Bulk fuel requirements - New York

The New York taxes (excise, petroleum, business, and sales) are imposed on the “first sale or use” of the fuel. Motor carriers purchasing diesel motor fuel in bulk solely for their own use, are not considered to be a distributor of diesel fuel. In most cases, bulk purchasers will be required to pay the taxes to their suppliers at the time of purchase. If the diesel product is used for off-highway purposes, the bulk purchaser is entitled to a refund of the diesel motor fuel tax on that product.

The sales tax charged is determined by the locality where the fuel is delivered and is based on the actual selling price to the purchaser. Any statement, invoice or receipt given to the carrier must show separately the amount of diesel motor fuel tax and sales tax charged, and the seller must give the carrier a certificate certifying the amount of taxes passed through to the purchaser.

For the purposes of determining whether the prepaid sales tax or the actual sales tax is due on the purchase, all purchasers of diesel motor fuel in bulk must give the seller a certificate certifying whether or not the bulk fuel would be resold. If the purchaser does not give the seller a certificate stating just how the bulk fuel will be used, the seller must charge the greater of the prepaid sales tax or sales tax computed on the actual retail selling price.

The amount of the sales tax required to be prepaid is computed at the rate for the region where the first taxable sale is made in New York State. The state is divided into two regions:

Region 1 — $0.1475/gallon: Consists of 12 counties included in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (Kings, Queens, Richmond, Bronx, New York, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Orange.)

Region 2 — $0.14/gallon: Consists of all the counties in New York State not included in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.

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