a new $101,000-a-year surcharge on top.
The surcharge is Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new pied-à-terre tax. It hits homes worth $5 million or more when the owner’s main home is outside the city. Witkoff, 69, is a special envoy for the Trump administration. His representatives say he didn’t know he was getting the abatement. His lawyer says the condo’s property manager never told him he had to report the move. His wife, from whom he’s separated, lived in the apartment until 2023, then moved to Miami Beach herself. The abatement kept flowing. With the new surcharge, his property-tax bill more than doubles.
He’s not alone. The Journal’s review of public records in New York and Florida found other Florida residents who kept collecting the city’s primary-residence abatement for years after they stopped qualifying. The city has hired people to check which apartments are really second homes and to handle appeals. James Fanelli, Deborah Acosta and Caitlin Ostroff report the story. The politics of the tax aren’t our subject. The paperwork is.
Our read
This is Tax, with a side of Housing, M6. The lesson travels well beyond New York. A move changes your domicile only if every record says so, and that includes the records you forgot about. The voter card and the driver’s license are the easy ones. The property-tax bill on the house you kept is the one people miss. If it still claims you live there, a city or county can come back for the years you didn’t qualify, and nobody sends a reminder. A CPA or a tax attorney should paper a two-state move. We’ll tell you which questions to bring them.
Your check this week, if you own two homes or plan to, is the property-tax bill on each one. Look for the homeowners’ exemption or any primary-residence break, and make sure it’s claimed only where you actually live and vote. California readers moving part-time to Nevada, Arizona or Texas get the same test in reverse, and the Franchise Tax Board asks it. Bring both bills to a review and we’ll walk the list with you. It’s cheaper to fix a form than to repay the break.
What It Means For Your Portfolio
Watch. Claim a primary residence in one place only
A domicile change has to be carried through every filing, or the break you no longer qualify for comes back as a bill.
General planning principles, not advice for anyone in particular. When you move, update every record that assumes where you live: voter registration, driver’s license, the address on your tax return, and the primary-residence exemption on each property-tax bill.
Two-home households should keep a simple domicile file, with days spent in each state, and have a CPA or tax attorney review it. Stale claims tend to surface years later, when the back bill is largest.
