Your children are grown and on their own. The house seems too large for your current needs and if you have to shovel one more snow-covered driveway, then get ready for non-stop screaming. So you put your home on the market and it actually sells pretty fast. If that house is located in NYC, you have some surprises coming at the closing table. Suddenly, you have two uncles with their hands firmly in your pocket. Uncle Elliot ( via the NYS real estate transfer tax) will cost you $ 4.00 per $ 1,000 of the final purchase price. With the average detached one family home selling in Queens for $ 600,000, you going-away gift to NYS is $ 2,400. If you think you are finished, guess again. There's Uncle Mike (via the NYC real estate property transfer tax) who expects you to fork over 1.0% of the purchase price up to $ 500,000 and 1.425% on any portion of the sales price above $ 500,000. Using our earlier example of selling a home for $ 600,000, be prepared to see another $ 6,425 stay within the boundaries of the "Big Apple". Close to $ 9,000 gone and not even an invitation to spend the next holiday with your newly found relatives. This really gives meaning to the slogan that "you can't pick your relatives"!