As an exciting Spring 2026 auction season approaches, major auction houses have implemented changes to their buyer’s premiums. Buyer’s premiums, which are fees paid by the buyer on top of the hammer price, are determined by each auction house.  And understanding these costs is an important consideration for savvy collectors preparing their bidding strategies. Sotheby’s has implemented some important changes in calculating buyer’s premiums.  Sotheby’s, like many other auctioneers, uses a tiered structure for buyer’s premium fees; the applicable premium depends on the hammer price, as reflected in the chart below.   
 

	Sotheby’s Hammer Price	Premium
Low-Tier	$2 million (USD) or below	28%
Mid-Tier	$2 million (USD) - $8 million (USD)	22%
High-Tier	Above $8 million (USD)	15%

 
In February 2026, Sotheby’s increased its buyer’s premiums across global auctions for the low- and mid-tiers. The lower-tier premium increased from 27% to 28%, and the corresponding hammer price upper limit was raised from $1 million to $2 million (USD).  At the same time, the lower threshold for the mid-tier increased to $2 million.  These changes mirror similar adjustments implemented by Christie’s in September 2025 (raising premiums to 27% and increasing the low-tier limit to $1.5 million), as well as Phillips (29% up to a $2 million limit in the low-tier).
 

	Christie’s Hammer Price	Premium
Low-Tier	$1.5 million (USD) or below	27%
Mid-Tier	$1.5 million (USD) - $8 million (USD)	22%
High-Tier	Above $8 million (USD)	15%

 

	Phillips Hammer Price	Premium
Low-Tier	$2 million (USD) or below	29%
Mid-Tier	$2 million (USD) - $8 million (USD)	22%
High-Tier	Above $8 million (USD)	15%

 
In addition to last fall’s increase in buyer’s premiums, Phillips also introduced in 2025 a new priority bidding approach to their sales, which allows bidders to secure a discounted buyer’s premium by submitting a binding written bid which matches or exceeds the published low estimate.  This bid, which must be submitted at least 48 hours before the auction starts, reduces the buyer’s premium by between 1% and 4%, depending on the tier.  This priority bidding approach, in combination with Phillips’ recent tweaks to buyer’s premiums, allows the auction house to secure revenue while mitigating sale risks.

These hikes in buyer’s premiums are taking place against the backdrop of some overall trends. According to Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026, the “higher end” ($1 million to $10 million) of the market performed well in 2025, with 15% growth by volume in the $1 million to $10 million segment, and by 30% in the $10 million-plus segment—but at the same time, segments below $250,000 remained stagnant.  So as sales volume grows within the $1 million - $10 million range, increasing buyer’s premiums in those corresponding tiers enables auction houses to generate higher revenue.

Of course, buyer’s premiums are an important consideration in auction bidding, but potential bidders should consider many other factors as well in planning for a purchase at auction—including condition reports, provenance, comparable sales, shipping and insurance costs, and more.  We’ll be watching the spring auctions to see how these changes in buyer’s premiums might impact sales and volume performance. 

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