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How long does the estate tax lien release take?

Three to four weeks on average for a complete application, plus seven to ten business days for mailing, by the Tax Department's own figures. It runs alongside the sale, not after it, so it rarely has to hold up a closing if it is filed early.

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What it is

New York places an estate tax lien on a deceased owner's real property. A release of that lien, Form ET-117, is generally needed before the home can transfer out of the decedent's name. The Tax Department lists one common exception: where the decedent and a surviving spouse were the only joint tenants.

The application is filed by the estate's representative, in practice through the estate's attorney or CPA. Whether the estate owes New York estate tax is a separate question for them; the release is the document the closing needs.

Where it sits in the sale

The release does not wait for a buyer. In the program's sequence it starts as soon as the estate has its representative and runs while the home is cleared, priced and shown. A closing that stalls on ET-117 is almost always one where nobody filed it until the contract was signed.

See where it falls on the timeline for your dates.

3 to 4 weeks

Average processing

For a complete application, per the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance (source).

7 to 10 business days

Mailing

On top of processing, for the release to arrive by mail (same source).

Co-ops too

Not just houses

Most Bayside estate sales are co-op apartments (66 of 120 in 2025), and the lien release comes up at those closings as well.

Start here

Bayside only: 11360, 11361 and 11364. Text, call or email. The first conversation and the value letter cost nothing.

Helpful to have ready

  • The property address, and the building and apartment for a co-op
  • The date of death
  • Whether the court has issued letters yet
  • Your role: executor, administrator, heir, CPA or attorney

At the first real conversation you receive New York's required agency disclosure and housing discrimination disclosure forms.

Text Settle BaysideCall (646) 309-2465

Request a value letter in writing

Sources

  1. Estate tax lien release: NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Release of estate tax lien.
  2. Sales counts and prices: NYC Department of Finance ACRIS records (NYC Open Data) matched to tax lots in NYC PLUTO, ZIP codes 11360, 11361 and 11364, compiled by Settle Bayside. A sale is a deed or co-op transfer tax filing of $25,000 or more. An estate sale is one where the recorded seller is an estate, executor or administrator; a few sales with abbreviated seller names may be missed, so estate counts are a floor.