Sales and miscellaneous taxes
More money
Collections of sales and use taxes increased by more than $2.4 billion to $17.9 billion in 2021, exceeding pre-COVID collections.
| Calendar year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use taxes and fees | $15,610.7 | $16,265.8 | $16,864.5 | $15,461.9 | $17,890.2 |
| Sales and use | $13,484.5 | $14,118.9 | $14,798.6 | $13,449.8 | $15,866.6 |
| Motor fuel | $514.4 | $525.3 | $519.2 | $445.2 | $477.3 |
| Cigarette and tobacco products | $1,182.5 | $1,127.7 | $1,051.4 | $1,017.8 | $975.5 |
| Vapor products | N/A | N/A | $2.1 | $38.2 | $32.5 |
| Medical marijuana | $1.4 | $3.3 | $5.5 | $7.6 | $12.2 |
| Opioid tax | N/A | N/A | N/A | $42.3 | $26.6 |
| Alcoholic beverage tax | $260.0 | $260.7 | $263.2 | $268.2 | $277.3 |
| Highway and fuel use | $91.6 | $146.7 | $140.6 | $134.3 | $143.8 |
| Auto rental tax | $76.3 | $83.2 | $83.9 | $58.5 | $78.4 |
Fewer vendors collect more sales tax
In 2021, 568,359 businesses collected $15.8 billion in state sales tax. This is an 18% increase in collections from 2020, by 1.3% fewer vendors.
| Calendar year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and use tax collections (in millions of dollars) | $13,484.5 | $14,118.9 | $14,798.6 | $13,449.8 | $15,866.6 |
| Number of sales tax vendors | 551,398 | 547,738 | 558,516 | 576,058 | 568,359 |
More exemptions
New York State offers tax exemptions on food, clothing, residential energy, Internet charges, and cable television, as well as a motor fuel tax cap. These exemptions save consumers more than $6.6 billion on staples and necessities every year.
| Consumer item | Description | Annual consumer savings ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Exempt from tax are food, food products, beverages, dietary foods, and health supplements sold for human consumption | $2.1 billion |
| Clothing | Exempt from tax are items of clothing and footwear costing less than $110 | $1 billion |
| Residential energy | Wood used for residential heating purposes, fuel oil, propane, natural gas, electricity and steam, and gas, electric, and steam services used for residential purposes are exempt from the state sales tax | $1 billion |
| Internet charges | Internet access service is exempt from the sales tax | $750 million |
| Cable television | Cable television service is exempt from the sales tax | $550 million |
| Motor fuel tax cap | Exempt from tax is any portion of the motor fuel taxable receipt that exceeds $2 per gallon | $250 million |
Industry shares of sales tax receipts
In 2021, the bulk of sales and use tax receipts were derived from retail trade and services industries. The primary driver of the year-over-year increases in 2021 was the easing of COVID restrictions that had been in place throughout much of 2020.
| 2021 industry taxable sales* | Industry share of total taxable sales (%) | Year-to-date change compared to 2020 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 46.7% | 16.9% |
| Services | 11.6% | 25.6% |
| Restaurants | 10.8% | 64.0% |
| Other** | 7.3% | 28.2% |
| Information | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 5.9% | 21.6% |
| Manufacturing | 4.3% | 11.3% |
| Construction | 2.7% | 17.4% |
| Utilities | 2.6% | 14.3% |
| Accommodation | 1.8% | 177.5% |
| Total | 100.00% | 23.20% |
*Based on sales tax liability period of March 2021 through February 2022. Liability data may not match collections data due to late payments, amended returns, adjustments, and so on.
**Includes unclassified vendors, agriculture, mining, transportation, education, finance, insurance, real estate, and government.
