Effective July 1, 2025, New York State implemented a significant amendment to Section 6 of its Tax Law. This amendment changed how tax warrants operate in terms of impacting title to real (and personal) property and has created broad-reaching implications for real estate transactions throughout the State.
Under the amended law, any tax warrant duly filed with the New York Department of State automatically becomes a statewide lien (within all sixty-two (62) counties) on all real and personal property owned by a taxpayer, including after-acquired property. It remains to be determined whether individual warrants will also be filed in each County Clerk’s Office.
Traditionally, real estate attorneys and title companies only needed to search for tax warrants at the county level. With this change, a tax warrant filed centrally with the Department of State will attach to any real estate owned anywhere in New York, even if that county has no separate record of it. Therefore, searches for warrants will need to include both the local County Clerk’s Offices and the Department of State.
Liens that were previously “invisible” in local records could now cloud titles and go undetected unless statewide searches are conducted. The fact that the new law explicitly applies to after-acquired property has further implications. If a taxpayer purchases a home after a warrant is filed, the lien attaches to the new home automatically. Unresolved tax liens can complicate or prevent closings altogether. Sellers may be forced to resolve outstanding tax debts or negotiate payoff agreements on short notice.
At Newman & Lickstein, we work closely with buyers, sellers, brokers, and title professionals to ensure real estate transactions proceed smoothly, especially under complex legal frameworks like this. If you have concerns about how this law may impact a deal, contact us today.
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