Buyer's premiums go up again: 28% at Sotheby's and Christie's, 30% at Bonhams, and what a 1 million dollar lot now costs
Sotheby's raised its buyer's premium to 28% on hammer prices up to 2 million dollars in February 2026, Christie's matched it on 1 September and Bonhams moved to a 30% first band on 1 October. Two years after Sotheby's tried to cut fees, the schedules and the arithmetic.
Buy a painting at Sotheby's or Christie's for a hammer price of 1 million dollars and the invoice now says 1.28 million, before any sales tax. Two years ago, under Sotheby's short-lived simplified scheme, the same lot would have cost 1.2 million.
The 80,000 dollar difference is the story of fees since 2024.
In 2024 Sotheby's cut its buyer's premium to 20% on most lots and 10% on the portion above 6 million dollars, dropped its 1% overhead premium and set a flat seller's fee, The Art Newspaper reported. It did not last. From 17 February 2025 the house went back to 27% up to 1 million dollars, 22% from 1 to 8 million and 15% above, and returned to negotiated terms for sellers. The overhead premium stayed scrapped.
A year later it went further. In February 2026 Sotheby's raised the first band to 28% and stretched it to hammer prices up to 2 million dollars, or 1.5 million pounds in London. The 22% band now runs from 2 to 8 million dollars (1.5 to 6 million pounds) and 15% applies above that, according to Artlyst.
Christie's followed in two steps. In September 2025 it moved to 27% up to 1.5 million dollars, from 26% on the first million, and to 22% up to 8 million, from 21% (Artlyst). From 1 September 2026 it charges 28% up to 2 million dollars, 22% up to 8 million and 15% above, in every department except wine, USA Art News reported on 3 September. The two largest houses now have the same schedule.
Bonhams went higher at the bottom. Since 1 October 2026 it charges 30% on the first 25,000 pounds (35,000 dollars), 28% up to 500,000 pounds, 25% up to 1 million pounds, 21% up to 5 million pounds and 14% above, with wine and whisky, coins and medals, and cars and motorcycles excluded. Phillips charges 29% up to 2 million dollars, 22% up to 8 million and 15% above, according to Grossman LLP, and since 2025 offers a discount of 1 to 4 points to bidders who leave a binding bid at or above the low estimate at least 48 hours before the sale.
Do the sums on a bigger lot. At a hammer of 10 million dollars, the 2026 Sotheby's and Christie's schedule adds 2.18 million: 28% on the first 2 million, 22% on the next 6, 15% on the last 2. That is 21.8% on top. Under Sotheby's 2024 scheme the premium would have been 1.6 million, or 16%. For a buyer, the hammer price is never the price.
It matters for anyone measuring returns on art. A work bought at auction starts the clock with fees of roughly a fifth to more than a quarter of the hammer, and the seller pays commission again on the way out. In Unicorn Art Club the purchase and sale costs are charged to the vehicle at actual cost, with no mark-up, and Unicorn Private takes 20% of the gain only at sale. The guide linked among the sources lists every cost.
Investing involves the risk of losing capital.
Sources
- The Art Newspaper, Sotheby's U-turn on new fees structure, 19 December 2024
- Artlyst, Sotheby's new strategy signals higher auction fees for buyers, 22 February 2026
- Grossman LLP, Spring 2026 auction season: examining recent changes in buyer's premiums, 14 May 2026
- USA Art News, Christie's and Bonhams increase buyer's fees, 3 September 2026
- Unicorn Art Club, guide: how to invest in blue-chip art through Unicorn Art Club