Do your homework and research title companies and real estate lawyers. There are companies who will execute CEMA transactions at a flat rate. For example, at Titleserv National, a company located in Woodbury, NY they will GUARANTEE that you can execute the refinance as a CEMA in 55 days or less. If not, they will pay the difference on the mortgage tax or any fees to extend rate lock with your lender. Titleserv has 65 banks contractually obligated to obtain assignments and collateral documents to execute the CEMA. This is all at a flat rate of $999 and includes the lender attorney fee, recording of documents, all title serach fees, excrow fees, overnight fees, wire fees, etc.

Get in touch with me for more information.

sberdinka@titleserv.com

Also one thing to note about CEMA's. While they can save you a substantial amount of tax liability, the fees, as discussed below tend to skyrocket in some cases. Lawyers will also typically increase their fees (if you use them during a refinance) because of the sheer amount of paperwork involved. Be on the lookout

Please review the answers from Sunny and Paul. Sunny referred to this as a "tax". It is not legally considered a Tax, only a "fee". Our legislators did not want this fee to be considered a tax, because they realized that they would decrease the NYS tax income. As you probably know, taxes can be reported and deducted on your annual tax returns. You cannot claim this fee as a tax. Please consult with your tax advisor.
This income is split between this City and State and they don't like losing their fee income.
CEMA's are worth the effort. It requires the cooperation of your current lender. They must send the closing attorney the originally recorded documents so that they can be rerecorded with your new mortgage loan docs. Since most lenders are based out of state, they really don't care about your having to pay these fees. If they can't find these docs, you loose. They will charge you at least $600 for their efforts. NY/NYC are also happy when these banks do not cooperate since their fee income is decreased. You still must pay the full fee on the difference between your current balance and the new loan amount.
Your title insurance for lender coverage should also be adjusted accordingly.

Do you mean mortgage tax? When refinancing in ny, you can do what is called a CEMA. You will only pay mortgage tax on the difference of the borrowed money. CEMAs are an extra step in the refinancing process but well worth the savings. sunny_hong@countrywide.com

This is a legal question and you should contact a lawyer or mortgage banker. Tax stamps are not a NYC thing but a way to collect to record your transaction.