NYC Mayor Proposes Property Tax Hike to Fill $5B Budget Gap

Mamdani looks to raise taxes, tap reserves to address city's fiscal woes

Feb. 18, 2026 at 9:31pm

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is proposing raising the city's property taxes for the first time in over 20 years and tapping into reserve funds to fill a roughly $5 billion budget shortfall.

Why it matters

The proposed tax hike and reserve fund withdrawals highlight the significant fiscal challenges facing New York City, which has been grappling with the economic fallout of the pandemic and other budgetary pressures.

The details

Mayor Mamdani's plan calls for raising property taxes, which have remained unchanged since the early 2000s, as well as drawing from the city's reserve funds to address the $5 billion budget gap. New York City Comptroller Mark Levine described the mayor's proposal as a "pretty extreme option" that combines tax increases and reserve fund tapping along with "aggressive revenue projections".

  • The property tax hike would mark the first increase in over 20 years.

The players

Zohran Mamdani

The current mayor of New York City who is proposing the property tax hike and reserve fund withdrawals to address the city's budget shortfall.

Mark Levine

The New York City Comptroller who described the mayor's proposal as a "pretty extreme option".

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What they’re saying

“He's put a pretty extreme option on the table, which is a combination of raising property taxes and taking money from reserves and relying on some pretty aggressive revenue projections to boot.”

— Mark Levine, New York City Comptroller (Bloomberg)

What’s next

The mayor's proposal will need to be approved by the New York City Council before any changes to property taxes or reserve fund withdrawals can be implemented.

The takeaway

New York City is facing significant fiscal challenges, and the mayor's proposal to raise property taxes and tap into reserve funds highlights the difficult decisions city leaders must make to address the budget shortfall.