What's happening
This bill raises the threshold for taxing social or athletic club dues and initiation fees from $10 to $50 per year.
Why it matters
Direct financial relief for club members. By raising the threshold from $10 to $50, many club members whose dues or initiation fees fall between these amounts will no longer have to pay sales tax, resulting in modest but meaningful annual savings.
Potential boost for small clubs and organizations. Smaller social and athletic clubs that charge lower dues may become more accessible and attractive, supporting local community engagement and club membership growth.
Administrative simplification for clubs. Clubs with dues or fees under the new $50 threshold will spend less time and resources on tax collection and compliance, which can be especially significant for volunteer-run organizations.
Reflects inflation and changing economic conditions. The $10 threshold was set decades ago; increasing it to $50 updates the law to better match today’s value of money, reducing the tax burden on activities that have become relatively less expensive over time.
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Who cares
Social and athletic clubs
The bill would raise the annual-dues threshold that triggers sales tax from more than $10 to more than $50, excluding initiation fees.
Club members
Members of clubs with active annual dues above $10 but no more than $50 would no longer owe sales tax on dues under this provision.
New club members paying initiation fees
The bill would raise the threshold for taxing an initiation fee alone, regardless of dues, from more than $10 to more than $50.
Headline styles
Raise Club Dues Tax Threshold
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to budget and revenue
- Referred to budget and revenue
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2822
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 29, 2019
Introduced by Sen. JORDAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to increasing the threshold for dues paid to any social or athletic club
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph 2 of subdivision (f) of section 1105 of the tax law, as amended by chapter 673 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
(i) The dues paid to any social or athletic club in this state if the dues of an active annual member, exclusive of the initiation fee, are in excess of [ten] fifty dollars per year, and on the initiation fee alone, regardless of the amount of dues, if such initiation fee is in excess of [ten] fifty dollars. Where the tax on dues applies to any such social or athletic club, the tax shall be paid by all members, other than honorary members, thereof regardless of the amount of their dues, and shall be paid on all dues or initiation fees for a period commencing on or after August first, nineteen hundred sixty-five. In the case of a life membership, the tax shall be upon the amount paid as life membership dues, however, a life member, other than an honorary member, paying an annual sales tax, based on the dues of an active annual member, shall continue such payments until the total amount of such tax paid is equal to the amount of tax that would have otherwise been due had the tax been imposed at the time such paid life membership has been purchased and at the then applicable rate.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date upon which it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08983-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to increasing the threshold for dues paid to any social or athletic club
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Amends Section 1105 of the Tax Law to raise the taxable threshold for club dues from $10 to $50.
Section 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January after it shall have become law.
Justification
Social and athletic clubs, under the current law, have to pay taxes on initiation fees, dues, and costs related to the privileges of the club (as defined in Section 1101 of the tax law) as taxes on revenue. Currently, this threshold is $10 or more, a figure that was set several decades ago. Even if adjusting for inflation, that figure would amount to roughly $25 today, which demonstrates how restrictive and burdensome the $10 figure is. By raising the figure to $50, the State can not only account for inflation, but provide much-needed relief for social and athletics groups of all types and sizes who are faced with taxes on the smallest of monetary dues.
Prior legislative history
S.6525 of 2017-18
Fiscal implications
According to the Department of Taxation and Finance (1/24/18), impact would be "minimal" for both state and local.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.