Key takeaways
- Quarterly filers use Form ST-100, annual filers use Form ST-101, and part-quarterly (monthly) filers use Form ST-809 plus a quarterly Form ST-810.
- Returns are due 20 days after the period ends, and when the 20th is a weekend or holiday the due date moves to the next business day.
- New York City is 8.875% in total, and the city never receives its own return: the one state return carries the city tax.
- A return is required even when the period had no sales.
Which form the client files
Start with the prior quarter's numbers, not with what the client says they file. A client files Form ST-100 (quarterly) when taxable receipts, purchases subject to use tax, rents and amusement charges were under $300,000 in the previous quarter, unless the Tax Department has notified them they are an annual filer.
A client files Form ST-101 (annual) only when the Tax Department has put them on an annual schedule, which is for vendors who owe $3,000 or less in tax for the annual period. The annual period runs March 1 through the last day of February.
At $300,000 or more in a quarter, the client becomes a part-quarterly (monthly) filer starting the first month after that quarter. The reduction is slow: a monthly filer stays monthly until taxable sales are under $300,000 in each of four consecutive quarters.
Worked example: a caterer had $285,000 of taxable receipts and $20,000 of purchases subject to use tax in the quarter June 1 through August 31, 2026. The total is $305,000, so the caterer files monthly starting September 2026.
Quarterly schedule for ST-100
The sales tax quarters are March 1 through May 31, June 1 through August 31, September 1 through November 30, and December 1 through the end of February. Each Form ST-100 is due 20 days after the quarter ends.
The quarter that ended November 30, 2026 is due December 20, 2026 on paper, but that is a Sunday, so the return is due Monday, December 21, 2026. The December 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027 quarter has a March 20, 2027 due date, which is a Saturday, so it is due Monday, March 22, 2027.
The weekend shift comes from New York General Construction Law Section 25-a, which lets the act be done on the next business day when the period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
Monthly schedule for ST-809 and ST-810
Form ST-809 covers the first and second months of each quarter: March, April, June, July, September, October, December and January. The third month (May, August, November and February) is not filed on a separate ST-809. It is closed out on the quarterly Form ST-810, which covers the full quarter.
The ST-810 asks for the total remitted on the part-quarterly returns, so the ST-809 payments for the first two months have to reconcile to the quarter before the ST-810 is filed. Locality detail is reported on the ST-810, so keep the sales-by-jurisdiction records for every month, not only the third.
Due dates for a client that is monthly now: September 2026 was due October 20, 2026, October 2026 is due Friday, November 20, 2026, the ST-810 for the quarter ending November 30, 2026 is due Monday, December 21, 2026, December 2026 is due Wednesday, January 20, 2027, and January 2027 is due Monday, February 22, 2027, because February 20 is a Saturday.
The Tax Department's ST-809 page lists the periods and due dates it has published, so the December and January dates above follow from the 20-day rule and the weekend rule rather than from a posted table. Confirm them in Online Services before putting them on a client calendar.
How the New York City rate is built
New York City's sales tax totals 8.875%: 4% state, 4.5% city and a 0.375% surcharge for the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. The city part is collected by the state and comes to the city through the state return, so a New York City client does not file a separate city sales tax return.
Worked example: a taxable $1,000 sale in New York City carries $40 state, $45 city and $3.75 MCTD tax, which is $88.75 in total. Outside the MCTD, the same sale carries only the state 4% plus whatever the local county or city charges.
On the ST-100 the rates are reported by jurisdiction. The instructions use code NE 0021 for the state only 4% line and code NE 8061 for the state and MCTD 4.375% line. Rates vary by county and by city, so look up the combined rate and jurisdiction for each delivery address in the Tax Department's Jurisdiction/Rate Lookup By Address tool instead of using a single rate for the whole client.
Hotels in New York City add a unit fee of $1.50 per unit per day, which is reported on Schedule N, titled Selected Services in New York City. If the client runs a hotel or short-stay property, ask for the room-night count each period.
State versus city obligations
Registration and filing for sales tax are state functions even when the client sits in New York City. When a client asks for the NYC sales tax return, the answer is that the 4.5% city rate is reported on the state return, by jurisdiction.
Before the first return, the vendor needs a Certificate of Authority from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, applied for on Form DTF-17, Application for Registration as a Sales Tax Vendor. A New York City address does not change that step.
Online Services login and filing
Filers use Sales Tax Web File to file sales and use tax returns and pay any balance due electronically. A Business Online Services account is created at ols.tax.ny.gov, and after logging in the filer selects Sales tax web file.
The Web File requirement applies to corporations subject to the corporation tax e-file mandate, and to filers who prepare their own returns without a tax professional, use a computer to prepare or calculate filings and have broadband access. Firms that file for clients should be set up as the client's representative in Online Services instead of using the client's own login, so that access can be removed when the engagement ends.
A return is required even when the period had no taxable sales, purchases or credits. A seasonal client with no sales in the December 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027 quarter still files a zero Form ST-100 by March 22, 2027.
Penalties and what to request from the client
For the monthly ST-809, the late-filing penalty is $50 for a late return with no tax due. With tax due and 1 to 60 days late, it is 10% of the tax due for the first month plus 1% for each later month, with a $50 minimum.
At 61 or more days late, the penalty is the greater of the 10% plus 1% formula, capped at 30%, or the lesser of $100 or 100% of the tax due, but not less than $50.
A request that gets the return done: "By the 5th of each month, please send the sales report by delivery address or location, the total of exempt sales with the exemption certificates, and any refunds or voids. Include a sales report even if the month was zero." Reconcile the report to the sales tax payable account before preparing the return.
If a client sells to buyers in several counties, ask for the county or ZIP of each delivery, because a single point-of-sale rate will under- or over-collect the local portion.