Department of Taxation and Finance

Instructions for Form IT-661 Farm Employer Overtime Credit

(including instructions for Form IT-661-ATT)

IT-661-I

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General information

The farm employer overtime credit is available to farmers who paid overtime to farm employees.

Eligible taxpayers may request an advance payment for the portion of the credit allowed from January 1 to July 31. For more information, visit www.tax.ny.gov (search: overtime).

Eligibility

You are eligible for this credit if you or your business:

• is a farm employer; and
• employs eligible farm employees that you paid eligible overtime directly (or indirectly through a qualified Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and you received a certificate from the Department of Agriculture and Markets).

Credit calculation

• The credit amount is 118% (1.18) of the eligible overtime hours worked multiplied by the difference of the employees’ regular rate of pay and their overtime rate of pay.
• Do not use any farm employees used in the calculation of the farm employer overtime credit to claim any other tax credit except for on Form IT-647, Farm Workforce Retention Credit.
• If you received an advance payment for this tax year that you are no longer eligible for, you must repay the amount you received.
• If you do not use the full amount of the credit against your tax liability this year, you may request a refund or apply the overpayment to next year’s tax. The Tax Department will not pay interest on the refund or overpayment.

Definitions

A farm employer is a corporation (including a New York S corporation), a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company (LLC), or a partnership that is an eligible farmer.

An eligible farmer is a taxpayer whose federal gross income from farming for the tax year is at least two-thirds of excess federal gross income.

Excess federal gross income is the amount of federal gross income from all sources for the tax year in excess of $30,000.

An eligible farm employee is an individual who meets the definition of a farm laborer under Labor Law § 2, who is employed by a farm employer in New York State. 

An eligible farm employee excludes:

• A general executive officer of the farm employer, or
• any employee that is not engaged in farming activity on qualified agricultural property if more than 50% of your federal gross income from farming is from the sale of wine or cider.

Qualified agricultural property means:

• land located in this state which is used in agricultural production;
• land improvements, structures, and buildings (excluding buildings used for the taxpayer’s residential purpose) located on such land which are used or occupied to carry out such production;
• land set aside or retired under a federal supply management or soil conservation program; or
• land that at the time it becomes subject to a conservation easement, as defined under Tax Law § 606(kk), met the requirements under this paragraph.

Eligible overtime is the total number of hours your employee worked in a week that exceeds the overtime work threshold shown below, not including hours in excess of 60 hours in a calendar week.

Qualified professional employer organization (PEO) means an entity who provides remuneration to or otherwise employs eligible farm employees on behalf of a farm employer.

How to claim the credit

If you are an individual, a beneficiary or fiduciary of an estate or trust, a partner in a partnership (including members of an LLC treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes), or a shareholder of an S corporation, and you are claiming the farm employer overtime credit, file Form IT-661.

A married couple in a business enterprise that made an IRC 761(f) election to file two federal Schedule C forms instead of a partnership return: If you file jointly, calculate your credit amount as if you were filing one federal Schedule C for the business.

An estate or trust that divides the credit between itself and its beneficiaries must submit Form IT-661 with Form IT-205, Fiduciary Income Tax Return, showing each beneficiary’s share of the credit.

A partnership must file Form IT-661 with Form IT-204, Partnership Return, showing the total credit.

A New York S corporation does not file Form IT-661. It must file Form CT-661, Farm Employer Overtime Credit.

If you are a shareholder of an S corporation, obtain your share of the farm employer overtime credit from the S corporation and follow the instructions on this form for claiming the credit on your personal return.

Line instructions

Line A: If you or your business were issued a certificate of advance payment from the Department of Agriculture and Markets, and you received an advance payment for this tax year from the Tax Department, mark an X in the Yes box. Enter the certificate number and include the amount on line 12. If you are no longer eligible for the credit, you must add this amount back to your tax return.

Line B: Mark an X in the appropriate box to determine the parts of this form you need to complete. If you are claiming this credit both as an individual (sole proprietor), partnership, or fiduciary of an estate or trust that earned the credit and as a partner, shareholder, or beneficiary receiving a share of the credit, mark an X in the Yes box and complete all appropriate schedules on one Form IT-661.

Line C: Complete the applicable worksheet found on our website at www.tax.ny.gov (search: farmtest). Do not submit the worksheets. Keep a copy of your completed worksheets for your records. 

If the percentage shown on the last line of your worksheet is:

• at least 0.6667 (66.67%), mark an X in the Yes box on line C, or
• less than 0.6667 (66.67%), stop; you do not qualify for this credit.

