New York Form FT-500 is the state application for a refund of sales tax paid on gasoline, diesel, propane, kerosene, and similar petroleum products bought for a use New York exempts from sales tax. You complete the form, attach copies of your purchase invoices, and mail the package to the NYS Tax Department, Fuel Tax Refund Unit, PO Box 5501, Albany, NY 12205-5501. You have three years from the date the tax was payable to file.
One boundary to set at the outset: FT-500 does not refund the prepaid sales tax on motor fuel, which runs through a separate process. It also does not refund the motor fuel excise tax or the petroleum business tax; those have their own forms, though you can mail them in the same envelope.
Who Qualifies to File
Before anything else, figure out which of the eight lettered boxes on the form describes you. You select exactly one, and the box drives what documentation you need to attach.
- Box A, exempt organizations: nonprofits and other organizations holding a valid New York exemption. Enter your six-digit exempt organization number and attach a copy of Form ST-119.
- Box B, exempt Indian nations or tribes: same requirements as Box A.
- Box C, farm production or commercial horse boarding: fuel used directly and exclusively in farming or in a commercial horse boarding operation. Running tractors, harvesters, and irrigation pumps counts; a pickup driven on public roads does not.
- Box D, omnibus carriers or vessel operators in local transit service: attach your local transit service percentage calculation.
- Box E, residential purposes: fuel oil, propane, or kerosene bought to heat a home.
- Box F, qualified Indians: enrolled members of an exempt nation or tribe who took delivery of motor fuel, diesel motor fuel, or heating oil on a qualified reservation for personal use (not resale).
- Box G, manufacturers, processors, generators, assemblers, refiners, miners, and extractors: fuel used directly and exclusively in producing tangible personal property for sale, or in generating electricity, gas, refrigeration, or steam for sale. A New York City local tax carve-out applies: the state portion is refundable, but local NYC tax may not be.
- Box H, other: any other purchase exempt under Tax Law Section 1115(a).
What to Gather Before You Start
Invoices do most of the work on this claim. Every invoice you submit must be in the claimant’s name and must show the sales tax you actually paid. Credit card statements by themselves are not enough.
Each invoice should show:
- Date of purchase
- Seller’s name and address
- Number of gallons purchased
- Fuel type (motor fuel, diesel motor fuel, kerosene, propane, and so on)
- Sales tax amount charged
Have your Taxpayer Identification Number or Social Security Number ready; the form uses it to identify your account. If you’re filing under Box A or Box B, pull your Form ST-119 to attach.
Filling Out the Form
Download the current revision (10/25) from tax.ny.gov. The form runs three pages: the main application, the certification, and the Schedule of Motor Fuel and Diesel Motor Fuel Purchases on page three.
Page One
Enter your name, address, and identification number. Mark the one lettered box that fits. If you’re an exempt organization or Indian nation, write the six-digit exempt organization number in the space provided. Fill in the period covered by the claim. It should run at least one full calendar month, starting on the first day and ending on the last day, and you can group several months into a single filing.
Page Three Schedule
This is where you transfer the invoice detail. Each purchase gets its own line: date, seller, gallons, fuel type, and tax paid. Total your gallons and tax amounts by fuel category. The sum of sales tax across all qualifying purchases is your refund amount, which you carry back to the main page.
Check the math. The Tax Department verifies the schedule totals against the invoices you attach, and a mismatch is a common reason a claim comes back for more review.
Certification
Read the certification before you sign. You’re affirming under penalty of law that the information is accurate and that you have not already received a credit or refund for the same tax. The form warns that willfully providing false or fraudulent information to evade tax may constitute a felony or other crime under New York State law, carrying a substantial fine and possible jail sentence.
Where and When to File
Mail the completed FT-500, all invoices, and any required attachments (Form ST-119, transit percentage calculation, and so on) to:
NYS Tax Department
Fuel Tax Refund Unit
PO Box 5501
Albany, NY 12205-5501
Your filing deadline is three years from the date the sales tax was payable to the Tax Department. There’s no minimum dollar amount, but the claim period must cover at least one full calendar month.
Filing a motor fuel tax or petroleum business tax refund claim for the same period? Mark the combined-filing box on the FT-500 and mail everything in one envelope, with invoices and documentation for each form in the package.
After You File
New York’s rules set a timeline for when interest starts running on your refund. For exempt organizations, the state owes no interest if the check is mailed within 45 days of receiving a complete, processable application. For other claimants, the interest-free window is 30 days. After that, statutory interest accrues until the state pays.
“Processable” means your application includes your name, address, and identification number, carries the required signatures, and has enough invoice and schedule detail for the department to verify the refund figure mathematically. Missing invoices or blank fields can keep the interest clock from starting until you fix the problem.
The department may write asking for more documentation on specific purchases. Respond quickly, because delays on your end extend the overall processing time. Approved refunds come as a check or, in some cases, as a credit to your account.
New York Tax Law generally allows three years for a tax audit. Keep copies of the filed FT-500 and every invoice you submitted for at least that long. If the department later questions your fuel usage, organized logs showing which equipment used the fuel, the dates, and the exempt purpose will carry you through an audit far better than a box of loose receipts.
If Someone Else Is Handling the Filing
An accountant or other preparer can fill out and submit the form for you without any special authorization. New York’s Form POA-1 is the separate step that authorizes a representative to communicate with the Tax Department on your behalf, receive your confidential tax information, and act for you during reviews or audits.
Refunds This Form Doesn’t Cover
FT-500 recovers New York State sales tax only. If you also paid motor fuel excise tax or petroleum business tax on the same fuel and qualify to recover those, you file separate state forms. On the federal side, the excise tax built into fuel prices may be recoverable through IRS Form 4136 (a credit claimed with your income tax return) or Form 8849 (a standalone excise refund request). Qualifying federal uses include off-highway business use in equipment such as farm machinery, construction equipment, and generators; personal use and fuel for highway-registered vehicles never qualify. Federal and state claims are independent, and many farmers, manufacturers, and commercial operators are entitled to both.