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New York sales tax return due December 21, 2026: a filing checklist

New York's third sales tax quarter closes on November 30 and the return is due 20 days later, which lands on a Sunday this year. Here is who owes what and when, and the details that cost vendors money.

This post is about one deadline. For every New York deadline in the year, see the full 2026 schedule.

By Marc Aschoff ·

New York's sales tax year runs from March 1 through the end of February, so its third quarter is September 1 through November 30. Returns are due 20 days after the period ends. Twenty days after November 30 is December 20, 2026, which is a Sunday, and the Department's rule is that a due date falling on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day. The practical deadline is therefore Monday, December 21, 2026. Because the date arrives in the middle of holiday sales season, it helps to plan the filing before the rush, not after it.

Who is due on December 21

The filing frequency and due dates page sorts vendors by the schedule the Department assigns them:

  • Quarterly filers (Form ST-100) file for September through November, due December 21.
  • Part-quarterly (monthly) filers report the third month of the quarter, November, on Form ST-810, which also reconciles the quarter. It is also due December 21. They report October on Form ST-809, which was due Friday, November 20.
  • Annual filers (Form ST-101) do not file now. Their return for March 2026 through February 2027 is due March 20, 2027, which moves to Monday, March 22.

The filing frequency is assigned by the Department, not chosen, so check the schedule on your own account. If you are unsure which applies to you, the Department's notice or your online account is the authority.

File even if you had no sales

Tax Bulletin TB-ST-275 is explicit that a return must be filed by the due date even when the business made no taxable sales or purchases in the period. The minimum penalty for a late return with no tax due is $50. A seasonal business that closed in the summer still has a return waiting.

Gather the numbers first

  1. Taxable sales for the quarter, broken out by the jurisdiction where each sale was delivered. New York is destination-based, and the rates page explains how the combined rate is built.
  2. Any schedules your sales require. The forms page lists the ST-100 schedules, including the one for New York City sales.
  3. Purchases subject to tax, rents and amusement charges, which count toward the $300,000 quarterly threshold that moves a vendor to monthly filing.
  4. Your running holiday totals. If a single quarter reaches $300,000, monthly filing begins with the first month of the next sales tax quarter.

The 5% vendor credit, with examples

Quarterly and annual filers who file on time and pay in full may keep 5% of the taxes and fees reported on the return, capped at $200 per reporting period. As an illustration, $2,000 of reported tax would produce a $100 credit, while $6,000 would produce $300 by the percentage but only $200 because of the cap. Monthly filers on ST-809 and ST-810 do not get the credit, and neither do PrompTax enrollees, amended returns or past-due returns. A return filed on December 22 forfeits the credit as surely as one filed in January.

Electronic filing and payment

Most vendors must Web File and e-pay. The mandate applies if the vendor is subject to the corporation tax e-file mandate or if it prepares its own documents without a tax professional, uses a computer to do so, and has broadband internet. The penalty is $50 for each tax document not e-filed and $50 for each failure to e-pay, on top of the ordinary penalty, and the Department says reasonable cause does not include a wish to opt out. Web File cannot be bookmarked. You reach it from inside the Tax Online Services Portal with a business NY.gov ID, as the login guide explains.

What late costs

For a return filed 60 days late or less, the penalty is 10% of the tax due for the first month, plus 1% for each additional month or part of a month, up to 30% of the tax due, and not less than $50. If $1,000 of tax is due and the return is filed in the first month late, that is $100. Interest is separate: the rate is set quarterly and compounded daily, and the figure for July through September 2026 was 14.5%. The rate for the current quarter should be read from the Department's interest page before you calculate anything. The penalties page has the full schedule.

A short plan

  1. Pull the September through November sales report by the first week of December.
  2. Log in early and confirm you can reach Web File.
  3. File and pay by Friday, December 18, so the weekend rule is a cushion and not the plan.

This is general information from the Department's published material. Confirm your filing frequency and amounts with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Sources

  1. TB-ST-275, Filing Requirements for Sales and Use Tax Returns — https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/filing_requirements_for_sales_and_use_tax_returns.htm
  2. 2026 tax filing calendar — https://www.tax.ny.gov/help/calendar/2026.htm
  3. TB-ST-925, Vendor Collection Credit — https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/vendor_collection_credit.htm
  4. TB-ST-805, Sales and Use Tax Penalties — https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/sales_and_use_tax_penalties.htm
  5. Electronic filing mandate for business taxpayers — https://www.tax.ny.gov/bus/efile/elf_busn_mandate.htm

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