Line F: Enter the total number of different employees you entered on Forms IT-661-ATT. Count each employee once, even if you entered the employee on multiple lines because they worked at different locations, worked in different pay periods, or were paid different rates.

Line G: If you are claiming a credit for eligible overtime indirectly paid to eligible farm employees through a qualified PEO, mark an X in the Yes box. Enter the certificate number and the number of eligible farm employees as shown on the certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture and Markets. Do not complete Form IT-661-ATT.

Additional forms: If you have more entries than will fit on the lines provided in Schedules B, C on Form IT-661 or the Overtime information table on Form IT-661-ATT, submit additional forms completing only the necessary schedules. Include your name and taxpayer identification number on each additional form. On the indicated lines of the first Form IT-661, include the totals from all additional Forms IT-661 and IT-661-ATT. Place the extra forms behind the first Form IT-661 and submit them with your return.

Schedule A: Individual (including sole proprietor), partnership, and estate or trust

Note: See the definition of eligible overtime above.

Line 1: Transfer the total amount from all Forms IT-661-ATT, column I. List each eligible farm employee’s name, work location ZIP code, Social Security number, eligible overtime hours worked, overtime rate of pay, and normal rate of pay for the tax year on Form IT-661-ATT. See the definition of eligible farm employee above. Submit all Forms IT-661-ATT behind Form IT-661. If needed, see Additional forms.

Fiscal-year filers: Do not include any eligible overtime paid for the 2026 calendar year on your 2025 Form IT-661-ATT, or on line 1. All overtime paid for 2026 will be certified by the Department of Agriculture and Markets and claimed on your 2026 return. However, you may be eligible for an advance payment for overtime paid prior to July 31, 2026.

Note: If you are an eligible farm employer who paid overtime indirectly through a qualified PEO, enter the amount listed on your certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture and Markets. You do not have to complete Form IT-661-ATT.

Schedule B: Partner’s, shareholder’s, or beneficiary’s share of credit

Enter the appropriate information for each partnership, New York S corporation, estate or trust from which you received a share of the credit. Obtain your share of the credit from your partnership, S corporation, estate or trust. If you as a partner, shareholder, or beneficiary received from the farm employer a certificate from the Department of Agriculture and Markets listing you as an owner of an eligible farm and you applied for and you received advance payment from the Department of Taxation and Finance, enter the advanced payment certificate number in column D and the amount of advanced payment you received in column F. If needed, see Additional forms.

Note: If the eligible farm you received an advance payment from does not meet the two-thirds of excess federal gross income test, you must repay this amount to the Tax Department.

Schedule C: Beneficiary’s and fiduciary’s share of credit

An estate or trust must complete this schedule. If you allocate or assign the credit to your beneficiaries, base the division on each beneficiary’s share of the income of the estate or trust. Provide your beneficiaries with their share of the credit amount. If needed, see Additional forms.

Schedule D: Calculation of credit

Lines 8 through 10: Complete the lines that apply to you.

Line 12: Enter the total amount of any advance payments you applied for and received. If you did not receive an advance payment, enter 0.

Partnerships: Do not make an entry on this line.

Fiduciaries: Only enter the amount you received, do not include any amount claimed by any beneficiaries.

Line 13

Partnerships: Enter the amount from line 11 here. Enter this amount and code 661 on Form IT-204, line 147.

If line 11 is greater than line 12, subtract line 12 from line 11 and enter the result. This is your farm employer overtime credit amount.

Individuals: Enter the amount from line 13 and code 661 on:

• Form IT-201-ATT, Other Tax Credits and Taxes, line 12; or
• Form IT-203-ATT, Other Tax Credits and Taxes, line 12.

Partnerships: Enter the amount from line 13 and code 661 on Form IT-204, line 147.

Fiduciaries: Include the amount from line 13 and code 661 on Form IT-205, line 33.

If line 11 is equal to line 12, enter 0 on line 13. Do not carry this amount to another form.

If line 11 is less than line 12, subtract line 11 from line 12 and enter the result. You received an advance payment of more farm employer overtime credit than you were allowed, you must repay this amount to the Tax Department.

Individuals: Enter the amount from line 13 and code 661 on:

• Form IT-201-ATT, Other Tax Credits and Taxes, line 20; or
• Form IT-203-ATT, Other Tax Credits and Taxes, line 19.

Fiduciaries: Include the amount from line 13 and code 661 on Form IT-205, line 12.