Form IT-135: Sales and Use Tax Report for Purchases of $25,000 or More (New York, Tax Year 2025)

Form IT-135 is a supplemental schedule that New York State residents attach to their personal income tax return when they’ve made a purchase costing $25,000 or more without paying sales tax at the time of purchase. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance uses this form to collect the use tax that’s owed on big-ticket items and services bought out of state, online, or from sellers who didn’t collect New York sales tax.

Most people think of sales tax as something that happens automatically at checkout, but that’s not always the case. If you buy furniture from an out-of-state retailer, hire a contractor who doesn’t charge tax, or purchase equipment from a seller with no New York presence, you may still owe use tax on that purchase. Form IT-135 exists specifically for high-value transactions — $25,000 or more — because the state wants visibility into larger purchases where uncollected tax adds up to real revenue.

Who Needs to File Form IT-135

You need this form if, during the tax year, you bought an item or service costing $25,000 or more and sales tax wasn’t collected on that purchase. This applies whether you bought a boat, a vehicle not subject to separate registration-based tax rules, expensive artwork, jewelry, or contracted services like major home renovations. It doesn’t matter whether the seller was located in New York or elsewhere — what matters is whether tax was actually collected.

If you already paid sales tax to another state at a rate equal to or higher than New York’s combined state and local rate, you may not owe additional tax, though you still might need to report the transaction. If you paid a lower rate elsewhere, New York expects you to make up the difference through this form.

When Form IT-135 Is Used

Form IT-135 gets filed alongside your New York State personal income tax return (Form IT-201 or IT-203) for the same tax year in which the purchase occurred. It’s not a standalone filing — it’s a report that flows into your overall tax liability calculation. If you’re also dealing with other supplemental schedules that tax year, such as Form IT-182 for passive activity loss limitations, you’ll want to make sure all your attachments are consistent and filed together with your main return.

Keep in mind this form only covers purchases of $25,000 or more. Smaller untaxed purchases still owe use tax, but those get reported through the regular use tax line on your income tax return rather than through this separate schedule. The $25,000 threshold exists to flag larger transactions that warrant their own itemized reporting.

How to Fill Out Form IT-135

The form asks for a description of each item or service purchased, the date of purchase, the purchase price, and where applicable, any sales tax already paid to another jurisdiction. You’ll calculate the New York use tax due based on the applicable state and local rate for your location, then subtract any credit for tax already paid elsewhere. The result gets carried over to your main income tax return.

Because this involves precise math around tax rates and credits, take your time cross-checking the local rate for your county or city, since rates vary across New York. An error here can mean underpaying or overpaying, and mistakes can trigger correspondence from the department later.

Form IT-135 is a fillable PDF, so you can complete it directly on your computer before printing or attaching it electronically if you’re filing through approved tax software. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance updates this form annually, so always confirm you’re using the version issued for the correct tax year — the 2025 version is designed specifically for purchases made during that year.

If you’re expecting a refund and want to split it across multiple accounts or use part of it toward next year’s estimated tax, that’s handled through a separate form. For details on that process, see our guide on Form IT-195, Allocation of Refund.

If you believe you have reasonable cause for late payment or filing related to a use tax issue, it’s worth noting that reasonable cause claims are typically handled through state-specific procedures — for California filers, for instance, FTB Form 2917 covers a similar concept, though New York has its own equivalent processes for penalty abatement requests.

Before submitting your return, double check that every purchase meeting the $25,000 threshold is listed on Form IT-135, since omitting a qualifying transaction can result in penalties and interest if the department later identifies the unreported purchase through other means, such as vehicle registrations, contractor licensing records, or third-party reporting.