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New York sales tax, explained.

Thresholds, rates, taxability, filing schedules, and the NY Department of Taxation and Finance — everything a remote seller needs to know about New York, on one page.

Economic nexus threshold
$500,000
Statewide base rate
4%
Transaction threshold
100
New York CityBuffaloRochesterAlbanySyracuse
New York · major filing jurisdictions
Nexus · New York

When you owe sales tax in New York.

New York uses a two-part AND test for economic nexus — both conditions must be met in the preceding 12 months before you are obligated to register and collect. Physical presence alone also creates the obligation from the first sale.

Economic nexus
Threshold
$500,000 in receipts from sales of tangible personal property delivered in New York AND more than 100 separate sales transactions delivered in the state
Measurement type
Sales AND transactions — both thresholds must be exceeded; exceeding only one does not trigger nexus
Measurement period
Preceding 12 months (rolling)
Included
Gross receipts from sales of tangible personal property delivered into New York; exempt sales, resale transactions, and marketplace sales all count toward the dollar threshold per TSB-M-19(4)S
Marketplaces
Marketplace sales count toward your threshold — sales made through Amazon, Etsy, or other registered marketplace facilitators are included in your gross receipt and transaction counts
Physical nexus
Employees / remote staffOffice or business locationWarehouse · 3PL · FBA inventoryAgents or representativesConstruction or installation sites

Any physical presence in New York — including inventory stored in a third-party fulfillment or FBA warehouse — creates nexus from the very first sale, with no dollar threshold required.

Rates · New York

What you'll collect, city by city.

New York's 4% state rate is the floor. Counties and New York City layer additional rates on top, so the combined rate at the delivery address determines what you charge.

JurisdictionCombined rateTangible propertyDigital goodsSaaSServices
New YorkStatewide base rate4%4%0%4%0%
New York City8.875%8.875%0%8.875%0%
Buffalo8.75%8.75%0%8.75%0%
Rochester8%8%0%8%0%
Albany8%8%0%8%0%
Syracuse8%8%0%8%0%

Combined rates include the 4% New York state rate plus applicable county and city rates. New York City's 8.875% includes the city's 4.5% local rate and the 0.375% Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge. Digital goods and most services are not taxed in New York. Rates verified as of June 11, 2026.

Need the exact rate for a New York address or invoice? Our calculator returns the combined state, county, and city rate for any New York ZIP code.

Open the sales tax calculator
Taxability · New York

Is your product taxable in New York?

New York taxes tangible goods and prewritten software broadly, but exempts most digital products and professional services — a meaningful distinction for technology and media businesses.

Product categoryStatusWhat to know
Tangible personal propertyTaxablePhysical goods delivered into New York are taxable at the combined rate of the delivery address.
SaaS & cloud softwareTaxableNew York treats remotely accessed prewritten software as taxable regardless of whether it is delivered electronically or via the cloud — both B2B and B2C subscriptions are subject to tax.
Digital goodsNot taxableElectronically delivered digital products — such as e-books, digital music, and streamed video — are generally exempt under New York's sales tax law.
Professional servicesNot taxableConsulting, legal, accounting, design, and similar professional services are exempt from New York sales tax.
Prewritten (canned) software on physical mediaTaxablePrewritten software delivered on a physical medium such as a DVD or USB drive is treated as tangible personal property and is fully taxable.
Bundled hardware + softwarePartialThe hardware is taxable; separately-stated charges for custom software may be exempt while prewritten components remain taxable. Itemize your invoices clearly.
Filings · New York

Filing schedules and due dates.

The NY Department of Taxation and Finance assigns your filing frequency at registration based on expected annual sales tax liability and adjusts it over time. Returns are required for every assigned period even when no tax is due.

FrequencyReturnDue dateWho it applies to
QuarterlyMost commonForm ST-100, New York State and Local Quarterly Sales and Use Tax Return20th day of the month following the end of the quarter — March 20, June 20, September 20, December 20The default assignment for most remote sellers with moderate New York liability
Quarterly with monthly prepaymentsForm ST-100 with monthly prepayment scheduleQuarterly return due 20th of the month after quarter-end; monthly prepayments due the 20th of each intervening monthHigher-volume sellers whose annual liability exceeds the prepayment threshold set by the Department
AnnualForm ST-101, New York State and Local Annual Sales and Use Tax ReturnMarch 20 for the preceding March 1 – February 28 annual periodSmall sellers with low annual New York sales tax liability, as assigned by the Department

Crossed the threshold, or about to?

