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Department of Taxation and Finance

Respond to a letter requesting additional information

Respond to a letter requesting additional information

  1. Locate the letter you received from the list below, under Respond to a letter.
  2. Review our printer-friendly checklists that outline what you need to respond.
  3. Log in or create your Online Services account.
  4. Select the ≡ Services menu, then choose Respond to department notice.

Find your letter

Note: If you received a letter telling you your refund was adjusted or denied (Form DTF-160 or DTF-161), see Your refund was adjusted.

New letter this year: Request for Information (RFI)

Requests for Information (Forms DTF-948 and DTF-948-O) are new letters the Tax Department may send you for tax year 2020 and later. If your refund status says we sent you one of these letters, we need additional information to finish processing your return. It is important that you respond by the date noted on the letter to allow us to continue processing your return.

Where to find your letter online

You can view your letter in your Individual Online Services account, using our Respond to Department Notice application. You do not need to request electronic communications to view this notice in the application.

Note: If you requested electronic communications in your Individual Online Services account, you may also see the letter in the message center on your Account Summary homepage.

Common reasons we may send Forms DTF-948 or DTF-948-O

  • We need to verify you reported the correct amount of wages and withholding, and that you allocated correctly to New York State (see Checklist for acceptable proof of wages and withholding).
  • We need to verify your residency.
  • You're claiming a credit or tax benefit, and we did not receive a copy of the form with your tax return. (We need a copy of the form to review the credit you are claiming.)
  • We need to verify your eligibility for the refundable tax credits or itemized deductions you claimed.
  • You're claiming a dependent deduction and we need to verify the dependent's Social Security number or date of birth (see Checklist for acceptable proof of a child or dependent).
  • We need information to verify the rental real estate income or loss you claimed.
  • We need to verify information about partnership, S corporation, or trust income or loss.

For directions on how to respond, see Get ready to respond.

New refund status

sample image of Refund status screen

We sent you a letter requesting additional information. You should receive the letter within 2 weeks. To respond to your letter quickly and easily online--and to review our checklists for a complete response--select Help in the upper-right corner of this page.

The Help button is available in the Check your refund status application. The same information is available below.

Why you received a letter

If you receive a letter from us asking for documentation to support what you claimed on your return, it doesn't mean that you did anything wrong. It's just an extra step we take to ensure refunds—for the correct amounts—go out to only those who are entitled to them. Our goal is to stop questionable refunds before they go out the door, not to delay your refund.

Select an expandable to learn what you need to respond to your particular letter. You can:

  • view a sample copy of the letter we sent you (you can locate the form number of your letter in its bottom left corner); Note: If you received Form DTF-948 or 948-O, you will have an opportunity to review your notice within the Respond to Department Notice application itself.
  • review our printer-friendly checklists that outline how to respond;
  • see step-by-step instructions for how to respond online (view our Respond to a Department Notice demo to see how easy it is); and
  • create an Individual Online Services account if you don’t already have one (watch our Individual Account Creation demo to learn how).

Letter Example

Respond to a letter

Request electronic communications from the department

The best way to communicate with the Tax Department about your return is to open an Online Services account and request electronic communications for both Bills and Related Notices and Other Notifications. To ensure that you receive future communications in the message center of your Online Services Account Summary homepage, create or log in to your account and update your preferences now, before filing your next return. 

Log in   create account 

Once you've logged in to your Online Services account:

  1. Select your name in the upper-right corner of your Account Summary homepage.
  2. Select Preferences, then select Electronic communications from the expanded menu.

    Image of log in screen

    Filing Information sample form:
    Enter your company's information:
    Field 1: Taxpayer ID
    Field 2: Legal Name
    Field 3: Street Address
    Field 4: City
    Field 5: State/Province
    Field 6: Zip/Postal Code
    Field 7: Filing Method (Note: Must be the same as selected on questionnaire.) Option 1: Gross Weight Method Option 2: Unloaded Weight Method
    Field 8: Number of Vehicle Records to Report

  3. Choose the Electronic notification options you want to receive email about. To receive a notification when your refund is issued and other electronic communications about your income tax refund, select both options.

    Image of electronic notification screen

    Header cel: Electronic notification options
    Bills and Related Notices-Get emails about your bills.
    Other notifications-Get emails about refunds, filings, payments, account adjustments, etc.
    Header cell: Receive email
    Check box
    Check box

  4. Read the Acknowledgement section.
  5. Select Save.

Demo: Respond to a Department Notice

Demo: Respond to a Department Notice
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