N.Y. Tax Law § 1116: Exempt organizations

§ 1116. Exempt organizations. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this

section, any sale or amusement charge by or to any of the following or

any use or occupancy by any of the following shall not be subject to the

sales and compensating use taxes imposed under this article:

(1) The state of New York, or any of its agencies, instrumentalities,

public corporations (including a public corporation created pursuant to

agreement or compact with another state or Canada) or political

subdivisions where it is the purchaser, user or consumer, or where it is

a vendor of services or property of a kind not ordinarily sold by

private persons;

(2) The United States of America, and any of its agencies and

instrumentalities, insofar as it is immune from taxation where it is the

purchaser, user or consumer, or where it sells services or property of a

kind not ordinarily sold by private persons;

(3) The United Nations or any international organization of which the

United States of America is a member where it is the purchaser, user or

consumer, or where it sells services or property of a kind not

ordinarily sold by private persons;

(4) Any corporation, association, trust, or community chest, fund,

foundation, or limited liability company, organized and operated

exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public

safety, literary or educational purposes, or to foster national or

international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its

activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment),

or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the

net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder

or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is

carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence

legislation, (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h) of section

five hundred one of the United States internal revenue code of nineteen

hundred fifty-four, as amended), and which does not participate in, or

intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements),

any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate

for public office. The provisions of this paragraph regarding political

campaign activity shall be interpreted in the same manner as section

501(c)(3) of the United States internal revenue code has been

interpreted as of the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two

thousand nineteen that amended this paragraph;

(5) A post or organization of past or present members of the armed

forces of the United States, or an auxiliary unit or society of, or a

trust or foundation for, any such post or organization:

(A) organized in this state,

(B) at least seventy-five percent of the members of which are past or

present members of the armed forces of the United States as defined in

section thirteen-a of the general construction law and substantially all

of the other members of which are individuals who are cadets or are

spouses, widows, widowers, ancestors, or lineal descendants of past or

present members of the armed forces of the United States or of cadets,

and

(C) no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any

private shareholder or individual.

(6) The following Indian nations or tribes residing in New York state:

Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Poospatuck, Saint Regis Mohawk, Seneca,

Shinnecock, Tonawanda and Tuscarora, where it is the purchaser, user or

consumer.

(7) A not-for-profit corporation operating as a health maintenance

organization subject to the provisions of article forty-four of the

public health law.

(8) Cooperative and foreign corporations doing business in this state

pursuant to the rural electric cooperative law.

(9) A credit union, as defined in subdivision nine of section two of

the banking law, where it is the purchaser, user, or consumer, or where

it is a vendor of services or property of a kind not ordinarily sold by

private persons.

(b) Nothing in this section shall exempt:

(1) (i) retail sales of tangible personal property by any shop or

store operated by an organization described in paragraph (4), (5) or (6)

of subdivision (a) of this section; (ii) sales, other than for resale,

of services described in subdivision (b) or paragraph five of

subdivision (c) of section eleven hundred five of this article by that

organization, whether or not at a shop or store; (iii) retail sales of

tangible personal property and sales, other than for resale, of those

services by that organization, made with a degree of regularity,

frequency, and continuity by remote means, such as by telephone, the

internet, mail order or otherwise; or (iv) retail sales of tangible

personal property by lease or rental by that organization as lessor,

whether or not at a shop or store;

(2) sales of food or drink in or by a restaurant, tavern or other

establishment operated by an organization described in paragraph (1),

paragraph (4), paragraph (5) or paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of this

section, other than sales exempt under paragraph (ii) of subdivision (d)

of section eleven hundred five, from the taxes imposed hereunder, unless

the purchaser is an organization exempt under this section;

(3) sales of the service of providing parking, garaging or storing for

motor vehicles by an organization described in paragraph (4) or

paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of this section operating a garage

(other than a garage which is part of premises occupied solely as a

private one or two family dwelling), parking lot or other place of

business engaged in providing parking, garaging or storing for motor

vehicles; or

(4) sales of tangible personal property or services by cooperative and

foreign corporations doing business in this state pursuant to the rural

electric cooperative law, unless the purchaser is an organization exempt

under this section.

(5) purchases of motor fuel or diesel motor fuel from the tax required

to be prepaid pursuant to section eleven hundred two of this article and

retail sales of motor fuel or diesel motor fuel subject to the tax

imposed by sections eleven hundred five and eleven hundred ten of this

article, except that purchases of such fuel by an organization described

in paragraph one or two of subdivision (a) of this section for its own

use or consumption, purchases of motor fuel by a hospital included in

the organizations described in paragraph four of such subdivision for

its own use and consumption, purchases of motor fuel and diesel motor

fuel by a fire company or fire department, as defined in section three

of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law or a voluntary ambulance

service, as defined in section three thousand one of the public health

law, for such department, company or service's own use and consumption

for use in firefighting vehicles, apparatus or equipment, or emergency

rescue or first aid response vehicles, apparatus or equipment, owned and

operated by such department, company or service if such company,

department or service qualifies as an exempt organization pursuant to

the provisions of paragraph four of subdivision (a) of this section and

purchases of diesel motor fuel by an organization described in paragraph

four of such subdivision for its own heating use and consumption shall

be exempt from such tax required to be prepaid and from retail sales and

use taxes on such fuel.

