Returns and Payment of Tax.
19 RCNY § 28-18
in effect§ 28-18 Returns and Payment of Tax.
(a) Returns – filing requirements. (Administrative Code § 11-514(a)). For taxable years beginning after 1986 but before 1997, a return on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Finance must be made and filed for each taxable year by or for every unincorporated business which is carried on in this City to any extent, and which has either unincorporated business gross income of more than $10,000, computed without deduction for cost of goods sold or services performed and without regard to allocation under 19 RCNY § 28-07, regardless of whether or not it has unincorporated business taxable income, or any amount of unincorporated business taxable income. In addition, for taxable years beginning after 1996, a return on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Finance must be made and filed for each taxable year by or for every unincorporated business that is carried on in this City to any extent and that has either (1) unincorporated business gross income, computed without deduction for cost of goods sold or services performed and without regard to allocation, of more than $25,000 in the case of a partnership, or more than $75,000 for any other unincorporated business, regardless of whether it has unincorporated business taxable income, or (2) unincorporated business taxable income of more than $15,000 in the case of a partnership, or more than $35,000 for any other unincorporated business. Any return required under this subdivision (a) shall be made by the individual or unincorporated entity who or which was engaged in the conduct or the liquidation of the business, unless such individual is deceased, or unless such individual or entity is under a disability, in which case the return shall be made and filed by the executor or administrator (in the case of a deceased individual), or by any fiduciary or other person charged with the property of the individual or entity, or by a duly authorized agent. The foregoing provision regarding the filing of returns by fiduciaries or agents in the case of death or disability of an individual taxpayer does not relieve the taxpayer or his estate from liability if such fiduciary, agent or other person omits or fails to file any return required under Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code. If an individual or other unincorporated entity is engaged in several distinct business activities, only one return shall be filed. In such a case, however, a separate schedule for each activity should be filed with the return.
(a-1) Simplified return. The Commissioner of Finance may prescribe a form which may be filed voluntarily by a business whose income falls below the amount that would require the filing of a return under the Administrative Code. This filing will constitute the filing of a return pursuant to these rules and § 11-523 of the Administrative Code, which states (subject to the exceptions provided in subdivision (c) of that section) that if a return was filed, unincorporated business tax may be assessed only within three years after the return was filed.
(b) Time for filing. Where the taxable year covered by a return required under Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code is a calendar year, the return must be filed on or before April 15th of the following year. In all other cases where the taxable year is a fiscal year, the return must be filed on or before the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of the fiscal year. For purposes of determining the due date for the filing of a return under this subdivision (b), the term "taxable year" means the accounting period of the individual, fiduciary, partnership or other unincorporated entity for Federal income tax purposes (see: 19 RCNY § 28-17(a)), without regard to whether the business was carried on or was being liquidated during the entire period covered by such taxable year.
Example 1: New businesses. If an individual, fiduciary or other unincorporated entity having a previously established accounting period for Federal income tax purposes begins business during the year, such established accounting period shall be the taxable year for unincorporated business tax purposes. If an individual, fiduciary or other unincorporated entity having no previously established accounting period begins to carry on an unincorporated business, the taxable year for purposes of filing the first unincorporated business tax return shall be the taxable year properly adopted or prescribed for Federal income tax purposes.
Example 2: Business terminated. If the unincorporated business of an individual is terminated and completely liquidated during the year, the unincorporated business tax return for the year of termination shall be a return for the established taxable year for Federal income tax purposes, and shall be filed on or before the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of such year. If the unincorporated business of an estate, trust, partnership or other unincorporated entity is terminated and completely liquidated during the year and such complete termination and liquidation results in an accounting period of less than 12 months for Federal income tax purposes, such period shall be the taxable year for the return for the year of termination for unincorporated business tax purposes, and an unincorporated business income tax return shall be filed on or before the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of such accounting period. In the event the termination of an estate, trust, partnership or other entity for Federal income tax purposes does not, by reason of liquidating activities of the entity, constitute complete termination for unincorporated business tax purposes, any new accounting period resulting from the termination for Federal income tax purposes shall become the taxable year for purposes of filing the unincorporated business tax returns for the year of termination of the entity for Federal income tax purposes and for subsequent taxable years under Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code.
(c) Extension of time for filing returns. (Administrative Code § 11-517).
