How to Pay New York State Taxes: Online, Mail, and Deadlines

You can pay New York state taxes online through the Department of Taxation and Finance’s Online Services portal, by mailing a check with Form IT-201-V, or by phone through the department. For the 2025 tax year, your balance is due April 15, 2026, and that deadline holds even if you file an extension.

What to Have Ready Before You Pay

Every payment method needs the same core information, so pull it together before you start. You’ll need the Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for each person on the return, the tax year you’re paying for, and the exact amount you owe. Keeping a copy of your filed return nearby makes it easy to verify each field.

Paying electronically from a bank account also requires the bank’s nine-digit routing number and your account number.¹ The routing number appears on a personal check or in your bank’s app. The check number and the account number are different fields on a check; entering the check number by mistake delays processing.

Paying Online

The Department of Taxation and Finance runs an Online Services portal where you can make payments, view your balance, and respond to notices. A full account gives you access to your tax history. If you’d rather not set one up, the Quick Pay option handles a one-time payment with basic identification.²

Two payment types are available either way. An ACH bank transfer authorizes a direct debit from your checking or savings account. The state charges no fee for this, though your bank’s own transfer limits still apply, and funds usually leave your account within a few business days of the authorization. A credit or debit card payment is processed through Wells Fargo, which charges a non-refundable convenience fee of 2.20% of the payment amount. On a $1,000 payment, that fee comes to $22.³

After you submit an online payment, a confirmation screen displays a transaction number. Save it as proof of payment. The state also sends a follow-up email acknowledging the payment request.

Paying by Mail

If you’re mailing a paper return, include Form IT-201-V, the payment voucher, along with your check or money order.⁴ Fill in your SSN or ITIN, the tax year, your name exactly as it appears on the return, and a daytime phone number. Make the check payable to “New York State Income Tax” and write your SSN on the memo line so the processing center can match check to account if the two get separated.⁵

Mail returns that include a payment to:

STATE PROCESSING CENTER
PO BOX 15555
ALBANY NY 12212-5555⁶

Paper payments can take several weeks to process during peak filing season. Under the mailbox rule, the postmark date counts as your payment date, so a check postmarked by April 15 is timely even if it lands later. Keep the mailing receipt.

Quarterly Estimated Payments

If some of your income has no withholding, such as self-employment earnings, rental income, or investment gains, you probably owe quarterly estimated payments rather than a single April payment. New York requires estimated payments when you expect to owe at least $300 in state, city, or Yonkers tax after withholding and credits.⁷

Use Form IT-2105 if paying by mail, or pay through Online Services. The 2026 quarterly due dates are April 15, 2026 (first quarter), June 15, 2026 (second quarter), September 15, 2026 (third quarter), and January 15, 2027 (fourth quarter).⁷ You can pay the full year with the first voucher or split it into four equal installments.

To avoid an underpayment penalty, your total payments must equal at least 90% of your 2026 tax liability or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return. If your 2025 New York adjusted gross income was over $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), that second threshold rises to 110% of your 2025 tax.⁷ Taxpayers with zero tax liability for the full prior year are not subject to the underpayment penalty.

An Extension to File Is Not an Extension to Pay

Filing Form IT-370 gives you an automatic six-month extension to file, moving the return deadline to October 15, 2026. The extension covers paperwork only. Any tax you owe is still due April 15, 2026, and interest begins accruing the next day on anything unpaid.⁸

File Form IT-370 on or before the original due date, along with payment for any tax you expect to owe. A form filed after the deadline will not be accepted. Taxpayers outside the United States have an initial deadline of June 15, 2026, with the six-month extension running from that date.⁸

What a Late Payment Costs

New York imposes separate penalties for filing late and for paying late, and they stack.

Late filing penalty: 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is late, up to 25%.⁹
Late payment penalty: 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the balance remains unpaid, up to 25%.⁹
Interest on the unpaid balance, at a rate adjusted quarterly. For the second quarter of 2026 (April through June), the interest rate on income tax underpayments is 8.5%.¹⁰

The late filing penalty is the far larger hit. Someone who owes $5,000 and files three months late without paying faces $750 in late filing penalties, $75 in late payment penalties, plus interest on both. If you can’t pay in full, file on time anyway and pay what you can; that alone avoids the 5%-per-month penalty.

The Department of Taxation and Finance can waive penalties for reasonable cause, which generally means circumstances beyond your control such as a serious illness, natural disaster, or inability to obtain records. Simply not having the money, by itself, typically isn’t enough for a waiver.⁹

If You Can’t Pay in Full

New York offers installment payment agreements (IPAs) for taxpayers who can’t cover the balance at once. If you owe $20,000 or less, you can request an IPA through your Online Services account with up to 36 monthly payments. The online route is the fastest; you’ll need your bank routing and account numbers to set up automatic payments.¹¹

If your balance is over $20,000 or you need more than 36 months, call the department at 518-457-5434 during business hours and work out the terms with a representative. There is no separate paper form; the process runs through Online Services or by phone.¹¹

Interest keeps accruing while the IPA is in effect, so faster payoff saves money. Missing payments or falling behind on future filings while on a plan can lead the department to cancel the agreement and pursue collection through tax warrants and wage garnishments.

Returned Payments

If a check or electronic payment bounces, New York adds a $20 returned-check fee on top of the penalties and interest that apply to the now-unpaid balance.¹² Because the payment never actually cleared, late payment penalties and interest run from the original due date. If you spot the problem, contacting the department promptly and resubmitting through a different method limits the damage.

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Department of Taxation and Finance. Direct Deposit of Your Income Tax Refund
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Online Services Home
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Credit and Debit Card Payment Information
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Form IT-201-V Payment Voucher for Income Tax Returns
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Make a Payment When You Have an Extension of Time to File
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Mailing Address (Personal Income Tax Returns)
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-2105
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Department of Taxation and Finance. 2025 Form IT-370-I, Instructions for IT-370
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Interest and Penalties
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Interest Rates: 4/1/2026 – 6/30/2026
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Request an Installment Payment Agreement (IPA)
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New York State Division of the Budget. Returned Check Charge