Skip to main content
TheSkylane
Post a role →
Crowds on Fifth Avenue in New York outside the Apple Store on Black Friday.
Layover guideNew York · JFK

What to buy in New York

Clothing and shoes under $110 per item are completely tax-free in NYC; most everything else adds 8.875% at the register.

JoeInQueens from Queens, USA / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
All of New York

Clothing and footwear under $110 per item are fully exempt from all sales tax in New York City — state, local and MCTD — per the NY tax department (Pub 718-C, effective March 2025). The threshold is per item, not per receipt, so splitting a basket of sub-$110 pieces is all tax-free.

Most other purchases carry 8.875% sales tax added at the register — sticker prices never include it. Most grocery food and prescription drugs are also untaxed.

Where to buy what, per the official tourism board: Fifth Avenue (Bryant Park to Central Park South) mixes luxury flagships with mass-market retail; Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side is the high-end designer strip; SoHo is boutiques and vintage luxury; the Lower East Side and Nolita are independent labels.

  1. NY State Department of Taxation and Finance (Pub 718-C) · checked 2026-08-18
  2. NY State Department of Taxation and Finance (TB-ST-122) · checked 2026-08-18
  3. NYC Tourism + Conventions (tipping and sales tax) · checked 2026-08-18
  4. NYC Tourism + Conventions (shopping guide) · checked 2026-08-18

The rest of New York

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportYellow cabs run to Manhattan on a published flat rate from official stands at every terminal, and the AirTrain links the terminals to the subway and the Long Island Rail Road.Ride-hailingUber and Lyft operate at JFK, but the pickup point is not always the kerb: Terminals 5 and 7 send you out to Howard Beach on the AirTrain.Local laws that catch crew outTwo legal systems apply at once, and cannabis is the trap: legal to buy in New York State, illegal to take out of the state or the country.Staying connectedFree unlimited wifi at all Port Authority airports, no time limit.WeatherFour real seasons: 30C summers, snowy sub-zero winters, rain possible any month; hurricane season peaks Sep.Eating near the crew hotelsFood halls are the crew move — one roof, many vendors, long hours; Chelsea Market runs 7am-10pm daily.TippingTip 18-20% at restaurants (not included in the bill), $1+/drink at bars, 15-20% in taxis — it is wages, not extra.