Form RP-575: Annual Report for Electric Generating Facilities Explained

Form RP-575, issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, is the Annual Report for Electric Generating Facilities. Owners and operators of power plants in New York use this form to report detailed operational, physical, and financial information about their generating facilities to local assessors. This data feeds into how these properties are valued for real property tax purposes each year.

Electric generating facilities present unique valuation challenges compared to typical commercial or residential property. Assessors need specialized data on capacity, fuel type, equipment, output, and revenue to arrive at a fair assessment. Rather than leaving this to guesswork or piecemeal requests, New York requires facility owners to submit a standardized annual report covering the prior calendar year’s operations.

Who Needs to File Form RP-575

Any owner or operator of an electric generating facility located in New York State is generally required to file this report annually with the assessor of the municipality where the facility sits. This applies whether the facility runs on fossil fuels, nuclear power, hydroelectric sources, wind, solar, or other generation methods. Utility companies, independent power producers, and merchant generators that own qualifying facilities all fall under this filing requirement.

If your facility generates electricity for sale or distribution and is subject to local property tax assessment in New York, you likely need to complete this form. Facilities that are exempt from local taxation under specific state programs may have different reporting obligations, so it’s worth confirming your facility’s status with the local assessor before assuming the requirement applies or doesn’t apply to you.

When Form RP-575 Is Due

This is an annual filing, meaning facility owners must submit updated information every year rather than a one-time submission. The report typically covers data from the previous calendar year and must be filed by a set deadline established by the assessing jurisdiction, often aligned with the taxable status date for the municipality. Missing the deadline can complicate the assessment process and may result in the assessor using estimated or prior-year figures instead of current data, which isn’t ideal for either party.

Because deadlines can vary slightly depending on the local assessing unit, it’s a good idea to confirm the exact due date directly with the municipality where your facility is located rather than assuming a statewide fixed date applies uniformly.

What Information the Form Requires

Form RP-575 asks for a range of technical and financial details about the facility, including generating capacity, fuel source, equipment specifications, actual output for the reporting year, and revenue figures tied to the facility’s operation. The form is structured to give assessors the raw data they need to apply appropriate valuation methodologies for power generation assets, which differ significantly from standard property appraisal approaches.

Because the form is a fillable AcroForm PDF, you can complete it directly on your computer using standard PDF software, entering data into the designated fields before printing or submitting electronically if the local assessor accepts that method. Filling it in digitally reduces errors compared to handwriting and makes it easier to retain a clean copy for your own records.

How to Get and Complete the Form

The current version, revised in January 2024, is available directly from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Facility owners should download the official PDF, review the instructions carefully, and gather the relevant operational and financial records before starting to fill it out. Having your generation logs, equipment inventories, and revenue statements on hand ahead of time makes the process considerably faster.

This filing sits alongside a broader set of property-related forms that New York facility and property owners may encounter, such as those covering energy-related property reporting or procedures for disputing assessments through filings like the complaint on tentative special franchise values. If your organization also manages billing or mailing arrangements for property tax statements, it may be useful to review how duplicate tax bill requests work as well, since generating facility owners often deal with multiple related filings throughout the assessment cycle.

Once completed, the form should be submitted to the assessor’s office for the municipality where the facility is located, following whatever submission method that office specifies, whether by mail, in person, or through an accepted electronic channel.