(1) The Commissioner of Finance may grant reasonable extensions of time for filing returns whenever good cause exists. An application for an extension of time must be made prior to the due date of the return.
(2) An automatic six months extension of time to file for taxpayers required to file form NYC 202 (individuals, estates or trusts) will be granted only on condition that form NYC-62 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File for Individuals, Estates or Trusts) is filed and a properly estimated tax is paid on or before the due date of the return for the taxable period for which the extension is requested. Such application must set forth the amount of tax which the taxpayer properly estimates it will be required to pay. An automatic six month extension of time to file for taxpayers required to file form NYC 204 (partnerships) will be granted only on condition that form NYC-64 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File for Partnerships) is filed and a properly estimated tax is paid on or before the due date of the return for the taxable period for which the extension is requested. Such application must set forth the amount of tax which the taxpayer properly estimates it will be required to pay. The amount of tax will be deemed to be properly estimated if the tax paid is either:
(i) not less than ninety percent of the tax as finally determined, or
(ii) not less than the tax shown on the taxpayer's return for the preceding taxable year, if such preceding year was a taxable year of 12 months; provided, however, in the case of any taxpayer which had unincorporated business taxable income, or the portion thereof allocated within the City, of one million dollars or more for any taxable year during the three years immediately preceding the taxable year involved, such amount shall be deemed an amount properly estimated only if it meets the conditions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. Failure to meet any of the requirements in this paragraph (2) makes the application invalid and any return filed after the due date will be treated as a late filed return.
(3) Except for taxpayers outside the United States, no additional extension for filing a return may be granted beyond the six months specified in paragraph (2) of this subdivision (c). For taxpayers outside the United States, an application for an additional extension may be made in writing before the expiration of the previous extension. The application must include the following information:
(i) the taxpayer's complete name and address,
(ii) the taxpayer's employer identification number or social security number,
(iii) the tax period for which an extension is requested, and
(iv) the reason for requesting the additional extension. If the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has granted a taxpayer who is outside the United States an extension of time to file his Federal income tax return beyond the City's automatic extension period described in paragraph (2) of this subdivision (c), the taxpayer will automatically be entitled to an additional extension of time to file a New York City unincorporated business tax return. This additional extension, to coincide with the Federal extension, will be granted without additional application, as long as a copy of the approved Federal extension is attached to the annual unincorporated business tax return when filed. A partnership is entitled to the automatic additional extension only where the partnership itself has been granted an extension of time to file its Federal partnership return.
(4) An extension of time to file a New York City unincorporated business tax return automatically extends the time for payment of the unincorporated business tax balance due, after the payment of the properly estimated tax, to the same date. Interest, however, must be paid at the rate prescribed by the Commissioner of Finance pursuant to the authority of § 11-537(f) of the Administrative Code on any balance of unincorporated business tax due from the original due date of the unincorporated business tax return (determined without regard to any extensions of time) to the date of payment.
(d) Place for filing returns. (Administrative Code § 11-515). Unincorporated business tax returns must be delivered or mailed to the City of New York, Department of Finance, at the address listed in the instructions for each return.
(e) Payment of tax. The unincorporated business tax is due and payable in full on or before the date prescribed by 19 RCNY § 28-18(b) for the filing of the return of the taxpayer. Where the return of a taxpayer is filed by a fiduciary, agent or other person under 19 RCNY § 28-18(a), such filing does not relieve the taxpayer from liability for any unpaid tax due under Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code, as shown on the return or otherwise determined or assessed.
(f) Last day a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. (Administrative Code § 11-531(c)). When the last day prescribed in these regulations for filing a return or paying a tax (including the last day covered by an extension of time) falls on Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday in the State of New York, the filing of such return or payment of such tax will be considered timely if it is filed or paid on the next succeeding date which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.
(g) Mailing of returns. (Administrative Code § 11-531(a)). The provisions of the regulations of the Commissioner of Finance relating to the mailing rules for New York City income and excise taxes apply with respect to unincorporated business tax returns and payments. Generally, those regulations pro vide that if a tax return or payment properly addressed with sufficient postage prepaid is delivered to the Department of Finance by U.S. mail after the due date, the date of the U.S. Postal Service postmark stamped on the envelope will be deemed the date of delivery, provided the postmark date falls on or before the due date. Non-U.S. Postal Service postmarks will also be recognized, provided delivery to the Department of Finance occurs within five days of the postmark date. If the five-day limit is exceeded, the taxpayer must establish that the item was actually deposited in the mail by the due date, that the delay in receipt was due to a delay in the transmission of the mail, and the cause of the delay.
