A buyer's premium is the fee an auction house adds on top of the hammer price of a lot, paid entirely by the winning bidder, and it now runs as high as 28 percent on the first $2 million of any purchase at Sotheby's New York saleroom, a rate that took effect February 13, 2026, according to the house's own guidance for buyers.
What Is a Buyer's Premium?
A buyer's premium is a percentage-based charge that an auction house adds to the hammer price — the final accepted bid — and collects from the buyer as its own commission on the sale. Sotheby's describes it plainly: the premium "is added to the hammer price of each lot offered and is payable by the buyer," landing on the final invoice alongside any applicable taxes and artist resale rights, according to Sotheby's help center guidance for buyers.
The premium is distinct from the seller's commission, a separate fee the consignor negotiates directly with the house. Together the two fees are how Sotheby's, Christie's, and their competitors monetize a sale beyond simply matching a buyer to a seller.
How Is the Buyer's Premium Calculated?
The buyer's premium is calculated as a tiered percentage of the hammer price: the rate steps down as the hammer price climbs into higher brackets, and it varies by sale location and currency. In New York, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, Sotheby's current structure charges 28 percent on the portion of the hammer price up to $2 million, 22 percent on the portion between $2 million and $8 million, and 15 percent above $8 million, per the house's published rate guidance.
A separate, flat structure applies outside fine art: Sotheby's Global Wines & Spirits sales carry a 24 percent premium on all hammer prices, plus an additional 1 percent overhead premium. Rates in Paris, Cologne, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, and London follow comparable tiered structures denominated in euros, Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars, Swiss francs, and pounds sterling, respectively, rather than dollars.
How Do Sotheby's and Christie's Buyer's Premiums Compare Right Now?
Both houses raised their lowest-tier rates within the past year, narrowing whatever gap once separated their fee schedules. The table below sets out what is publicly confirmed for each house's entry-level tier.
| House | Entry-tier rate | Entry-tier threshold | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sotheby's (New York) | 28% | Up to $2,000,000 | February 13, 2026 |
| Sotheby's (New York), prior rate | 27% | Up to $1,000,000 | Before February 2026 |
| Christie's | 27% | Up to $1,500,000 | September 2025 |
| Christie's, prior rate | 26% | Up to $1,000,000 | Before September 2025 |
The change is more than cosmetic. Sotheby's previous 22 percent tier had applied to hammer prices between $1 million and $8 million; under the new schedule, that band starts at $2 million instead, meaning lots that hammer between $1 million and $2 million — a heavily trafficked bracket — now carry the top 28 percent rate rather than 22 percent, according to reporting from The Art Newspaper. Christie's move in September 2025 followed the same logic: raising the rate that applies to lower-value lots specifically, rather than the marquee evening-sale trophies that dominate headlines.
Why Are Buyer's Premiums Rising in 2026?
The fee increases follow three consecutive years of a softer art market, and the houses are aiming the higher rates at the part of the business that has held up best: lower-priced lots, where demand has stayed relatively resilient even as the top of the market cooled, according to The Art Newspaper's account of the Sotheby's change.
The timing carried an added financial dimension. Weeks before the premium increase, Sotheby's Financial Services closed a $900 million asset-backed securitisation on February 3, 2026 — a deal giving the house earlier access to revenue from its art-secured lending business in exchange for bonds sold to investors, The Art Newspaper reported. No Sotheby's spokesperson commented on the premium change itself when asked.
Sotheby's has been burned by fee restructuring before. In early 2024 the house attempted a more sweeping overhaul of its commission structure, a move chief executive Charles Stewart later acknowledged "proved less attractive to potential sellers," and Sotheby's reversed course within the year, per the same Art Newspaper reporting. The 2026 adjustment is narrower by comparison: a rate and threshold change rather than a full restructuring.
Why Do Auction Houses Charge a Buyer's Premium at All?
Sotheby's and Christie's introduced the modern buyer's premium in 1975, at 10 percent; five decades later, the top rate at major houses has nearly tripled, reaching as high as 30 percent, according to an explainer published by artnet News. The rationale offered by the trade is one of service and vetting, not simply markup.
"This equates to a level of trust and research executed by the auction house," Jason Rulnick of artnet Auctions told artnet News, framing the fee as compensation for "an important service" that includes vetting works and "making a transparent marketplace." A typical house commission — the combined take from both the buyer's premium and the seller's fee — runs 20 to 25 percent, artnet News reported, while the seller's own commission separately ranges from 5 to 10 percent depending on the consignment.
Does the Buyer's Premium Affect What the Seller Receives?
The buyer's premium itself is not deducted from the consignor's proceeds — it is a charge on top of the hammer price, paid by the buyer. The seller's own return depends instead on the separate seller's commission negotiated with the house, along with the hammer price the lot achieves. The two fees are structurally distinct even though both are set by the auction house running the sale.
How Does the Buyer's Premium Affect Reported Sale Prices?
Pre-sale estimates are published without the buyer's premium included, but the "sold for" figure announced after the auction — the one that ends up in headlines — includes it. That mismatch can flatter a result: a lot whose hammer price technically missed its low estimate can still be reported at a total that appears to clear it once the premium is added in, per artnet News's account of how the fee shapes public perception of results.
The same gap works in the other direction for consignors. A seller unfamiliar with the mechanics of the fee may not realize that close to 30 percent of an advertised sale price is the auction house's premium, not proceeds passed to them. Industry defenders maintain the trade-off is still worthwhile: for all its opacity around individual invoices, the live-auction model remains, in Rulnick's characterization, "one of the most transparent platforms for buying and selling art," since hammer prices and bidding are conducted in public view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the buyer's premium included in an auction house's pre-sale estimate?
No. Pre-sale estimates reflect only the expected hammer price. The buyer's premium is added afterward, on top of whatever price the lot actually hammers at, and is layered onto the final invoice along with applicable taxes.
Who pays the buyer's premium — the buyer or the seller?
The buyer pays it. Sotheby's states the premium "is added to the hammer price of each lot offered and is payable by the buyer," separate from any commission the seller has agreed to with the auction house.
What is Sotheby's current buyer's premium rate in New York?
As of February 13, 2026, it is 28 percent on the portion of the hammer price up to $2 million, 22 percent between $2 million and $8 million, and 15 percent above $8 million, per Sotheby's published guidance for buyers.
Why did Sotheby's raise its buyer's premium in February 2026?
The house was aiming to recover revenue after three years of a softer market by raising rates on lower-priced, higher-demand lots, weeks after closing a $900 million asset-backed securitisation tied to its lending business, The Art Newspaper reported.
For more context, read How the buyer's premium works at Christie's and Sotheby's.
For more context, read Developing Countries' Debt Payments Hit A 50-Year High.