Sales or use tax
Report your sales or use tax liability on this line. You owe sales or compensating use tax if you:
- Purchased an item or service subject to tax that is delivered to you in New York State without payment of New York State and local tax to the seller; or
- Purchased an item or service outside New York State that is subject to tax in New York State (and you were a resident of New York State at the time of purchase) with subsequent use in New York State.
Note: You may be entitled to a credit for sales tax paid to another state. See the exact calculation method in the instructions for Form ST-140, Individual Purchasers Annual Report of Sales and Use Tax.
For sales and use tax purposes, a resident includes persons who have a permanent place of abode in the state. Accordingly, you may be a resident for sales tax purposes even though you may not be a resident for income tax purposes. See the instructions for Form ST-140 for more information.
You may not use this line to report:
- Any sales and use tax on business purchases if the business is registered for sales and use tax purposes. You must report this tax on the business's sales tax return.
- Any unpaid sales and use tax on motor vehicles, trailers, all-terrain vehicles, vessels, or snowmobiles. This tax is paid directly to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
An unpaid sales or use tax liability commonly arises if you made purchases through the Internet, by catalog, from television shopping channels, or on an Indian reservation, or if you purchased items or services subject to tax in another state and brought them back to New York for use here.
Example 1: You purchased a computer over the Internet that was delivered to your house in Monroe County, New York, from an out-of-state company and did not pay sales tax to that company.
Example 2: You purchased a book on a trip to New Hampshire that you brought back to your residence in Nassau County, New York, for use there.
You may also owe an additional local tax if you made a purchase in a locality in New York State and brought the item into or subsequently used the service in another New York State locality where you were a resident and that locality had a higher tax rate than where you made the purchase. Failure to pay sales or use tax may result in the imposition of penalty and interest. The Tax Department conducts routine audits based on information received from third parties, including the U.S. Customs Service and other states. If you owe sales or use tax, you may report the amount you owe on your personal income tax return rather than filing Form ST-140.