Tax incentive programs and their specific terms change over time. The overview below is directional, not tax or legal advice; always confirm current program details and your property's eligibility before relying on them.

Two of the tax incentive programs that come up most often in NYC development conversations are 467-m and 485-x. Neither one is something you apply for as a seller, but both directly affect what a developer is willing to pay for your site, because they change the economics of what that developer can build and how profitable it will be.

467-m at a glance

467-m is generally aimed at converting older, underused office and commercial buildings into residential use, offering a property tax incentive tied to that conversion. If your building is an office or commercial property that's underperforming, its eligibility for a conversion incentive can be a major factor in how a buyer prices it, sometimes more than the physical condition of the building itself.

485-x at a glance

485-x is the newer program covering new residential construction, generally requiring a share of affordable units in exchange for a property tax benefit on the new building. For a development site being sold for ground-up construction, whether the resulting project would qualify for 485-x (and what that does to projected after-tax returns) is often part of how a developer underwrites their offer.

Why this matters before you sell

A property that qualifies for one of these programs can be worth meaningfully more to the right buyer than an otherwise identical property that doesn't, because the tax benefit changes the project's returns. Knowing which incentive (if any) applies to your site, and being able to speak to it, puts you in a stronger position when offers come in.

What to check before you go to market

  • Whether your building's current use and configuration make it a plausible 467-m conversion candidate
  • Whether new construction on your lot would likely qualify for 485-x, given the applicable affordability requirements
  • Whether your zoning district and lot size support a project large enough for either program to be relevant

These are exactly the kinds of questions worth running before you set an asking price, since the answer can change which buyer pool you should be marketing to.