New York sales tax on invoices (2026 guide)

New York charges a 4% state sales tax, plus local taxes set by each county or city. The combined rate is 8.875% in New York City; elsewhere it depends on the county and city.

New York sales tax rates

Where the sale is delivered	Combined rate
New York City (all five boroughs)	8.875%
Rest of the state	Varies by county and city

The rate that applies is generally the one where your customer takes delivery of the goods or receives the service. Look up the exact rate for an address on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website.

Is what you sell taxable?

• Physical goods (tangible personal property) are generally taxable.
• Most professional services — such as consulting, legal, accounting and many creative services — are not taxable in New York.
• Some services are taxable, including information services, protective and detective services, interior decorating and design, cleaning and maintenance of real property, and installing, maintaining or repairing tangible personal property.

The Department's rule of thumb: sales of tangible goods are taxable unless specifically exempt, while services are exempt unless specifically taxable.

If one invoice mixes taxable and non-taxable items, list them separately and charge tax only on the taxable lines. The Department warns that when taxable and non-taxable items are combined into a single charge, the entire charge is taxable. In Invoice Native, tick Tax on those lines and enter your combined rate — for example 8.875% for New York City.

What a New York sales tax invoice should show

• Your business name and address, and your customer's.
• A unique invoice number and the invoice date.
• A description of each item or service with its price.
• Sales tax as a separate line, showing the rate and the amount.
• The total due.

Sales tax you collect belongs to the state — keep a record of it and file returns on the schedule New York assigns you (usually quarterly).

A worked example

Say you're a designer in Brooklyn and you invoice a café for:

• $1,800 of logo and brand identity design,
• $450 of menu copywriting, and
• 4 printed menu boards at $85 — $340 of tangible goods, delivered to the café.

The printed boards are tangible goods, so they're taxable. At New York City's 8.875%, the tax on the boards is $340 × 8.875% = $30.18, for an invoice total of $2,620.18. If you add a delivery charge for the boards, it's taxable too: in New York, shipping or delivery charges on a bill for taxable goods are part of the taxable receipt. (If a delivery charge covers both taxable and non-taxable items, it can be fairly allocated between them.)

Selling to customers in other states

If you ship goods or deliver taxable services to customers in another state, that state's rules may apply instead of New York's. Since the Supreme Court's 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require out-of-state sellers to register and collect their sales tax once sales into the state pass a threshold the state sets. If you sell across state lines regularly, check the thresholds and registration rules of each state you sell into — and use that state's rate on those invoices.

Common mistakes on New York invoices

• Charging the 4% state rate only when the customer is in a county or city that adds local tax.
• Assuming all services are exempt — New York taxes several specific services.
• Starting taxable sales before your Certificate of Authority arrives.
• Accepting an exemption without a completed certificate such as ST-120 or ST-119.1.
• Not showing sales tax as a separate line.

Registering: the Certificate of Authority

Before you make taxable sales in New York, you need a Certificate of Authority from the Department of Taxation and Finance. The state asks you to apply at least 20 days before you begin doing business. Once registered, you'll be assigned a filing schedule — most small businesses file quarterly — and you must display the certificate at your place of business.

Keeping records

Keep every invoice, your exemption certificates and a record of the tax you collected for each filing period. New York can audit past periods, and your invoices — with the tax shown on its own line — are the easiest way to show what you charged and why.

Tax-exempt customers

Nonprofits, government agencies and resellers can buy without paying sales tax if they give you a completed exemption certificate — for example Form ST-120 (resale) or ST-119.1 (exempt organizations). Keep the certificate on file and note it on the invoice. See how to invoice a tax-exempt customer.