How to Apply for New York Form ST-119: Eligibility, Filing, and Use

To apply for New York Form ST-119, the Exempt Organization Certificate, your nonprofit files Form ST-119.2 by mail to the Sales Tax Exempt Organizations Unit of the Department of Taxation and Finance in Albany, along with your organizing documents, federal determination letter, a statement of activities, and recent financial statements. There is no filing fee and no online portal. If the department approves the application, it issues the ST-119 certificate with a six-digit New York exemption number and copies of Form ST-119.1, which you give to vendors when making tax-free purchases.¹

Who Can Apply

New York Tax Law Section 1116(a) sets out who qualifies. The main category for nonprofits is 1116(a)(4): corporations, associations, trusts, foundations, and LLCs organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for preventing cruelty to children or animals. No part of the organization’s net earnings may benefit a private individual.²

Other eligible entities include New York State and federal government agencies, the United Nations and its member organizations, qualifying veterans’ posts, certain Indian nations and tribes, not-for-profit health maintenance organizations, rural electric cooperatives, and credit unions.²

Federal 501(c)(3) status from the IRS helps, but it does not automatically grant New York sales tax exemption. The department conducts its own review. Organizations that already have a federal determination letter face a lighter documentation burden, but a separate state approval is still required.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull all of the following together before you open the form. Missing items are the most common cause of delay, and the department will not return any documents you send in, so make copies first.³

Your nine-digit federal Employer Identification Number. The EIN by itself is not proof of federal tax exemption; it is only an identifier.³
Your organizing documents, which depend on entity type. Corporations send articles of incorporation (with the filing receipt) and bylaws. Trusts and foundations send the declaration of trust and bylaws. LLCs send articles of organization and the operating agreement. Credit unions send their federal or state charter. All others send their constitution and bylaws. Include any amendments.⁴
Your federal determination letter, if the organization has its own 501(c)(3) status. Subunits under a parent organization’s group exemption instead attach the parent’s determination letter plus either a current letter from the parent confirming membership or a directory page listing the subunit.³
A written statement of activities describing what the organization does, who it serves, and how programs are funded, covering both current and proposed activities.
A statement of receipts and expenditures for the most recent fiscal year showing the nature and amount of each, plus a statement of assets and liabilities as of the end of that year. If the organization has existed less than a year, submit figures to date and a proposed budget for the remainder of the year.⁴

Filling Out Form ST-119.2

Form ST-119.2 is a fillable PDF on the Department of Taxation and Finance website. The top of the form collects your organization’s legal name exactly as it appears in your organizing documents, your EIN, phone number, physical address, and mailing address. It also asks for a contact person with title, phone number, email, and fax number, so the department can reach someone directly if questions come up during review.³

Line 8 asks whether the organization holds its own IRC 501(c)(3) exemption. If yes, mark the box and attach the IRS determination letter. When you have that letter, no other documentation of federal status is required, though the department can still request more information. Line 9 is for subunits covered under a parent organization’s group exemption; mark that box instead and attach the parent’s determination letter along with proof of your inclusion in the group. An organization exempt under a different IRC section attaches that determination letter.³

Line 10 is where you identify your entity type (corporation, trust or foundation, LLC, credit union, or other) and attach the corresponding organizing documents. Line 11 is the checklist for your statement of activities, financial statements, and asset and liability statement.⁴

Confirm that the organization’s name on the form matches the name in your articles of incorporation or other founding documents character for character. Mismatches between the application and the attachments slow things down. Sign and date the form. Unsigned applications are returned.

Where to Send It

Mail the completed Form ST-119.2 and all supporting documents to:³

NYS Tax Department
Sales Tax Exempt Organizations Unit
W A Harriman Campus
Albany NY 12227

There is no online filing option and no filing fee. The department may send a letter acknowledging receipt. If anything is missing or unclear, it will mail a notice requesting additional information to the address on your form, so watch your mail until a final determination arrives.¹

What You Receive if Approved

Approval produces two documents: Form ST-119, the Exempt Organization Certificate itself, and copies of Form ST-119.1, the Exempt Purchase Certificate you present to vendors. Your ST-119 includes a six-digit New York State sales tax exemption number, which is different from your nine-digit federal EIN and is the number vendors need to see.¹

Keep the ST-119 itself on file at the organization. Vendors receive the ST-119.1, not the ST-119. Additional copies of Form ST-119.1 are not posted on the department’s website; to request more, call the sales tax information center at (518) 485-2889.⁵

Using the Certificate Correctly

For each purchase, complete a Form ST-119.1 and give it to the vendor at the time of the transaction. For vendors you buy from regularly, you can leave a blanket certificate on file; it covers future purchases until the vendor asks for an updated one. The vendor keeps the certificate as justification for not collecting sales tax.⁶

The organization must be the direct purchaser and direct payer. Both the organization’s name and the authorized employee or agent must appear on any bill or invoice, and payment has to come from organizational funds: a corporate check, the organization’s debit card, or its credit card.⁷ An employee or officer who uses a personal check or personal credit card does not qualify for the exemption even if the organization reimburses them. Those purchases are taxable.¹

A few boundary cases worth knowing from the start. Motor fuel and diesel generally cannot be bought tax-free at the pump; most exempt organizations pay the tax and then file Form FT-500 for a refund. Only qualifying hospitals, volunteer fire companies, and volunteer ambulance services can buy fuel tax-free at the point of sale. Local chapters and subordinate units generally cannot use a parent organization’s certificate and need their own ST-119, with an exception for Girl Scout and Boy Scout units.⁷ And the exemption covers purchases by the organization, not sales by it; shops, restaurants, and parking operations run by a nonprofit are generally still subject to sales tax on what they sell.²

The ST-119 has no printed expiration date, but the department can revoke it for misuse, for misleading information on the original application, or if the organization changes its purposes or activities without notifying the department. For a name change, address change, or other correction, contact the sales tax information center.¹

1
Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales Tax Exempt Organizations
2
New York State Senate. New York Code TAX 1116 – Exempt Organizations
3
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form ST-119.2 Application for an Exempt Organization Certificate
4
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. NY Form ST-119 Application for an Exempt Organization Certificate
5
Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales Tax Exemption Documents
6
Department of Taxation and Finance. Exemption Certificates for Sales Tax
7
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. A Guide to Sales Tax in New York State for Exempt Organizations