Form ST-220-TD: Contractor Certification Explained (New York)

Form ST-220-TD, Contractor Certification, is issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance as part of the state’s effort to make sure businesses that hold public works contracts are properly registered to collect sales and use tax. If your company is bidding on or has been awarded a contract with a state agency, public authority, or other covered government entity, this form is likely to come up somewhere in the paperwork before payment is released.

The form exists because of Tax Law section 5-a, which requires certain contractors doing business with New York State to certify their sales tax registration status. The rule applies to contracts valued at more than $100,000 with a state agency, department, or public benefit corporation. Rather than letting unregistered vendors slip through the contracting process, the state built this certification requirement directly into the procurement chain.

Who Needs to File ST-220-TD

Any contractor, subcontractor, or affiliate entering into a covered contract with a New York governmental entity needs to deal with this form. That includes prime contractors on construction jobs, service providers, and vendors supplying goods, as long as the contract meets the dollar threshold and falls under section 5-a. It’s not limited to construction firms — any business type can be pulled into this requirement if the contract size and nature qualify.

If your company routinely works on public projects, it’s worth pairing your understanding of ST-220-TD with related exemption paperwork. For example, contractors performing capital improvements sometimes also need to review Form ST-124, Certificate of Capital Improvement, since the tax treatment of labor and materials can differ depending on the type of work performed.

When ST-220-TD Comes Into Play

ST-220-TD is submitted to the Tax Department itself, not directly to the contracting agency. The contractor files it to certify sales tax registration status, and the Tax Department reviews the submission. Once that’s done, the contractor is expected to also file Form ST-220-CA with the actual government agency awarding the contract, confirming that the ST-220-TD certification has been made. In practice, agencies won’t finalize a contract or release payment until both pieces are in place.

This two-step process trips up a lot of businesses that assume submitting one form is enough. If you’re managing bids for multiple government contracts, it helps to keep a checklist of which agency needs the ST-220-CA confirmation and when the underlying ST-220-TD certification was last filed, since the Tax Department may require recertification periodically.

How to Complete and Submit the Form

The form itself asks for basic identifying information about the contractor — legal business name, EIN, address, and a certification statement regarding sales tax registration under Tax Law Article 28. Because this is an AcroForm, you can fill it out directly on a computer using the fillable PDF fields rather than printing it blank and writing by hand. That reduces errors and makes the document easier to save and re-submit if a government contact requests an updated copy.

Before signing, double-check that your sales tax Certificate of Authority is current and that the business name and EIN on the form match your registration exactly. Mismatches are one of the most common reasons certifications get bounced back for correction, which can delay contract approval or payment processing.

Businesses working with public authorities or industrial development agencies sometimes also encounter related exemption reporting, such as Form ST-340 for IDA-related exemptions, or occupancy-related exemption paperwork like Form ST-129 when government employees are involved in lodging arrangements tied to a project. Keeping these forms straight helps avoid confusion when multiple certifications are due around the same contract cycle.

Once ST-220-TD is filed and accepted, keep a copy on hand for your records and for future contracts, since agencies may ask contractors to demonstrate an active, compliant certification history before awarding additional public work.