Respond to a letter requesting additional information
Respond to a letter requesting additional information
- Locate the letter you received from the list below, under Respond to a letter.
- Review our printer-friendly checklists that outline what you need to respond.
- Log in or create your Online Services account.
- Select the ≡ Services menu, then choose Respond to department notice.
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.
- Language:
- Español
- Free interpretation
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.
Note: If you did not request electronic communications in your Individual Online Services account before we notified you about this letter, you will not see it in the Message Center on your Account Summary homepage and will receive it by mail only. To receive future correspondence electronically, see Request electronic communications.
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
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 copy of the letter we sent you (not available for Forms DTF-948 and DTF-948-O) (you can locate the form number of your letter in its bottom left-hand corner);
- 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).
Respond to a letter
DTF-948 or DTF-948-O (Request for Information)
Get ready to respond!
- Locate the form number of your letter in its bottom-left corner.
- Review our checklists to ensure you include everything we need in your response:
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Make digital copies of your documents. Hint: You don’t need a scanner to make a copy; use your smartphone to take and share a clear and legible picture instead!
Ready to respond?
- Log in or create your Online Services account.
- Select the ≡ Services menu, then choose Respond to department notice.
- From the Questionnaire page, in the Notice type section, select I received Form DTF-948 or DTF-948-O, as shown in the image below.
Notice type
For help with this online service, see Assistance with Respond to Department Notice. Please choose one of the options below and fill in the corresponding information.
- I received Form DTF-948 or DTF-948-O.
- I received a bill.
- I received a notice about my refund.
- My return was selected for review or audit.
- I received a notice not listed above.
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 your account now, before filing your next return.
Log in or create an account
Once you've logged in to your Online Services account:
- Select your name in the upper right-hand corner of your Account Summary homepage.
- Select Preferences, then select Electronic communications from the expanded menu.
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 - 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.
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 - Read the Acknowledgement section.
- Select Save.
