Trump Gets Tax Abatement for His “Primary Residence” in New York

Earlier this year, property managers were wailing about the onerous task of proving that condo apartments were the owner’s primary residence – a prerequisite for the city’s property tax abatements for residents of co-ops and condos that can be as high as 28.1 percent of the tax bill. 

President Donald Trump will save nearly $45,000 this year by declaring his Trump Tower triplex his “primary residence” – even though he sleeps most nights in a very large white house in Washington, D.C., the Real Deal reports. Co-op and condo owners have to file for the abatement between December and March, and eligibility is based on the owner’s status as of Jan. 5 of that tax year. Because Trump Tower was Trump’s primary residence on January 5, 2017, his abatement appears to be perfectly legal – if not ethically pristine. 

It’s unlikely that Trump can claim the penthouse as his primary residence next year while living in the White House, according to multiple real estate tax lawyers and building managers. Trump almost certainly won’t be spending the requisite number of days in New York to claim residency. And even if his wife Melania did, it’s unlikely that would help Trump’s claim because she is not on the deed, says Tom Schmitt, the CFO of Charles H. Greenthal Management, a property management firm. In New York it’s illegal to claim primary residency in more than one state.

This tax year, the savings represent 17.5 percent of Trump’s $255,000 tax bill for the golden unit, according to an analysis of documents from the city’s Department of Finance by The Real Deal. Over the last five years, Trump has saved just under $200,000 on his tax bills thanks to this abatement,

In 2010, then-President Barack Obama listed 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as his address on his federal tax filings, but continued to pay state taxes in Illinois, where he owned a home, filings show.