Motor carrier taxes - New York

Sales & use taxes

In addition to any local city/county sales and use taxes, New York state also imposes a sales tax on all retail sales of personal property or various services. However, motor carriers who purchase or lease tractors, trailers, or semitrailers which have a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds, are exempt from paying New York State and local sales and use taxes. Parts installed on exempt vehicles for their equipping, maintenance, or repair, as well as related installation, maintenance, and repair services performed on these vehicles are also exempt from sales and use tax. Omnibuses that weigh at least 26,000 pounds and that are at least 40 feet in length used to transport persons for-hire by an omnibus carrier operating with a certificate or permit issued by the New York State Department of Transportation, or an agency of the United States, are also exempt from tax. Parts, equipment, and lubricants used in operating omnibuses, and the installation, maintenance, and repair services performed on these vehicles are also exempt from sales and use taxes.

All straight trucks and buses are liable for sales and use tax, plus any tractor-trailer combination with a gross vehicle weight under 26,000 pounds. Additionally, equipment that was not installed as part of the qualifying tractor, trailer, or semitrailer (for example, hand tools, road flares, and road reflectors) are taxable unless sold as part of the original equipment.

Any non-exempt vehicle delivered within New York state to a resident is subject to tax at the rate in effect in the locality of the purchaser’s place of business, plus the state sales tax. Credit is allowed for sales or use tax paid to out-of-state jurisdictions.

Franchise/Gross receipts taxes

All transportation companies doing business either intrastate or interstate in New York are liable for franchise tax on their gross receipts. A corporation is considered to be a “trucking corporation” if more than 50 percent of its gross receipts are earned from the transportation of goods by motor vehicle. The franchise tax is determined by taking carrier’s laden New York miles and dividing it by carrier’s total miles in all states. The fraction answer is then multiplied by carrier’s total gross earnings in all states, which results in gross receipts earned in New York. Then the New York gross receipts figure is multiplied by the appropriate tax rate which results in the amount of franchise tax due.

Franchise tax and reports are due on a calendar basis to the Corporation Tax Bureau.

Other

Local county/city taxes

The majority of the local jurisdictions within New York assess and impose their own sales and use tax. Cities and counties may also impose a local sales tax on qualified fuel.

New York City Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax (CMVT)

New York imposes a CMVT on non-passenger commercial motor vehicles which operate at least 50 percent of the time within the city, as well as all motor vehicles regularly used to transport passengers. Non-passenger, commercial motor vehicles include — but are not limited to — trucks, tractor trailers, semitrailers, auto trucks, light delivery cars, snowplows, earth-moving equipment, and pickup trucks. The owner of the vehicle is responsible for paying the CMVT.