A Commenda expert will review your New York exposure, register you with the NY Department of Taxation and Finance, and take over the filing calendar — usually within a week.

The state authority

NY Department of Taxation and Finance.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance administers all state and local sales tax through a single online portal. One account covers registration, quarterly or annual filing, and payment — no separate county or city portals for standard sellers.

tax.ny.gov

Registration requires a Tax Portal username and password. Have your business entity details, responsible-party information, and a State Tax ID (if already assigned) ready before you begin.

What you can do there
  • Register as a sales tax vendor

    Register online through the NY Tax Portal. Out-of-state sellers with no physical presence register as non-resident vendors.

  • File returns and pay

    Quarterly and annual returns, prepayments, and amendments are all filed and paid through the same NY Tax Portal account.

  • Look up the rate for any New York address

    The Department's jurisdiction lookup tool returns the combined state, county, and city rate for any address or ZIP code in New York.

  • Verify a vendor or exemption certificate

    Confirm that a customer's certificate of authority is active and in good standing before accepting an exemption claim.

Exposure & exemptions · New York

If you're behind, or your buyers are exempt.

Back-period exposure & voluntary disclosure

New York offers a Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance program for sellers who come forward before the Department contacts them. Disclosing proactively limits your lookback period and can eliminate penalties.

Lookback
Generally 3 years under a VDA — the Department's standard audit lookback can extend further if you are contacted first
Penalties
Waived when the application is accepted and all back taxes and interest are paid
Interest
Still owed — voluntary disclosure does not eliminate interest on underpaid tax
Unfiled returns
No statute of limitations applies until returns are actually filed

Exemption certificates accepted

Obtain a valid exemption certificate at the time of sale and retain it — the seller bears the burden of proof if a certificate is later challenged.

Resale
Form ST-120, Resale Certificate — buyer must hold a valid Certificate of Authority issued by New York
Exempt organization
Form ST-119.1, Exempt Organization Exempt Purchase Certificate — for qualifying government entities, nonprofits, and exempt organizations
Multi-state
MTC Uniform Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate accepted; New York is not an SST member state
Manufacturing
Form ST-121, Exempt Use Certificate — covers qualifying production machinery, equipment, and utilities used directly in manufacturing

FAQ · New York

New York questions, answered.

The questions remote sellers ask us most about New York sales tax.
Read our FAQ library

New York uses an AND test — you must exceed both $500,000 in gross receipts from sales of tangible personal property delivered in New York AND more than 100 separate sales transactions into the state within the preceding 12 months. Exceeding only one of these conditions does not create economic nexus.

Yes. New York treats remotely accessed prewritten (canned) software as taxable, whether delivered via the cloud or accessed online. This applies to both business-to-business and business-to-consumer SaaS subscriptions. Custom software developed specifically for one customer can be exempt, but off-the-shelf subscription software is taxable.

Generally no. Electronically delivered digital products — including e-books, downloaded music, and streamed video — are not subject to New York sales tax. This is an important distinction from prewritten software, which is taxable even when delivered electronically.

Yes. Sales made through a registered marketplace facilitator such as Amazon or Etsy count toward your gross receipt and transaction totals when determining whether you have crossed the New York economic nexus threshold, even though the marketplace collects and remits the tax on those sales.

Yes. Any physical inventory stored in New York — including stock placed in a third-party fulfillment center or an Amazon FBA warehouse — creates physical nexus immediately. Physical nexus has no sales threshold: you are required to register and collect from the first sale once any inventory is present in the state.

New York City's combined rate is 8.875%, which consists of the 4% New York state rate, a 4.5% New York City local rate, and a 0.375% Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge.

If the Department contacts you before you apply for voluntary disclosure, you lose access to the program's penalty waiver and the shortened lookback period. You would face the Department's full audit lookback plus penalties and interest on all unpaid tax.

Yes. Commenda monitors your New York exposure, registers you with the NY Department of Taxation and Finance, calculates the correct combined rate on every transaction, and files each return on your assigned schedule. Book a call to see it on your own data.

United States

Sales tax, state by state.

* No state-level sales tax. Alaska's local jurisdictions still enforce economic nexus through the ARSSTC.