N.Y. Tax Law § 674: Employer's return and payment of withheld taxes

§ 674. Employer's return and payment of withheld taxes. (a) General.

Every employer required to deduct and withhold tax under this article

shall file a withholding return and pay over to the tax commission or to

a depositary designated by the tax commission, the taxes so required to

be deducted and withheld, as hereafter prescribed.

(1) If, after having made a payroll, an employer has been required to

deduct and withhold, but has not paid over, a cumulative aggregate

amount of seven hundred dollars or more of tax during a calendar

quarter, such employer shall file a return and pay over the tax. If an

employer was required to remit a cumulative aggregate amount of less

than fifteen thousand dollars in withholding tax during the calendar

year which precedes the previous calendar year, the tax shall be paid

over on or before the fifth business day following the date of making

such a payroll. If an employer was required to remit a cumulative

aggregate amount more than or equal to fifteen thousand dollars in

withholding tax during the calendar year which precedes the previous

calendar year, the tax shall be paid over on or before the third

business day following the date of making such a payroll. In the case of

an "educational organization" as defined in paragraph two of subsection

(a) of section nine of this chapter or a "health care provider" as

defined in paragraph four of subsection (a) of section nine of this

chapter, the tax shall be paid over on or before the fifth business day

following the date of making such a payroll.

(2) If, at the close of any calendar quarter, an employer has been

required to deduct and withhold, but has not paid over, a cumulative

aggregate amount of less than seven hundred dollars of tax during such

calendar quarter, such employer shall pay over the tax with the

quarterly combined withholding, wage reporting and unemployment

insurance return required to be filed for such quarter by paragraph four

of this subsection, on or before the last date prescribed by such

paragraph for filing such return.

(3) If an employer makes more than one payroll per week, then such

employer shall determine the applicability of the rules described in

paragraphs one and two of this subsection measured by the last payroll

made within the week by such employer; provided, however, that in any

week in which the end of a quarter occurs between the making of payrolls

by an employer, any tax required to be deducted and withheld in a

payroll or payrolls made during such week prior to or on the end of the

quarter shall be paid over. If an employer was required to remit a

cumulative aggregate amount of less than fifteen thousand dollars in

withholding tax during the calendar year which precedes the previous

calendar year, the tax shall be paid over on or before the fifth

business day following the date of making the last payroll in such

quarter. If an employer was required to remit a cumulative aggregate

amount more than or equal to fifteen thousand dollars in withholding tax

during the calendar year which precedes the previous calendar year, the

tax shall be paid over on or before the third business day following the

date of making the last payroll in such quarter. In the case of an

"educational organization" as defined in paragraph two of subsection (a)

of section nine of this chapter or a "health care provider" as defined

in paragraph four of subsection (a) of section nine of this chapter, the

tax shall be paid over on or before the fifth business day following the

date of making such a payroll. For purposes of this paragraph, the term

"week" shall mean the period Sunday through Saturday.

(4) (A) All employers described in paragraph one of subsection (a) of

section six hundred seventy-one of this part, including those whose

wages paid are not sufficient to require the withholding of tax from the

wages of any of their employees, all employers required to provide the

wage reporting information for the employees described in subdivision

one of section one hundred seventy-one-a of this chapter, and all

employers liable for unemployment insurance contributions or for

payments in lieu of such contributions pursuant to article eighteen of

the labor law, shall file a quarterly combined withholding, wage

reporting and unemployment insurance return detailing the preceding

calendar quarter's withholding tax transactions, such quarter's wage

reporting information, such quarter's withholding reconciliation

information, such quarter's unemployment insurance contributions, and

such other related information as the commissioner of taxation and

finance or the commissioner of labor, as applicable, may prescribe. Such

returns shall be filed no later than the last day of the month following

the last day of each calendar quarter.

(B) An employer shall, at the time prescribed by subparagraph (A) of

this paragraph for filing each quarterly combined withholding, wage

reporting and unemployment insurance return, pay over, in a single

remittance, the unemployment insurance contributions and aggregate

withholding taxes required to be paid over with such return.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an overpayment of

unemployment insurance contributions or of aggregate withholding taxes

made by an employer with the quarterly combined withholding, wage

reporting and unemployment insurance return for a calendar quarter may

be only credited by such employer against such employer's liability for

unemployment insurance contributions or aggregate withholding taxes,

respectively.

(C) The provisions of article eighteen of the labor law relating to

administration of the state's unemployment insurance program shall apply

to the department's duties under this chapter relating to unemployment

insurance information, contributions and payments.

(5) The tax commission may, if it believes such action necessary for

the protection of the revenues, require any employer to make such return

and pay to it the tax deducted and withheld at any time, or from time to

time.

(6) Each employer in the construction classification as defined in

section one hundred seventy-one-j of this chapter, shall submit to the

commissioner quarterly, with such employer's quarterly combined

withholding and wage reporting return, information relating to the

aggregate numbers of hours worked by all such employees of such employer

on a quarterly basis, and the geographic location or locations in which

such employees worked during each quarter. Such information shall be

reported in such form as the commissioner shall prescribe.

(b) Deposit in trust for tax commission. Whenever any employer fails

to collect, truthfully account for, pay over the tax, or make returns of

the tax as required in this section, the tax commission may serve a

notice requiring such employer to collect the taxes which become

collectible after service of such notice, to deposit such taxes in a

bank approved by the tax commission, in a separate account, in trust for

and payable to the tax commission, and to keep the amount of such tax in

such account until payment over to the tax commission. Such notice shall

remain in effect until a notice of cancellation is served by the tax

commission.