How to File New York Form CT-5.4: Payment, Deadline, Submission

New York Form CT-5.4 is the request a New York S corporation files to get an automatic six-month extension of time to submit Form CT-3-S, the S Corporation Franchise Tax Return. File it with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance on or before the original due date of your return, pay a properly estimated amount of franchise tax with it, and the extension is granted automatically. No second extension is available after the six months run out.¹

Who Uses CT-5.4

CT-5.4 is for New York S corporations taxable under Article 9-A. Two kinds of corporations qualify. The first is a federal S corporation that filed Form CT-6 to elect New York S status with the consent of all shareholders. The second is a federal S corporation that did not file CT-6 but whose investment income exceeds 50% of federal gross income for the year; under Tax Law Section 660(i), that corporation is automatically treated as a New York S corporation and must file CT-3-S.²

General business corporations that are not S corporations use a different form, Form CT-5. Filing the wrong extension can result in rejection, so confirm your S status before choosing.³

When CT-5.4 Is Due and How Long the Extension Lasts

Form CT-3-S is due two and a half months after your tax year closes. For a calendar-year S corporation, that date is March 15, and CT-5.4 must reach the Tax Department by that same March 15.⁴

A properly filed CT-5.4 moves the filing deadline out exactly six months. Calendar-year filers get until September 15. Fiscal-year filers count six months from their own original due date. New York grants no additional time beyond those six months for S corporations.¹

How Much You Have to Pay With the Extension

The extension is only valid if the payment you send with CT-5.4 counts as “properly estimated” franchise tax. You get two methods, and you can use whichever gives the smaller number.

Prior-year method (Line 1a). Enter 100% of the franchise tax shown on your preceding year’s return, provided that year was a full 12 months. If your corporation had no tax liability in the prior year or that year was short, this method is off the table.
Current-year method (Line 1b). Project your current-year franchise tax and multiply by at least 90%. This takes more work but can save money if your tax dropped from last year.

In both cases, the franchise tax figure is calculated after any tax credits, including the special additional mortgage recording tax credit. If your S corporation is the parent of a qualified subchapter S subsidiary included on the return, roll that subsidiary’s income and deductions into your estimate.¹

New York S corporations pay a fixed dollar minimum tax based on New York receipts rather than the standard C corporation income rate. For most S corporations the minimum runs from $25 (receipts of $100,000 or less) up to $4,500 (receipts over $25 million), with qualified New York manufacturers and qualified emerging technology companies paying lower minimums at each tier.⁴ Your estimated tax on CT-5.4 should equal or exceed whichever bracket applies. Underpayment triggers interest from the original due date.

Filling Out the Form

The form is short. At the top, enter the corporation’s legal name, EIN, and the beginning and ending dates of your tax year exactly as they appear in Tax Department records. Mismatches on these fields are a common cause of processing delays.¹

The key lines:

Line 1. Your properly estimated franchise tax, using the prior-year method (1a) or the current-year method (1b).
Line 2. An optional first installment of estimated tax for the next tax year. S corporations are not required to make a mandatory first installment, so enter 0 if you’d rather not pay ahead.
Line 8. Overpayments carried forward from prior years, including any refundable credits you elected to carry forward.

The remaining lines add the estimated tax and the optional installment, subtract credits and prior payments, and leave you with a balance due. Pay that balance when you file.

How to Submit CT-5.4

Most corporation taxpayers must file extensions electronically. Use the Tax Department’s Online Services portal and select “File a corporation tax online extension,” or file through NYS-approved e-file software. Electronic filing gives you immediate confirmation of receipt.⁵

If you cannot file electronically, call (518) 457-5431 to request a paper form. Mail it with payment to:

NYS Corporation Tax
PO Box 15180
Albany, NY 12212-5180¹

Make your check or money order payable in U.S. funds. Foreign checks are accepted only if payable through a U.S. bank or marked “Payable in U.S. funds.”

For paper filings, the postmark controls timeliness. USPS certified mail gives you a dated receipt. You can also use a designated private delivery service; the IRS and the New York Commissioner of Taxation and Finance publish lists of approved carriers whose delivery records satisfy the “timely mailed is timely filed” rule.⁶ Approved services include specific tiers from DHL Express, FedEx, and UPS. Standard ground shipping does not qualify.⁷

What the Extension Does Not Do

The extension delays your filing deadline. It does not delay your payment deadline. Interest accrues on any tax not paid by the original due date, extension or no extension. New York sets the corporate underpayment interest rate quarterly; for the first quarter of 2026, it is 11%.⁸

If you file the return by the extended due date and pay the remaining tax with it, New York will not impose late filing or late payment penalties.¹ Miss either, and the penalties stack:

Failure to file. 5% of unpaid tax per month or partial month, capped at 25%. If the return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is the lesser of $100 or 100% of the tax due.⁹
Failure to pay. 0.5% of unpaid tax per month, also capped at 25%.⁹

A separate New York S corporation shareholder penalty may apply if you file after the extended due date.¹

Federal Extensions Are Separate

A New York extension does not extend your federal deadline, and a federal extension does not extend your New York deadline. If your S corporation also needs more time to file Form 1120-S federally, file IRS Form 7004 separately. That extension is also six months and also automatic when properly filed with estimated payment. Keep the two timelines straight; missing one while filing the other on time still produces penalties from the jurisdiction you overlooked.

Common Mistakes

Most CT-5.4 problems come down to the same handful of errors.

Wrong form. Only New York S corporations use CT-5.4. General business corporations file CT-5. Tax-exempt organizations extending their unrelated business income return (CT-13) also use CT-5, not CT-5.4.¹⁰
Underpayment. If your payment does not clear either the 100%-of-prior-year or 90%-of-current-year threshold, the extension may not be considered properly filed, and interest accrues from the original due date.
Late request. CT-5.4 is due on the same date as the return. One day late and the extension gives you no protection.
Mismatched identifying information. EIN, corporation name, and tax year dates must match Tax Department records. Using a trade name instead of the legal name is enough to cause processing issues.
Treating the extension as a payment extension. It isn’t. Tax is still owed by the original due date, and interest runs on any shortfall.

1
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form CT-5.4 – Request for Six-Month Extension to File New York S Corporation Franchise Tax Return
2
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law TAX 660 – Election by Shareholders of S Corporations
3
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form CT-5 Request for Six-Month Extension to File
4
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form CT-3-S New York S Corporation Franchise Tax Return
5
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Request for Extension to File (CT-5, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.9, and 5.9-E)
6
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Publication 55 – Designated Private Delivery Services
7
Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
8
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Interest Rates 1/01/2026 – 3/31/2026
9
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law TAX 1085
10
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form CT-13 Unrelated Business Income Tax Return