Auction buyer’s fees in 2026: 🇬🇧 Bonhams 30%, 🇬🇧 Phillips 29%, 🇬🇧🇺🇸 Christie’s and Sotheby’s 28% — save the majority of the 30% with Stefan Katafai 💰
Dek: From 1 October 2026 Bonhams charges 30% on the first £25,000 of the hammer. Christie’s and Sotheby’s start at 28%. Phillips starts at 29%. Buy quietly off market — Ferrari SP3, Ferrari F80, LaFerrari, Lamborghini, Picasso, Marbella property, yachts — and keep the majority of that 30%. ✂️ Official rate cards linked below.
Winning the lot is not paying for it. 🛎️
At a major auction the hammer is only the start. The house then adds a buyer’s premium — a cut of that hammer, charged in bands — plus tax in many rooms. In 2026 the entry rates at the big international houses sit between 28% and 30%. 📈
Bonhams has now joined the latest round. CEO Seth Johnson has written to clients that the new card applies to sales after 1 October 2026. First change since July 2023. Wine, coins and medals, motor cars and motorcycles stay on the old structure. In the 🇺🇸 United States, arms and armour stay on the old structure too.
A Picasso in the evening sale, a LaFerrari under the lights, a yacht in a catalogue: the room is public, the premium is public, and the invoice is public. Off market is the opposite. Quiet. Named buyers. One price.
The percentages, house by house 🧾
🇬🇧 Bonhams — general art and objects, from 1 October 2026
Official UK card: bonhams.com/how-to-buy/buyers-premium-united-kingdom
Official US card: bonhams.com/how-to-buy/buyers-premium-united-states
30% on the first £25,000.
28% from £25,001 to £500,000.
25% from £500,001 to £1,000,000.
21% from £1,000,001 to £5,000,000.
14% above £5,000,001.
Until 30 September 2026 Bonhams UK is still 28% on the first £40,000, then 27% to £800,000, 21% to £4.5 million, and 14.5% above. The new card raises the floor and slightly cuts the very top. US current general rates (until the house updates that page) are 28% on the first $50,000, 27% to $1 million, 21% to $6 million, 14.5% above.
🇬🇧 Christie’s — London, from 1 September 2026
Official card: christies.com/help/buying-guide-important-information/financial-information
28% up to £1.5 million.
22% from £1,500,001 to £6 million.
15% above £6 million.
🇺🇸 New York is 28% to $2 million, 22% to $8 million, 15% above. 🇫🇷 Paris, 🇨🇭 Geneva, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong and 🇨🇳 Shanghai use the same percentages with local thresholds. Wine is a flat 25% in most rooms. 🚗 Gooding Christie’s cars are much lower (about 12% / 10% in the US).
🇬🇧🇺🇸 Sotheby’s
Official card: help.sothebys.com — What is a buyer’s premium?
28% up to £1.5 million in London, or $2 million in New York / UAE / Saudi Arabia.
22% to £6 million / $8 million.
15% above that.
🍷 Wine and spirits: 24% plus a 1% overhead premium, on the same official page.
🇬🇧 Phillips
Official rate PDF: Phillips Buyer’s Premium Rates (effective 12 April 2026)
Official announcement: phillips.com/press/release/phillips-announces-new-buyers-premium-structure
Priority Bidding rules: Priority Bidding PDF
29% up to £1.5 million (London) or $2 million (New York).
22% to £6 million / $8 million.
15% above.
Leave a binding bid at or above the low estimate at least 48 hours before a live sale and Priority Bidding can cut that to 25% / 20% / 14%. Timed online sales and watches do not always get that discount.
🇺🇸 Heritage Auctions
Official site: ha.com — Heritage prints the premium on each sale and lot page, not one global art-style ladder. How-to note: ha.com/c/ref/web-tips.zx
Usually a flatter 20–25% by category (often about 25% on art and memorabilia, around 22% on some coin and sports sales). Seller commission is often 0%. Different model. Still not a zero-fee room.
Third-party sites can add more. Bonhams still charges 4% of the hammer if you win through Invaluable, LiveAuctioneers, The Saleroom or Lot-tissimo — that fee is stated on the same UK premium page and in sale conditions. In the 🇬🇧 UK, 20% VAT is added to the buyer’s premium.
Motor-car rooms are cheaper than art rooms — Bonhams cars stay at 15% / 12% in the UK, Gooding Christie’s about 12% / 10% in the US — but a Ferrari SP3, F80 or LaFerrari at a seven- or eight-figure hammer still throws a large premium onto the invoice. Off market, that band is not automatic.
What that 30% looks like in cash 🧮
£25,000 hammer after October: about £7,500 premium at Bonhams, £7,000 at Christie’s or Sotheby’s, £7,250 at Phillips.
£100,000: about £28,500 / £28,000 / £29,000.
£500,000: about £140,500 / £140,000 / £145,000.
£1 million: about £265,500 at Bonhams, £280,000 at Christie’s or Sotheby’s, £290,000 at Phillips.
£5 million: about £1.11 million at Bonhams vs about £1.19–£1.21 million at the other three.
£10 million: about £1.81 million at Bonhams vs about £2.01–£2.03 million at the other three.
