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Payment Plans for Business and Excise Tax FAQ’s
With a payment plan, you can pay the total amount you owe for tax judgment debt in installments, rather than all at once. Entering into a payment plan can prevent enforcement actions, such as having your bank account levied.
After enrolling in a plan, you can make your payments online at e-Services. (Instructions for enrolling in a plan are below.)
Although your payments will be more manageable with a payment plan, the total amount you owe will increase, because interest will continue to accrue on the outstanding balance until the amount you owe is completely paid off. There is no penalty for prepayment of your payment plan. If you would like to save on interest, you can pay off your outstanding balance at any time.
Available plans
The standard payment plan is the best option for most taxpayers.
To qualify, you must:
- Be the legal business owner or an authorized representative.
- Agree to include in the payment plan all open tax judgments.
- For judgments under $1,000, pay 50% or more of the total amount due and the remaining balance within 60 days.
- For judgments of $1,000 or more, pay at least 20% of the total amount due and agree to a payment plan length of no more than 24 months.
- Meet the down payment and term requirements:
| Total Judgment Amount | Minimum Down Payment | Maximum Term |
| Under $1,000 | 50% of total | Balance due within 60 days |
| $1,000 or more | 20% of total | Up to 24 months |
You may qualify for a moderate-income payment plan if your adjusted gross income is under $86,400.
This payment plan requires a minimum down payment of 15% of the judgment debt amount owed. The plan may last as long as 36 months.
You may be required to submit additional documentation related to income for the moderate-income and hardship payment plans.
A hardship payment plan is available to individuals who are unemployed, have suffered the loss of an income-earning family member, or have lost their home due to a natural disaster. Hardship plans also are available to small businesses that have suffered economic losses and nonprofit organizations that have a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS.
This payment plan requires a minimum down payment of 5% of the judgment amount debt owed. The plan may last as long as 48 months.
You may be required to submit additional documentation related to income for the moderate-income and hardship payment plans.
How to enroll
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a payment plan is at e-Services. You can register for e-Services with an employer identification number (EIN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or Social Security number.
After enrolling in a payment plan through e-Services, you will receive an email confirming your payment plan details within 24 hours. Be sure to check your spam or junk folder.
If your bank account has been levied or restrained, you cannot enroll in a payment plan. Please call (212) 440-5300 for more information.
Required documents
To enroll in the moderate or hardship business tax payment plan options, you may be required to submit copies of the following documents:
- Two most recent federal tax returns.
- Forms 1120 or 1120S
- Form 1065
- Form1040, including Schedule C (individual filers only)
- Current count of employees
You may be required to submit additional documentation related to income for the moderate-income or hardship payment plans.
Making payments
You can make payments easily and securely online at e-Services.
If you prefer to mail your payment, you can send your check or money order, made payable to the NYC Department of Finance, to NYC Department of Finance, P.O. Box 3933, New York, NY 10008. Please write your Letter ID in the memo portion of your check or money order.
Frequently asked questions
If you are receiving the message “No Payment Plan - No payment plan exists for selected type” in e-Services, your payment plan may have been canceled.
If the above does not apply to you, but you are still unable to make payments, please log in to e-Services and send us a message. Under the More tab, click Send Us a Message and select Payment Plans for message type.
Enrolling in a payment plan and making your payments on time will prevent enforcement actions, such as having your bank account levied.
The three most common reasons for a payment plan default or cancelation are:
- You did not make a down payment.
- You did not make your installment payments. If you have paid your down payment and your installment payments, please verify with your bank or credit card company that the charges were processed properly.
- New debt entered judgment, and you did not pay it in full.
If the above do not apply to you, you can contact the Department of Finance to request an explanation of why your payment plan defaulted. Please log in to your e-Services account, click on the More tab, and select Send Us a Message. Choose Payment Plans under message type.
To enroll in a new payment plan after defaulting on a previous plan, you must contact the Department of Finance at (212) 440-5300. Choose option 3 for business taxes.
If you have debt of more than $25,000 and you cannot afford the 20% down payment to enroll in a payment plan, please contact us. Log in to your e-Services account, click on the More tab, and select Send Us a Message. Choose Payment Plans under message type.
Only debt that is in judgment at the time the payment plan is created can be included in the payment plan. For more information on judgment debt, please visit our collections webpage.