Income Tax Preparers

NYC Admin. Code tit. 20, ch. 5, subch. 8

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 20-739 Definitions.

§ 20-739 Definitions. 1. For the purposes of this subchapter, the term "tax preparer" or "preparer" means a person, partnership, corporation or other business entity, that for valuable consideration advises or assists or offers to advise or assist in the preparation of income tax returns for another. 2. For the purposes of this subchapter, the term "refund anticipation loan" means any loan a taxpayer may receive against his or her anticipated income tax refund.

NYC Admin. Code § 20-740 Disclosure.

§ 20-740 Disclosure. a. A tax preparer who is required, pursuant to federal, state or local law or regulation, to sign income tax returns as a preparer shall prominently and conspicuously post on the business premises an identification and qualification statement. The statement shall include, but is not limited to, the name of the tax preparer, an address and phone number at which the tax preparer can be contacted throughout the year, and a statement of any qualifications possessed by the tax preparer, which may include a statement of satisfactory completion of an educational or training program in income tax law, theory or practice by the preparer. b. The tax preparer shall provide the consumer with a receipt containing an address and phone number at which the preparer can be contacted throughout the year. Such receipt shall be provided to the consumer after the tax preparer receives payment from the consumer, shall include an itemized list of all charges and fees, and shall be made available to the consumer in physical and electronic form. c. Prior to providing services to the consumer, the tax preparer shall provide a consumer with a statement itemizing all charges for services the tax preparer intends to provide to the consumer. The tax preparer shall make such statement available to the consumer in physical and electronic form, and in English and any other language the tax preparer used to communicate with the consumer. The commissioner may designate the size, format, and any required elements of this statement by rule. Such statement shall: (1) be signed by the consumer prior to the tax preparer providing services to the consumer; (2) include the name, address, and phone number of the tax preparer; (3) to the extent applicable, include, without limitation, charges and fees applicable to the consumer for any state or federal tax return or schedule prepared, any factors that will increase the cost of preparing such tax return or schedule, software fees, bank fees, filing fees, any fees related to a refund anticipation loan, refund anticipation check, or any other deferred payment product, and any other charges and fees imposed by the tax preparer; and (4) include the total cost for all itemized charges and fees. Where any such charges or fees are estimated, the statement shall include the highest possible total estimate for such services. (Am. L.L. 2025/168, 11/28/2025, eff. 5/27/2026)

NYC Admin. Code § 20-740.1 Consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers.

§ 20-740.1 Consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers. a. No later than the fifteenth of October of each year, the department shall produce and publish in the city record a one page informational flier regarding consumers' rights and laws concerning tax preparers to be called a "consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers". The flier shall be in a form which is easily reproducible by photocopy machine and shall contain information including, but not limited to, the following: 1. Postings required by local, state and federal laws, such as price posting, posting of qualifications, and any licenses and permits required for the operation of the business; and 2. Explanations of some of the commonly offered services and industry jargon, such as preparation of short and long federal forms, refund, electronic filing, express mail, direct deposit, refund anticipation loan, "quick," "instant," "rapid," "fast," fee, and interest; and 3. Basic information on what a tax preparer is and is not required to do for a consumer, such as the preparer's responsibility to sign a return, that a tax preparer may not be required to accompany a consumer to an audit but the company may have a voluntary policy to accompany consumers to audits; and 4. The telephone numbers of the department for information and complaints; and 5. A statement that the consumer has the right to receive the following information from the tax preparer prior to becoming obligated to compensate such tax preparer for services rendered in connection with filing such consumer's income tax return with the appropriate governmental agencies: (a) A written list of the refund and tax preparation services offered by the tax preparer; (b) A written estimate of the total costs to the consumer for each refund and tax preparation service offered by the tax preparer. Such an estimate shall include basic filing fees, interest rates, refund anticipation loan processing fees, and any other related fees or charges; (c) A written interest rate estimation for a refund anticipation loan or any other loan services offered by the tax preparer; and (d) For each refund and tax preparation service offered by the tax preparer, a written estimate of the period of time the consumer can reasonably expect to wait for his or her tax refund. b. The department shall publicize the availability of the flier. The department shall provide a copy of the consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers to any requesting individuals or businesses within fourteen days of such a request and shall, no later than November 1 of each year, send the consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers to each tax preparer who has been found to be in violation of this subchapter or any other provision of this chapter within the previous calendar year. In addition, each tax preparer subject to this subchapter shall obtain a current consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers from the department and shall reproduce it so that it is clear and legible. As of January 1 of each year, each such tax preparer shall give to each consumer, free of charge, a current, legible copy of the consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers prior to any discussion with the consumer. Each such tax preparer shall also verbally direct the consumer to review the consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers and shall answer any questions the consumer may have about its contents. Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1991/041.

NYC Admin. Code § 20-741 Records.

§ 20-741 Records. No tax preparer shall intentionally misstate or misrepresent any information relating to his or her education, training or experience on an identification and qualification statement. A tax preparer shall maintain records to substantiate all of the information contained on such a statement; provided, however, that an affidavit signed by the tax preparer indicating that the information contained on a statement is true shall be sufficient to substantiate any information if other records are not available. Such records and/or affidavit shall be kept on file on the business premises and shall be presented on demand for inspection by the commissioner.

NYC Admin. Code § 20-741.1 Refund anticipation loans.

