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Starting a Business in NY: The NY Business Start Up Wizard on the official NY OPAL site will tell you all the forms you need to register and rules you need to follow for your specific type of business in NY.
The “Starting a Business in NY” post also has links to NY Sales tax registration & business start up info, the Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance Program in case you didn’t register before you started selling, the Governor’s business start up info, and a link to a post with helpful IRS links.
Do I have to register? “If you will be making sales in NYS that are subject to sales tax, you must register…”. That includes if you only ever sell from your NY home through the internet.
Didn’t register but you already started selling? See the Voluntary Disclosure & Compliance Program–you need to contact the state before the state contacts you.
New York Sales Tax, part 1: This and the following post are FAQs about how NY sales tax works.
New York Sales Tax, part 2
Must collect tax from buyer & must show tax on receipt–see the Sales Tax Advertising Issues PDF
NYS Sales Tax Exemption Forms: If you are looking to buy supplies or promotional material without sales tax you’ll need to provide the seller with one of these forms with your NY Tax ID number on it. (You get the Tax ID number when you register to collect sales tax.)
More on NY sales tax exemptions & exemption certificates–What is & isn’t exempt, links for all the exemption forms available & their uses, including the reference guide for Taxable & Exempt Property & Services, Tax Bulletin ST-740 (TB-ST-740)
NYS Sales Tax Filing Forms–While electronic filing is now required, I sometimes find reading the mail-in version and its instructions help clear up some confusion about what goes where when you file online:
- Annual filer forms (ST-101 series)
- Quarterly filer forms (Form ST-100 series)
Need more NYS sales tax forms? Sales tax forms (current periods)
Sales Tax Publications & Bulletins Loads more info on the ins and outs of NY sales tax.
NY sales tax rates change by county lines not zip codes. (PDF file: New York State Sales and Use Tax Rates by Jurisdiction)
Etsy & Destination-based Sales Tax–How we handle it.
Coupons & Food Stamps (TB-ST-140) How to handle sales tax on discounted transactions.
Sales & Use Tax Penalties (TB-ST-805)
Sales Tax for specific industries in NY
Sales Tax Memos/Tax Bulletins: info on changes to the law, regulations, or Department policies (TSB-M).
Selling clothes/garments?–there are some state tax exemptions but even when the state exempts an item, often there’s still local sales tax:
- Publication 718-C, PDF: from June 2012: $110 & under clothing/footwear exemptions–see what counties don’t have the exemption.
- And you might need additional registration through the Dept of Labor (DOL): Apparel Manufacturing Industry Certificate of Registration–All apparel manufacturers and contractors engaged in the making, cutting, sewing, finishing, assembling, pressing or otherwise producing of ANY men’s, women’s, children’s, or infants’ apparel or section or component thereof MUST register. (Fee refundable if the state deems you don’t need to be registered.)
Application for Apparel Industry Certificate of Registration
There are other industries that require addtional registration too–be sure to use the OPAL website (first link above) to find out if your industry is one of them.
NYC Sales Tax Info
Want to read the straight-out laws themselves? NY Laws:
Page down & click TAX Tax then see Article 28 – SALES AND COMPENSATING USE TAXES
Go To Great Panes, Kathryn Maloney ©2012
(This post is copyrighted–you do not have permission to repost this content elsewhere but you are welcome to link to it if you’d like to share the information.)
