Form IT-59 Instructions: Tax Forgiveness for 9/11 Victims (NY, Rev. 12/25)

Form IT-59 is a New York State Department of Taxation and Finance form that allows the estates and survivors of individuals killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to claim state tax forgiveness. This relief is separate from any federal tax provisions and applies specifically to New York State personal income tax obligations. The instructions packet, IT59I, walks filers through eligibility rules, what documentation is needed, and how the forgiveness is calculated and applied to a return.

The underlying law recognizes that individuals who died as a direct result of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or the crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, shouldn’t have their estates or families burdened with state income tax liability for the year of death and, in many cases, the prior tax year as well. This mirrors similar federal relief provisions but requires its own separate New York filing since state and federal tax systems don’t automatically share this kind of forgiveness.

Who Needs to File Form IT-59

This form is meant for a fairly narrow group: the personal representatives, executors, or surviving family members handling the tax affairs of someone who died as a direct result of the September 11 attacks. If you’re filing a final return or an amended return on behalf of a victim’s estate, or if you’re claiming a refund of taxes already paid for the qualifying years, this is the form that documents your eligibility for the forgiveness provision.

It’s not a form for general 9/11-related hardship claims or for businesses affected by the attacks economically. The relief is specifically tied to individuals who lost their lives, and the instructions clarify exactly which death certifications and supporting records the Department of Taxation and Finance expects to see attached to a claim.

When This Form Applies

Because the qualifying event happened in 2001, most of these claims were originally filed years ago. However, New York continues to keep this form active and periodically revised (this version reflects a December 2025 revision) because estates can still surface, amended returns can still be filed within applicable statutes of limitation for refund claims, and some family members only recently became aware that this forgiveness option existed. If you’re settling an estate that was never properly closed out for tax purposes, or you’ve discovered that a prior representative never claimed this relief, the IT59I instructions explain how far back you can still go.

The form also covers situations involving members of the military and rescue personnel who died in the line of duty connected to the attacks, since New York’s forgiveness provisions extend beyond just office workers in the towers to first responders and others who perished as a direct consequence of the day’s events.

How to Get and Complete the Form

Form IT-59 has no digital fill-in fields, so you’ll need to print it and complete it by hand. Since this is a niche, low-volume form, New York hasn’t invested in an interactive PDF version the way it has for higher-traffic filings. Once printed, you’ll need to gather the death certificate, proof of the connection between the death and the terrorist attacks, and the decedent’s relevant prior-year tax filings before working through the calculations described in the instructions.

If you’re already navigating other New York tax credit or income forms as part of settling an estate or handling a final return, it helps to understand how the state structures its broader instruction booklets. Filers dealing with business or investment-related credits sometimes cross paths with guides like the Form IT-603 instructions for EZ investment tax credits, or estimated payment forms such as the Form IT-2664 instructions for nonresident cooperative unit payments, both of which follow the same general New York numbering and instruction format. If the estate also involved energy or fuel-related credits, the Form IT-253 alternative fuels credit instructions follow a similar layout worth reviewing for context on how New York organizes supplemental credit claims.

Given the sensitivity and specificity of this filing, it’s worth double-checking the current version against the Tax Department’s website before submitting, since revisions can update mailing addresses, contact information, or documentation requirements even when the core forgiveness rules stay the same.