Form RP-7012-W: Application for Exemption from Filing Water Company Annual Financial Report

Form RP-7012-W is issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, specifically through the Office of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS). Its purpose is narrow but important: it lets a water company request an exemption from filing the annual financial report normally required under New York’s real property tax law for special franchise assessments.

Water companies operating in New York are typically subject to special franchise assessment rules because they use public rights-of-way to run pipes, mains, and other infrastructure. As part of that assessment process, these companies are usually required to submit detailed annual financial reports to the state so assessors can determine the value of their special franchise property. Form RP-7012-W exists for the smaller or less active companies that don’t meet the thresholds requiring a full annual report, allowing them to formally request an exemption instead of submitting the standard paperwork every year.

Who Needs to File This Form

This form is intended for water companies, not municipalities or individual property owners. If you operate a water utility in New York State and believe your company qualifies for an exemption from the annual financial reporting requirement, this is the application you’d submit to make that case to ORPTS. Common reasons a company might qualify include limited operations, minimal special franchise property, or falling under a size or revenue threshold set by the state.

It’s worth noting that this form doesn’t apply to every business connected to real property assessments in New York. Other property-related filings, like those covered in our explanation of Form RP-6604 for detailing changes in assessment rolls, serve different purposes entirely. RP-7012-W is specifically tied to the water company financial reporting exemption process, so it’s a much more specialized document.

When This Form Is Used

Water companies typically file this form on an annual basis, aligned with the same reporting cycle that would otherwise require the standard financial report. If a company has previously been granted an exemption, it may still need to reapply or confirm its status each year, depending on ORPTS guidance current at the time of filing. Companies that experience a change in their operations, such as growth in special franchise property or expanded service areas, should reassess whether they still qualify for the exemption before submitting this form again.

Since this form directly affects how special franchise assessments are calculated, it connects to the broader property tax equalization process that municipalities and counties rely on. For context on how equalization rates get calculated and communicated at the county level, take a look at our post on Form RP-6584 and county equalization rate notifications, which shows how these figures feed into the overall assessment picture.

How to Get and Complete Form RP-7012-W

The form is available directly from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website as a fillable PDF, meaning you can complete it digitally on your computer before printing or submitting it, rather than filling it out by hand. Since it’s an AcroForm, most standard PDF readers will let you type directly into the designated fields.

When completing the form, you’ll generally need to provide identifying information about the water company, details about its operations and special franchise property, and the specific basis for requesting the exemption. Accuracy matters here since ORPTS uses this information to verify that the company genuinely meets the exemption criteria before granting relief from the standard reporting requirement.

Once completed, the form should be submitted according to the instructions provided on the document itself, which may include mailing it to ORPTS or submitting it through whatever channel the department specifies for the current filing year. Keep a copy for your own records, especially since companies may need to reference prior exemption approvals in future filing cycles.

If your company also deals with other real property tax filings, such as those tied to STAR reimbursements, it may help to review our guide on Form RP-6704-B1 and STAR reimbursement applications to get a fuller picture of how these various property tax processes interact with one another.