A mid-level Picasso oil or a serious drawing at £5–10 million in the evening sale is the last row, not a rounding error. A hypercar in the same band is the same maths, even when the car card is 12–15% instead of 30%.
So 🇬🇧 Bonhams is now among the dearest houses on the lots most people buy, and still the cheaper house on trophy lots. 🇬🇧 Christie’s and 🇺🇸 Sotheby’s match each other. 🇬🇧 Phillips is the highest published card unless you use Priority Bidding.
None of that includes VAT, artist’s resale right, shipping, insurance or import. The paddle price is not the invoice. 🧾
Buy quietly off market. Save the majority of the 30%. 🤫
Auction rooms are the right place when the object only exists in that sale. They are the wrong place to give up a 28–30% house slice — or a 12–15% car slice — for something that can be bought privately.
A private deal is not “free.” Sourcing, due diligence and a fair introduction fee still exist. What you do not pay is the auction stack: 30% on the first band, then 28%, then 25%, plus VAT on the premium, plus a possible 4% platform fee. That is how you save the majority of the 30%.
Stefan Katafai sells quietly off market: Email [email protected] with your buy request.
🎨 Art — including Picasso
Oils, works on paper, sculpture and collections. Picasso by introduction, with provenance and condition reviewed before a price is discussed. No evening-sale theatre. No published hammer.
🏎️ Supercars and hypercars off market
Ferrari SP3 (Daytona SP3), Ferrari F80, Ferrari LaFerrari, plus Lamborghini (Revuelto, Sián, few-off Aventador and limited editions) and the rest of the serious garage: special Ferraris, few-offs, low-mileage trophies. Not a Saturday paddle. Not a 15% / 12% motor-car invoice unless that really is the only route.
🏡 Properties in Marbella 🇪🇸
Villas, penthouses and investment homes on the Costa del Sol. Quiet viewings. Not a public catalogue.
🛥️ Super yachts — and Lamborghini-related water too
Motor yachts, sport yachts and collector boats, including the rare Lamborghini / Tecnomar 63 and similar few-off hulls, by introduction. Yard, length and cabin brief first. No saleroom.
No 30% first band. No 29% Phillips opener. No 28% Christie’s / Sotheby’s slice. No 4% platform add-on. You agree a price. Costs sit in one line. You buy the asset, not the auction house’s catalogue, room and app.
A £500,000 art purchase at the majors carries about £140,000–£145,000 of buyer’s premium before tax. A £5 million Picasso or a seven-figure SP3 / F80 / LaFerrari throws six or seven figures onto the same kind of invoice. Keep the majority of that and it is another car, a deposit on a Marbella villa, or a large piece of a yacht refit — instead of a line on the auctioneer’s bill. 💡
How to use this ✍️
If the lot is unique to 🇬🇧 Christie’s, 🇺🇸 Sotheby’s, 🇬🇧 Phillips or 🇬🇧 Bonhams, bid — and add 28–30% plus tax (or 12–15% on cars) before you raise your hand.
If you want to buy quietly off market — Picasso, Ferrari SP3, Ferrari F80, LaFerrari, Lamborghini, Marbella, yacht — ask for a net price first and save the majority of the 30%.
Write with the brief: artist and period, chassis and mileage, Marbella zone, or yacht length and yard. Stefan Katafai will say quickly whether he has it, can source it, or whether the public room is actually the better route. If you transact, the fee is up front. No bands. No “effective 1 October” letter from a CEO. No published result.
Buy quietly off market from Stefan Katafai and save the majority of the 30%. 🇬🇧🇮🇹🇪🇸🇺🇸🇫🇷🇨🇭🇭🇰
Ferrari SP3 · Ferrari F80 · LaFerrari · Lamborghini · Picasso · Marbella · Yachts
Official sources 🔗
- 🇬🇧 Bonhams UK buyer’s premium (current + from 1 October 2026): https://www.bonhams.com/how-to-buy/buyers-premium-united-kingdom/
- 🇺🇸 Bonhams US buyer’s premium: https://www.bonhams.com/how-to-buy/buyers-premium-united-states/
- 🇬🇧🇺🇸 Christie’s financial information / buyer’s premium: https://www.christies.com/help/buying-guide-important-information/financial-information
- 🇬🇧🇺🇸 Sotheby’s “What is a buyer’s premium?”: https://help.sothebys.com/en/support/solutions/articles/44002686902-what-is-a-buyer-s-premium-
- 🇬🇧 Phillips official rate card PDF (12 April 2026): https://www.dist.phillips.com/content/web/docs/forms/BuyersPremium.pdf
- 🇬🇧 Phillips press release: https://www.phillips.com/press/release/phillips-announces-new-buyers-premium-structure
- 🇬🇧 Phillips Priority Bidding: https://www.dist.phillips.com/content/web/docs/forms/PriorityBidding.pdf
- 🇺🇸 Heritage Auctions: https://www.ha.com/ — premium is printed per sale / lot; bidding notes at https://ha.com/c/ref/web-tips.zx
Houses still vary by city and department. Availability of any named car, yacht or Picasso is by private introduction and subject to ownership, inspection and title. Always read the conditions of the specific sale if you bid.
