The Suffolk County sales tax rate is 8.75 percent as of March 1, 2025, when the county raised its local portion from 4.25 percent to 4.375 percent. That total applies to most retail purchases of goods and taxable services in the county, whether you’re a resident, a business owner, or a visitor.
How the 8.75 Percent Breaks Down
Three separate taxes stack to reach the combined rate.
New York State charges a flat 4 percent sales tax on retail sales of tangible personal property and certain services statewide.1New York State Senate. New York Tax Code 1105 – Imposition of Sales Tax Suffolk County adds its own 4.375 percent local sales and use tax under authority granted by New York Tax Law Section 1210.2New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Important Notice ST-25-1, Suffolk County Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Increase The county portion funds local services including law enforcement, road maintenance, and environmental programs.
The final piece is a 0.375 percent Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge, which applies throughout the MCTD region that includes Suffolk County and helps fund the regional transit system connecting Long Island to New York City.3New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales Tax Rates, Additional Sales Taxes, and Fees
What Suffolk County Taxes
The 8.75 percent rate applies to most tangible personal property sold at retail, from furniture and computers to motor vehicles. It also covers utility services, certain information services, and telecommunications. Labor charges for installing, maintaining, or repairing tangible property — car repairs, appliance servicing, and similar work — are taxable as well.4New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Quick Reference Guide for Taxable and Exempt Property and Services
Prepared Food Versus Groceries
Grocery staples sold for home consumption are exempt, but prepared food is not, and the line trips people up. Food is taxable if it’s heated, sold for on-premises consumption, or is a sandwich. Sandwiches are always taxable whether heated or not. A bag of chips off a store shelf is exempt, but the same bag sold as part of a deli combo meal is taxable. Soft drinks and candy are always taxable regardless of where you buy them.
Clothing and Footwear
This is where Suffolk diverges from what many New Yorkers expect. Statewide, clothing and footwear items priced under $110 are exempt from the 4 percent state sales tax.5New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Clothing and Footwear Exemption Counties can choose whether to waive their local tax on those items, and Suffolk County does not. So a $90 pair of sneakers in Suffolk County escapes the 4 percent state tax but is still subject to the local rate, which Publication 718-C lists at 4.75 percent (the county portion plus the MCTD surcharge).6New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Publication 718-C – Sales and Use Tax Rates on Clothing and Footwear
Residential Energy
Heating oil, natural gas, electricity, propane, coal, steam, and wood sold for residential heating are exempt from the 4 percent state sales tax and are taxed at a reduced Suffolk County rate rather than the full local rate.2New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Important Notice ST-25-1, Suffolk County Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Increase The March 2025 rate increase specifically excluded residential energy sources and services, so those bills did not go up with the rest of taxable purchases.
Prescription Drugs and Medical Items
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs, medical equipment, and supplies used to treat or prevent illness are exempt.7New York State Senate. New York Tax Code 1115 – Exemptions From Sales and Use Taxes That covers hearing aids, prosthetics, eyeglasses, and menstrual products.
Capital Improvements to Real Property
If you hire a contractor for work that permanently adds value to your home — a new roof, a deck, an addition — that labor is exempt from sales tax as a capital improvement. The work must substantially add value to the property or extend its useful life, become a permanent part of the property, and be intended as a permanent installation.8New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Capital Improvements Give your contractor a completed Form ST-124 (Certificate of Capital Improvement) before the project starts. Ordinary repairs and maintenance remain taxable.
Use Tax on Purchases From Outside the County
If you buy something online, across state lines, or in a jurisdiction with a lower rate and bring it home for use in Suffolk County, New York’s compensating use tax fills the gap.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 20 CRR-NY 531.1 – Imposition of Compensating Use Tax You get credit for any sales tax you already paid elsewhere, but you owe the difference if it was less than 8.75 percent. Items that would be exempt from sales tax are also exempt from use tax.10Legal Information Institute. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 20 531.5 – Exemptions From the Compensating Use Tax
Hotel and Motel Stays Are Taxed Separately
Short-term lodging in Suffolk County carries an additional 5.5 percent occupancy tax on the nightly room rate, collected separately from the regular sales tax.11Suffolk County, NY. Hotel / Motel Tax It applies to hotels, motels, vacation rentals, tourist homes, and any other facility renting rooms for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Guests staying 30 or more consecutive days are classified as permanent residents and exempt from the occupancy tax. Stacked with the 8.75 percent sales tax, visitors face roughly 14.25 percent in total tax on their room charges.
If You’re a Business Collecting the Tax
Registration
Any business selling taxable goods or services in New York must register with the Department of Taxation and Finance before making its first sale.12New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Register as a Sales Tax Vendor Registration is done through Form DTF-17, which asks for your business’s legal name, physical sales location, federal Employer Identification Number, and anticipated start date.13New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form DTF-17 Application to Register for a Sales Tax Certificate of Authority Once approved, you receive a Certificate of Authority, which is your license to collect sales tax in New York.
Businesses buying inventory for resale can avoid paying sales tax on those purchases by providing their supplier with Form ST-120 (Resale Certificate), which must include the purchaser’s sales tax identification number, a description of their business, and what they principally sell.14New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Resale Certificate Sellers must receive a properly completed ST-120 within 90 days of delivery.
Filing Frequency
Sales tax returns are filed through the state’s Business Online Services portal.15New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. File Online With Sales Tax Web File How often you file depends on your sales volume:
- Annual filing if your total tax due is $3,000 or less during the annual filing period.
- Quarterly filing is the default for most new vendors and those with moderate volume.
- Monthly (part-quarterly) filing kicks in once your combined taxable receipts hit $300,000 or more in any quarter.
The Department can reclassify you between frequencies as your sales change.16New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Filing Requirements for Sales and Use Tax Returns
Late Filing Penalties
Missing a sales tax deadline gets expensive fast. If you file late but within 60 days of the due date, the penalty is 10 percent of the tax due for the first month plus 1 percent for each additional month, capped at 30 percent. The minimum penalty is $50, even if no tax is owed.17New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales and Use Tax Penalties
If you’re more than 60 days late, the penalty is the greater of the same percentage calculation or the lesser of $100 or 100 percent of the tax due on the return.18New York State Senate. New York Tax Code 1145 – Penalties and Interest Interest accrues daily on any unpaid balance at a rate set quarterly by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance.19New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Interest Rates: 2026
Fraud triggers a different tier: a penalty of twice the tax due plus interest from the original due date, and willful failure to file can bring criminal charges including fines and potential jail time.18New York State Senate. New York Tax Code 1145 – Penalties and Interest
Recordkeeping
New York requires businesses to keep all records supporting their sales tax returns for at least three years after the return is filed.20New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Recordkeeping for Businesses Keep sales slips, invoices, receipts, purchase records, and any exemption certificates (ST-120 resale certificates or ST-124 capital improvement certificates) you accepted from buyers.21New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Recordkeeping Requirements for Sales Tax Vendors If the Department audits your business and your records are incomplete, the auditor will estimate your tax liability from whatever information is available, and those estimates rarely favor the taxpayer.