(6) purchases of cigarettes from the tax required to be prepaid

pursuant to section eleven hundred three of this article, except that no

prepayment of tax shall be required on sales of cigarettes sold under

such circumstances that this state is without power to impose such tax

or sold to the United States or sold to or by a voluntary unincorporated

organization of the armed forces of the United States operating a place

for sale of goods pursuant to regulations promulgated by the appropriate

executive agency of the United States, to the extent provided in such

regulations and written policy statements of such agency applicable to

such sales.

(7) rent received by a hotel operated by a college or university,

where such hotel offers one hundred or more rooms for occupancy, and

where the individual paying said rent is not doing business on behalf of

any organization exempted pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section.

(c) (1) Where any organization described in paragraph four of

subdivision (a) of this section carries on its activities in furtherance

of the purposes for which it was organized, in premises in which, as

part of said activities, it operates a hotel, occupancy of rooms in the

premises and rents therefrom received by such corporation or association

shall not be subject to tax hereunder.

(2) Nothing in this subdivision shall exempt any hotel operated by a

college or university and which offers one hundred or more rooms for

occupancy from collecting taxes imposed pursuant to section eleven

hundred five of this article from individuals who are not doing business

on behalf of an organization exempted pursuant to subdivision (a) of

this section.

(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, any

admissions all of the proceeds of which inure exclusively to the benefit

of the following organizations shall not be subject to any of the taxes

imposed under subdivision (f) of section eleven hundred five:

(A) an organization described in paragraph (4), (5) or (6) of

subdivision (a) of this section;

(B) a society or organization conducted for the sole purpose of

maintaining symphony orchestras or operas and receiving substantial

support from voluntary contributions; or

(C) national guard organizations; or

(D) a police or fire department of a political subdivision of the

state, or a voluntary fire or ambulance company, or exclusively to a

retirement, pension or disability fund for the sole benefit of members

of a police or fire department or to a fund for the heirs of such

members.

(2) The exemption provided under paragraph (1) of this subdivision

shall not apply in the case of admissions to:

(A) Any athletic game or exhibition unless the proceeds shall inure

exclusively to the benefit of elementary or secondary schools or unless

in the case of an athletic game between two elementary or secondary

schools, the entire gross proceeds from such game shall inure to the

benefit of one or more organizations described in paragraph (4) of

subdivision (a) of this section;

(B) Carnivals or rodeos in which any professional performer or

operator participates for compensation, unless the entire net profit

from such carnival or rodeo shall inure exclusively to the benefit of an

organization described in paragraph four of subdivision (a) of this

section, and such organization shall have as its charitable or

educational purpose the operation of a school and of such a carnival or

rodeo; or

(3) Admission charges for admission to the following places or events

shall not be subject to any of the taxes imposed under subdivision (f)

of section eleven hundred five:

(A) Any admission to agricultural fairs if no part of the net earnings

thereof inures to the benefit of any stockholders or members of the

association conducting the same; provided the proceeds therefrom are

used exclusively for the improvement, maintenance and operation of such

agricultural fairs.

(B) Any admission to a home or garden which is temporarily open to the

general public as a part of a program conducted by a society or

organization to permit the inspection of historical homes and gardens;

provided no part of the net earnings thereof inures to the benefit of

any private stockholder or individual.

(C) Any admissions to historic sites, houses and shrines, and museums

conducted in connection therewith, maintained and operated by a society

or organization devoted to the preservation and maintenance of such

historic sites, houses, shrines and museums; provided no part of the net

earnings thereof inures to the benefit of any private stockholder or

individual.

(e) Receipts from the service of trash removal shall be exempt from

the tax on such service imposed by this article, where such service is

rendered by a municipal corporation of the state, other than a city of

one million or more, including such service rendered on its behalf,

under an agreement with such corporation.

(f)(1) For purposes of paragraph four of subdivision (a) of this

section, in the case of a qualified amateur sports organization (A) the

requirement of such paragraph that no part of its activities involve the

provision of athletic facilities or equipment shall not apply, and (B)

such organization shall not fail to meet the requirement of such

paragraph merely because its membership is local or regional in nature.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "qualified amateur

sports organization" means any organization organized and operated

exclusively to foster national or international amateur sports

competition if such organization is also organized and operated

primarily to conduct national or international competition in sports or

to support and develop amateur athletes for national or international

competition in sports.

(g) For purposes of paragraph five of subdivision (a) of this section,

duly authorized representatives of any such post or organization, while

acting on behalf of such post or organization, shall not be subject to

the tax imposed under subdivision (e) of section eleven hundred five or

the unit fee imposed by section eleven hundred four of this article,

provided that such representatives provide an exempt organization

certificate from such post or organization certifying that such

representative is acting on its behalf.