§ 20-741.1 Refund anticipation loans. 1. Any tax preparer who advertises the availability of a refund anticipation loan may not directly or indirectly represent such a loan as a refund. Any advertisement which mentions a refund anticipation loan must state conspicuously that it is a loan and that a fee or interest will be charged by the lending institution. The advertisement must also disclose the name of the lending institution. 2. Before any taxpayer enters into a refund anticipation loan, the tax preparer facilitating such loan shall provide the following disclosure to the taxpayer in writing, in English and Spanish, in at least 14-point type. In the event that the taxpayer does not understand English or Spanish, the tax preparer shall also provide a point-by-point oral explanation of the following required disclosure in a language understood by the tax payer: • YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ENTER INTO THIS REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN AGREEMENT MERELY BECAUSE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION. • IF YOU DO SIGN A CONTRACT FOR A REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN, YOU WILL BE TAKING OUT A LOAN. YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAYMENT OF THE ENTIRE LOAN AMOUNT AND ALL RELATED COSTS AND FEES, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH MONEY YOU ACTUALLY RECEIVE IN YOUR TAX REFUND. • IF YOU DO NOT TAKE OUT THIS REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A GROSS TAX REFUND OF APPROXIMATELY $___ [insert amount]. • IF YOU DO TAKE OUT THIS REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE TO PAY $___ [insert amount] IN FEES FOR THE LOAN. AFTER THESE FEES ARE PAID, YOU WILL RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY $___ [insert amount] AS YOUR LOAN. • THE ESTIMATED ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE OF YOUR REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN IS [insert amount]%. THIS IS BASED ON THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF TIME YOU WILL BE LENT MONEY THROUGH THIS REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN. • IF YOU DO TAKE OUT THIS REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN, YOU CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE YOUR LOAN WITHIN APPROXIMATELY TWO BUSINESS DAYS OF [insert date]. • IF YOU DO NOT TAKE OUT THIS REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN, YOU CAN STILL RECEIVE YOUR TAX REFUND QUICKLY. IF YOU FILE YOUR TAX RETURN ELECTRONICALLY AND RECEIVE YOUR TAX REFUND THROUGH THE MAIL, YOU CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE YOUR REFUND WITHIN APPROXIMATELY TWO BUSINESS DAYS OF [insert date]. IF YOU FILE YOUR TAX RETURN ELECTRONICALLY AND HAVE YOUR TAX REFUND DIRECTLY DEPOSITED INTO A BANK ACCOUNT, YOU CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE YOUR REFUND WITHIN APPROXIMATELY TWO BUSINESS DAYS OF [insert date]. It shall be the obligation of the tax preparer to complete the required disclosure accurately with all relevant information for each taxpayer, to provide the required point-by-point oral explanation when necessary, and to ensure that the completed disclosure form is signed by the taxpayer before he or she enters into a refund anticipation loan.

NYC Admin. Code § 20-742 Exemptions.

§ 20-742 Exemptions. Apart from § 20-741.1 and the accompanying penalties as listed in § 20-743, the provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to: a. An officer or employee of a corporation or business enterprise who, in his or her capacity as such, advises or assists in the preparation of income tax returns relating to such corporation or business enterprise. b. An attorney at law who advises or assists in the preparation of income tax returns in the practice of law and the employees thereof. c. A fiduciary and the employees thereof who advised or assist in the preparation of income tax returns on behalf of the fiduciary estate, the testator, trustee, grantor or beneficiaries thereof. d. A certified public accountant and the employees thereof. e. A public accountant licensed pursuant to the education law and the employees thereof. f. An employee of a governmental unit, agency or instrumentality who advises or assists in the preparation of income tax returns in the performance of his or her official duties. g. An agent enrolled to practice before the internal revenue service pursuant to section 10.4 of subpart A of 31 CFR part 10.

NYC Admin. Code § 20-743 Penalties.

§ 20-743 Penalties. Any person, partnership, corporation or other business entity who violates any provision of this subchapter or any of the regulations promulgated hereunder shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for the first violation and for each succeeding violation a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars; except that a person, partnership, corporation or other business entity shall not be subject to the civil penalty described above for a first-time violation of subdivision a of section 20-740 of this subchapter or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, if such person, partnership, corporation or other business entity proves to the satisfaction of the department, within thirty days of the issuance of the notice of violation and prior to the commencement of an adjudication of the violation, that the violation has been cured. The submission of proof of a cure, if accepted by the department as proof that the violation has been cured, shall be deemed an admission of liability for all purposes. The option of presenting proof that the violation has been cured shall be offered as part of any settlement offer made by the department to a person, partnership, corporation or other business entity who has received, for the first time, a notice of violation of subdivision a of section 20-740 of this subchapter or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. The department shall permit such proof to be submitted electronically or in person. A person, partnership, corporation or other business entity may seek review, in the department's administrative tribunal, of the determination that the person or entity has not submitted proof of a cure within fifteen days of receiving written notification of such determination. (Am. L.L. 2021/080, 7/18/2021, eff. 11/15/2021) Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2013/153 and L.L. 2021/080.

NYC Admin. Code § 20-743.1 Civil cause of action.

§ 20-743.1 Civil cause of action. Any person claiming to be injured by the failure of a tax preparer to act in accordance with section 20-741.1 of this subchapter shall have a cause of action against such tax preparer in any court of competent jurisdiction for any or all of the following relief: a. compensatory and punitive damages; b. injunctive and declaratory relief; c. attorneys' fees and costs; and d. such other relief as a court may deem appropriate.

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/NYCadmin/0-0-0-35593Fetched: 10/24/2026