How to Complete and File New York Form ET-133: Extensions and Payment

New York Form ET-133 is the application an executor files to request more time to submit the state estate tax return, more time to pay the tax, or both. Mail the completed form, along with any estimated tax payment, to the NYS Estate Tax Processing Center in Albany so it arrives on or before the original due date: nine months after the decedent’s date of death.¹ A timely filing extension is automatic and gives you six more months to file the return. It does not give you more time to pay.

When You Need to File ET-133

New York requires an estate tax return (Form ET-706) when the federal gross estate plus any includible taxable gifts exceeds the state’s basic exclusion amount. For deaths in 2026, that exclusion is $7,350,000.² The return and the full tax payment are due within nine months of death. If appraisals are not finished, title questions are unresolved, or you are still identifying assets as that deadline approaches, ET-133 is the mechanism for buying time.

One feature of New York law makes the estimate on ET-133 unusually important. If the taxable estate exceeds 105% of the basic exclusion, the exclusion disappears entirely and the full estate value is taxed.³ An estate at $7,350,000 owes nothing; an estate at $7,720,000 is taxed on every dollar. A modest underestimate near that threshold can translate into a large unpaid balance accruing interest.

Filing Extension vs. Payment Extension

ET-133 handles two distinct requests on the same page. You can check one box or both, but they work differently and most executors need only the first.

Extension of time to file. Automatic. Grants six additional months to submit Form ET-706 as long as ET-133 reaches the Tax Department by the nine-month deadline. The estimated tax is still due at nine months.¹
Extension of time to pay. Discretionary. You must explain in detail why timely payment would cause undue hardship to the estate and document the cash shortage.⁴

Under Tax Law Section 976, no filing extension can exceed six months, with one carve-out: an executor outside the United States may receive additional time at the commissioner’s discretion.⁵

How to Complete the Form

Download the current version of ET-133 from the Department of Taxation and Finance website.⁶ It is a single page, but blanks and errors cause delays.

Decedent and Executor Information

Enter the decedent’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of death, address at the time of death, and county of residence.⁴ Match the death certificate exactly so the filing does not get flagged against state records. The county controls which Surrogate’s Court has jurisdiction, so verify it.

Then enter the executor’s name, Social Security number, mailing address, phone number, and email. When there is more than one executor, one serves as the primary contact and files the form.

Financial Lines

Line 1 asks for the estimated federal gross estate. The figure should match what you would report on federal Form 706, Part V, Line 11: a good-faith total of everything the decedent owned at death, including real property, bank accounts, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance proceeds, and any QTIP property received from a predeceased spouse.¹ If formal appraisals are not back yet, reasonable estimates from recent account statements, property tax assessments, or comparable sales are acceptable.

The remaining lines capture the estimated New York estate tax due, any amounts already paid, and the payment you are enclosing. The difference between your estimated liability and prior payments is what you send with the form.

Extension Type Checkboxes

Check the box for the automatic filing extension, the payment extension, or both. If you check the payment extension box, complete the written explanation of why timely payment would cause undue hardship. Leave that section blank if you only need more time to file.

Paying the Estimated Tax

A filing extension is not a payment extension. Include a check or money order in U.S. funds, payable to the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, for the estimated tax owed.¹ Write the decedent’s name and Social Security number on the payment so it is credited to the right account.

Interest accrues on any unpaid balance from the original nine-month due date until paid in full, even with an approved filing extension.¹ Penalties may also apply for failing to file or pay within the extension granted. A small overestimate is usually the safer choice. Any overpayment is refunded when the final return is filed, and that cost is almost always less than interest and penalties on an underpayment.

Near the 105% cliff, run the numbers both ways, with and without the exclusion, and pay the higher figure. New York estate tax rates are graduated and can reach 16% at the top, so a miscalculation at the cliff is expensive.

Where to Mail the Form

Send the completed form and payment to:

NYS Estate Tax
Processing Center
PO Box 15167
Albany, NY 12212-5167¹

If you use a private delivery service rather than the U.S. Postal Service, the Tax Department’s Publication 55 lists designated carriers and the correct street address. The form must arrive on or before the nine-month deadline, not merely be postmarked by that date. Certified mail or a trackable carrier gives you proof of delivery if the department later questions timeliness.

What Happens After You File

For the filing extension, no approval letter is issued. The automatic six-month extension is treated as granted as long as the form was received on time and properly completed. The department contacts you only to deny it.¹ Keep a copy of the form, proof of mailing, and the check or money order number in the estate’s permanent records.

A payment extension works differently. Because it requires the commissioner’s approval, the instructions recommend filing early enough for the department to review and respond before the tax and return are due.¹ If the request is denied and the tax is not paid, penalties start running immediately.

Requesting More Time to Pay

Some estates are asset-rich and cash-poor: real estate, closely held business interests, or illiquid investments make up most of the value. If the estate genuinely cannot raise the cash to pay by the nine-month deadline, the payment extension section of ET-133 is where you ask for more time.

The application must show undue hardship and include supporting documentation:¹

A cash shortage statement listing the estate’s current liquid assets, any assets already distributed, and the gap between available cash and the tax owed.
A record of conversion efforts, such as listing real property for sale, applying for loans, or attempting to sell securities.
A proposed partial payment schedule for the extension period, showing when and how much the estate will pay.
A check for whatever the estate can pay now. Extensions are generally granted only for the amount of the cash shortage, not the full tax bill.

A standard payment extension cannot exceed 12 months from the return’s original due date. For genuine undue hardship under Tax Law Section 976(a)(3), the department may grant up to four years.¹ The commissioner may require the executor to post a bond as a condition of approval. Interest continues to accrue on the unpaid balance throughout the extension.

Federal Extensions Are Separate

ET-133 only extends New York filings. If the estate also owes federal estate tax, file IRS Form 4768, which provides an automatic six-month extension to file federal Form 706 when submitted by the nine-month deadline.⁷ One filing does not extend the other.

For 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person, so many New York estates owe state estate tax but no federal tax. A surviving spouse may still want to file a federal Form 706 to elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused federal exclusion. That election requires a timely federal return, with the same nine-month deadline and the same six-month extension available through Form 4768.⁸

1
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form ET-133 Application for Extension of Time to File and/or Pay Estate Tax
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Estate Tax
3
New York State Assembly. Bill A1522
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. ET-133 Application for Extension of Time To File and/or Pay Estate Tax
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New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Tax Law TAX 976
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Estate Tax – Section: Extensions
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 4768, Application for Extension of Time To File a Return and/or Pay U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Taxes
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Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Estate Taxes