(h) Signing of returns and other documents. (Administrative Code § 11-516).
(1) General. Any return, declaration, statement or other document required to be made pursuant to Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code shall be signed in accordance with instructions prescribed by the Commissioner of Finance. The fact that an individual's name is signed to a return, declaration, statement, or other document, shall be prima facie evidence for all purposes that the return, declaration, statement or other document was actually signed by him.
(2) Partnerships. Any return, statement or other document required of a partnership shall be signed by one or more partners. The fact that a partner's name is signed to a return, statement, or other document, shall be prima facie evidence for all purposes that such partner is authorized to sign on behalf of the partnership.
(3) Certifications. The making or filing of any return, declaration, statement or other document or copy thereof required to be made or filed pursuant to Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code, including a copy of a Federal return, shall constitute a certification by the person making or filing such return, declaration, statement or other document or copy thereof that the statements contained therein are true and that any copy filed is a true copy.
(i) Signing of returns prepared by a person other than the taxpayer. (Administrative Code § 11-516).
(1) If a return required by Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code is prepared for the taxpayer by another person, other than a regular full-time employee of the taxpayer, for a fee or other compensation or as an incident of the performance of other services for which such person received compensation, such person shall sign the return on the line designated "Signature of preparer other than taxpayer," and shall also enter thereon his address and the date when he signs the return. Such signature may be either written, stamped or otherwise legibly imprinted and shall constitute a certificate by such person that, based on all information of which he has any knowledge, the return is correct and the statements contained therein are true.
(2) Any such person who fails to sign a return as required by this subdivision (i) may be liable for the penalties provided for in § 11-525 and § 11-535(g) of the Administrative Code.
(3) As used in this subdivision (i), the word "person" includes partnerships and corporations.
(4) This subdivision (i) in no way affects the taxpayer's obligation to sign and certify his return.
(j) Electronic filing and payment. Pursuant to 19 RCNY § 17-03, the Commissioner may authorize the electronic filing of returns, reports, or other forms, and the electronic payment of tax required by this chapter.
(j) Reporting requirements for parking services provided to tenants. Administrative Code § 11-502(d). For taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 1996, an owner, lessee or fiduciary holding, leasing or managing real property and operating a garage or other similar facility at any such property that is open to the public must provide the following information for each such garage or similar facility on a return as required by subdivision (a) of this 19 RCNY § 28-18 in order to treat parking, garaging or motor vehicle storage services provided to tenants at any such property as incidental to the holding, leasing or management of the real property and not part of an unincorporated business. A return must be filed and the following information submitted regardless of whether, taking into account the exclusion of the income from the provision of parking or similar services to tenants, the taxpayer's gross income from all unincorporated businesses carried on in whole or in part in the City would be below that necessitating the filing of a return under subdivision (a) of this 19 RCNY § 28-18. Failure to submit the following information for a garage or similar facility at any such property in any material respect will result in parking, garaging or vehicle storage services rendered to tenants at that property being subject to the tax imposed by Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Administrative Code. However, inadvertent omissions of information for an insignificant number of tenants or minor inadvertent factual errors will not cause such services to be taxable. The taxpayer must submit with the return required by subdivision (a) of this 19 RCNY § 28-18 a statement for each garage or other similar facility for which an exclusion is claimed pursuant to 19 RCNY § 28-02(h)(2)(iii) containing:
(1) the parking facility name;
(2) the parking facility address;
(3) the license number of the facility, if applicable;
(4) the licensed capacity of the facility, if licensed;
(5) the total number of transactions and amount of receipts for the taxable year from all sales of parking services including prepaid parking services, all parking services provided without charge and all parking services paid for by a person other than the person whose vehicle is parked, garaged or stored (such as a merchant validation of a parking ticket);
(6) the total number of transactions and amount of receipts from sales of monthly or longer term parking services, including a designation of each transaction and receipt as exempt from the eight percent Manhattan parking tax, where applicable; and
(7) the total number of transactions and amount of receipts from sales of monthly or longer term parking services provided to tenants. The taxpayer must maintain records containing the name, address, and license plate number for each tenant and must make such records available to the Department upon request.
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-39923Fetched: 10/24/2026