Taxes, Assessments and Real Estate Mathematics
Ten hours: the broker course's 3-hour Taxes and Assessments chapter, of which two hours must cover assessment exemptions, the salesperson course's 3-hour Taxes and Assessments subject, its 3 hours on income tax issues in real estate transactions, and its single hour of real estate mathematics.
Transfer taxes
Tax Law § 1402(a) imposes the state real estate transfer tax on each conveyance where the consideration exceeds $500, 'at the rate of two dollars for each five hundred dollars or fractional part thereof'. A $450,000 house is 900 units of $500, so the tax is $1,800. For a one, two or three-family house or an individual residential condominium unit, and for any conveyance under $500,000, the consideration excludes the value of a lien or encumbrance remaining at conveyance, so an assumed mortgage does not inflate the base. Tax Law § 1404 makes the grantor liable unless the grantor is exempt or fails to pay, in which case it falls on the grantee. Tax Law § 1402-a adds a further tax on a conveyance of residential real property 'when the consideration for the entire conveyance is one million dollars or more', at one percent — and reverses the usual rule, because § 1402-a(b) provides that 'the additional tax imposed by this section shall be paid by the grantee'. The threshold is a cliff rather than a bracket. New York City imposes its own transfer taxes on top of the state's.
Assessment, equalization and exemptions
Real Property Tax Law § 305(2) requires that 'all real property in each assessing unit shall be assessed at a uniform percentage of value (fractional assessment)', with an exception for a city of a million or more that had a classified standard before 1981. Uniformity is the rule; full value is not. That is why § 1202 has the state commissioner ascertain, for each city, town and village, 'the percentage of full value at which taxable real property … is assessed' — the state equalization rate. Full value is assessed value divided by that rate, so a $180,000 assessment in a town at 50 percent indicates $360,000 of full value. Without it, a county or school district spanning several towns could not apportion a levy fairly. The two required hours on exemptions cover senior citizen, veteran, disability, STAR, governmental, organizational and PILOT programs. Real Property Tax Law § 425 provides two forms of STAR: basic, and enhanced 'for property owned by senior citizens who satisfy the criteria set forth in both subdivisions three and four'. Many owners now receive STAR as a credit against state income tax rather than as a reduction on the school bill, so a buyer cannot assume a seller's benefit carries over.
The arithmetic the exam actually uses
One curriculum hour is set aside for mathematics, but the calculations appear throughout. Percentages and commission splits; area and acreage; proration of taxes, rent and fuel at closing; loan-to-value and one month's interest on a declining balance; capitalization, gross income multipliers and debt coverage on income property; absorption periods on new development; and the transfer and equalization computations above. Two habits prevent most errors. First, identify the base before dividing: a rate is applied to value, an equalization rate converts assessment to full value by division rather than multiplication, and a multiplier converts income to price. Second, check the period — an income figure may be monthly or annual, and a gross rent multiplier of 12 on monthly rent describes a completely different property from a gross income multiplier of 12 on annual income.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- Prelicensing education
- 152 total hours (77-hour salesperson + 75-hour broker qualifying course)
- Time limit
- 150 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in New York?
The New York Department of State (DOS), Division of Licensing Services, licenses real estate brokers and salespersons under Real Property Law article 12-A and the rules at 19 NYCRR parts 175 to 179. New York writes and administers its licensing exam itself, at DOS exam sites scheduled through eAccessNY, rather than through PSI, Pearson VUE or any other outside vendor.
What experience do I need before the New York broker exam?
Real Property Law § 441(1)(b) requires either two years of active participation as a licensed real estate salesperson under a broker's supervision, or the equivalent experience in the general real estate business for at least three years. The experience is documented on the point schedule at 19 NYCRR § 179.3, where 3,500 points equal two years of full-time experience, a residential sale is worth 250 points and an exclusive listing 10. On top of that comes 152 hours of approved qualifying education — the 77-hour salesperson course plus the 75-hour broker course — and Real Property Law § 440-a sets the minimum age for a broker at 20.
How is the New York broker exam structured?
DOS publishes four facts about the paper and no more: it is multiple choice, it is "based on the 152-hour pre-licensing curriculum", applicants "will be allowed 2 1/2 hours to complete the test", and "all exam results are reported as either passed or failed; you will not receive a numerical score". There is no published item count, no published passing percentage and no content outline anywhere on dos.ny.gov — so treat any source that quotes a New York broker question count or topic breakdown as quoting something the Department has never published. There is also no separate national portion; the single state-written exam covers the whole 152-hour curriculum.
What does the 152-hour curriculum actually cover?
It is fixed in regulation, not just in the syllabus PDFs. 19 NYCRR § 176.3 prints the 77-hour salesperson course as 19 subjects, led by Law of Agency (11 hours), Legal Issues (10), Commercial and Investment Properties (10) and Human Rights and Fair Housing (6). 19 NYCRR § 176.4 prints the 75-hour broker course as 11 chapters, led by Agency Law, License Law and Operating a Real Estate Office (26 hours) and Advanced Fair Housing and Fair Lending (13), and requires completion of both courses. Because DOS names the full 152 hours as the exam's basis, material built on the 75-hour broker course alone misses whole subjects — Commercial and Investment Properties, Condominiums and Cooperatives, Municipal Agencies and Property Insurance among them.
Sources: https://dos.ny.gov/become-real-estate-broker, https://dos.ny.gov/real-estate-broker-frequently-asked-questions, https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/10/reb-syllabus-2022.pdf, https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/10/res-syllabus-2022.pdf, https://dos.ny.gov/real-estate-license-law
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