What's happening
This bill changes the requirement for filing a New York personal income tax return, basing it on income and deductions rather than federal filing requirements.
Why it matters
Decouples New York’s tax filing requirement from federal filing rules. , meaning that even if you don’t need to file a federal return, you may still have to file in New York based solely on your income and deduction amounts under state law.
Makes the requirement to file a New York personal income tax return clearer and potentially broader. by tying it to whether your federal adjusted gross income (plus certain state modifications) exceeds your New York standard deduction, rather than referencing federal filing obligations or a fixed dollar threshold.
May result in more individuals being required to file New York returns. , especially those with income just above the state standard deduction but who are not required to file federally—impacting retirees, students, or others with moderate income.
Aims to ensure New York captures tax revenue from residents who might otherwise slip through the cracks. due to differences between federal and state filing requirements, which could affect both compliance and state budget projections.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let State Set Tax Filing Limit
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 26
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to budget and revenue
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to budget and revenue
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2894
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 30, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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 the requirement to file a personal income tax return
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 651 of the tax law, as amended by section 6 of part J of chapter 59 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
(1) every resident individual (A) [required to file a federal income tax return for the taxable year, or (B)] having federal adjusted gross income for the taxable year, increased by the modifications under subsection (b) of section six hundred twelve of this article, in excess of [four thousand dollars, or in excess of] his or her New York standard deduction, [if lower,] or [(C)] (B) having received during the taxable year a lump sum distribution any portion of which is subject to tax under section six hundred three of this article;
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all taxable years beginning on or after the date on which this act shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07300-01-9
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 the requirement to file a personal income tax return
Purpose
To set minimum personal income tax filing levels at the level of the federal adjusted gross income for the taxable year plus state addition modifications in excess of the New York standard deduction, rather than the arbitrary $4,000 which is currently in statute. This effectively means that most persons with no State personal income tax liability or refundable credits will not have to file state tax returns
Summary of provisions
Amends section 651 of the Tax Law to replace the statutory $4,000 filing minimum with a minimum equal to the federal adjusted gross income for the taxable year plus state addition modifications in excess of the New York standard deduction.
Justification
The current $4,000 minimum filing limit has been in statute for many years and forces persons who owe no taxes and who file no federal returns to file State income tax returns. This is a burden for low income persons, particularly senior citizens. It also adds administra- tive costs for the Department of Taxation and Finance, which must proc- ess numerous returns for which no tax is due. Persons with incomes lower than the standard deduction owe no tax and this will eliminate the patently unnecessary filing. The Department of Taxation and. Finance estimates that approximately 250,000 persons with no tax liability and no refunds or refundable credits will be removed from filing require- ments, saving the department an estimated $500,000 annually in process- ing and administrative costs. Furthermore, many of the individuals who would no longer have to file would be retirees with mostly exempt pension or annuity income.
Legislative history
2018: S7101 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS 2017: S2022/A8597 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPER- ATIONS/ stricken 2016: S4194/A6437 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/referred to ways and means 2015: S4194/A6437 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/referred to ways and means
Fiscal impact on localities
None "The Department of Taxation and Finance has determined that the change will not impact the allocation of state aid to school districts"
Fiscal impact on the state
Expected to reduce administrative costs of Department of Taxation and Finance by $500,000 annually.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all taxable years beginning on or after the date on which this act shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.