New York State sales tax returns and payments are due on the 20th day of the month after your reporting period ends. Which periods you report depends on the filing frequency the Department of Taxation and Finance has assigned you: quarterly, part-quarterly (monthly), annual, or PrompTax. If the 20th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.1Department of Taxation and Finance. 2026 Tax Filing Dates
Quarterly Due Dates
Most vendors file quarterly on Form ST-100. New York’s sales tax quarters do not line up with the calendar year. They run March through May, June through August, September through November, and December through February. The four due dates are:
- June 20, for the March 1 through May 31 quarter
- September 20, for the June 1 through August 31 quarter
- December 20, for the September 1 through November 30 quarter
- March 20, for the December 1 through February 28 (or 29) quarter
When one of these dates lands on a weekend, the return is due the following Monday, or Tuesday after a holiday weekend.2Department of Taxation and Finance. Quarterly Filer Forms (Form ST-100 Series)
Monthly (Part-Quarterly) Due Dates
If your combined taxable receipts and purchases subject to use tax reach $300,000 or more in any single quarter, the Department switches you to part-quarterly filing beginning with the first month of the next sales tax quarter. You file Form ST-809 for each month, due by the 20th of the following month. A January return, for example, is due February 20.3Department of Taxation and Finance. Form ST-809 New York State and Local Sales and Use Tax Return for Part-Quarterly (Monthly) Filers
Annual Due Date
Annual filing is reserved for low-volume vendors. If your sales tax due across four consecutive quarters stays at or below $3,000, the Department may move you to annual status. The annual period runs March 1 through the last day of February, and the single return on Form ST-101 is due March 20 of the following year. For the period ending February 28, 2026, the return is due Friday, March 20, 2026.4Department of Taxation and Finance. Annual Filer Forms (ST-101 Series)
PrompTax Due Dates
PrompTax is the accelerated schedule for the largest filers. It is mandatory for businesses whose sales and use tax liability exceeds $500,000 during the lookback period (June 1 through May 31 preceding the prior June 1 through May 31), or whose prepaid sales tax liability on motor fuel and diesel motor fuel exceeds $5 million during that same window. Payments and filings are due three business days after the 22nd of the reporting month, with the standard weekend and holiday rollover.5Department of Taxation and Finance. PrompTax Program6Department of Taxation and Finance. PrompTax: Sales and Compensating Use Tax
How to Know Which Schedule You’re On
New vendors are generally placed on quarterly filing to start. The Department reassigns you if your numbers cross a threshold, and it notifies you by mail when your frequency changes. That notice is not something to wait on. Track your own sales, and if you cross into monthly or annual territory, contact the Sales Tax Information Center to switch your filing status before the next period begins.7Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form ST-101 New York State and Local Annual Sales and Use Tax Return
You Still Have to File With Zero Sales
As long as you hold a Certificate of Authority, you owe a return for every reporting period on your schedule, even one where you made no taxable sales and collected nothing. A missed period triggers a minimum $50 penalty for failure to file, regardless of whether there was tax to pay.8Department of Taxation and Finance. Filing Requirements for Sales and Use Tax Returns
What Happens If You File or Pay Late
The late penalty starts at 10% of the tax due for the first month and adds 1% for each additional month or partial month, capping at 30%.9New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1145 – Penalties and Interest Two minimums apply at the low end:
- If the return is more than 60 days late, the penalty is at least the lesser of $100 or 100% of the tax due.
- If no tax is owed, failing to file still costs at least $50.10Cornell Law Institute. 20 NYCRR 536.1 – Penalties and Interest
Interest accrues on both the unpaid tax and the penalties. Tax Law sets a floor of 14.5% per year, and the actual rate is the higher of that floor or the underpayment rate the Commissioner sets periodically.9New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1145 – Penalties and Interest Repeated non-compliance can escalate to tax warrants, liens against your business assets, and revocation of your Certificate of Authority.
Late filing also costs you the vendor collection credit. File on time and pay in full, and you can claim 5% of the taxes and fees reported on your return, up to $200 per quarterly or annual period. One day late or a dollar short, and the entire credit for that period is gone.11Department of Taxation and Finance. Vendor Collection Credit
Can You Get Penalties Waived?
The Department can waive penalties and reduce interest to the standard underpayment rate if you show reasonable cause and the absence of willful neglect. Both elements are required. Not intending to be late is not enough on its own.12Cornell Law School. 20 NYCRR 2392.1 – Reasonable Cause
Circumstances the Department considers include serious illness or death of the taxpayer, destruction of business records by fire or casualty, and an inability to assemble essential information despite reasonable effort. Reliance on written professional advice that turned out to be wrong can also qualify, as long as you had no reason to doubt it at the time. Your overall compliance history across all New York taxes feeds into the decision, and a first-time lapse tends to fare better than a pattern.
How to File on Time
The Department requires electronic filing through its Web File system for most vendors. The mandate applies if you prepare your own tax documents, use a computer, and have broadband internet access, which covers nearly everyone.13Department of Taxation and Finance. Electronic Filing Mandate for Business Taxpayers Log in to your Business Online Services account, select “Sales tax – file and pay,” and submit the return and payment in the same session. Payment can go through ACH debit (you authorize the state to pull funds) or ACH credit (you instruct your bank to push them). The payment must be initiated by the filing deadline to count as timely.