Respond to a letter requesting additional information
Respond to a letter requesting additional information
If you receive a letter asking for missing information or documentation to support what you claimed on your return, it doesn't mean 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.
To identify the letter you received, locate the form number in its bottom-left corner.
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.
Request for Information letter (Form DTF-948 or DTF-948-O)
The primary letter we use to request information about a return is Form DTF-948 or DTF-948-O, Request for Information (RFI). If your refund status says we sent you one of these letters, it's important you respond by the date noted on the letter so we can continue processing your return.
Common reasons we send RFI letters include:
- We need to verify you reported the correct amount of wages and withholding for New York State, New York City, and Yonkers (see Checklist for acceptable proof of wages and withholding).
- We need to verify you lived or worked in New York State, New York City, or Yonkers.
- You claimed 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 tax credits or itemized deductions you claimed.
- You claimed 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 income or loss for a partnership, S corporation, or trust.
Where to view your letter online
If you received an RFI letter, you can view it in your Individual Online Services account using our Respond to Department Notice application. You do not need to request electronic communications to view this letter in the application.
Request for Information status
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.
How to respond to an RFI letter (Form DTF-948 or DTF-948-O)
- Review our checklists to ensure you include everything we need in your response:
- Checklist for acceptable proof of wages and withholding
- Checklist for acceptable proof of child or dependent care expenses
- Checklist for acceptable proof of child and dependent relationship
- Checklist for acceptable proof of college tuition expenses
- Checklist for acceptable proof of itemized deductions
- Checklist for acceptable proof of self-employment income
- Checklist for acceptable proof of business loss
- Checklist for acceptable proof of rental loss
- Checklist for acceptable proof of taxi, limousine, or self-employed driver income and expenses
- Gather the documents we requested.
If your letter included a questionnaire and you need additional sheets to complete your response, download an extra copy of Form AU-262.3, Nonresident Audit Questionnaire, or Form AU-262.55, Income Allocation Questionnaire.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to or create your Online Services account.
- Select the ≡ Services menu, then choose Respond to department notice.
- From the Notices page, select your notice from the Quick response section.
- Use the Actions drop-down to view or respond to the notice you received.
For screen-by-screen instructions, see Respond to Request for Information: walkthrough.
To learn what to expect after you respond, see What happens next.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
How to respond to a different letter
Identify the form number of your letter in its bottom-left corner, then select the expandable with your letter’s form number to:
- view a sample copy of the letter we sent,
- review our printer-friendly checklists that outline how to respond, and
- see step-by-step instructions for how to respond in our Respond to Department Notice application (for a preview of the application:
- review our Respond to Department Notice: walkthrough, and
- watch our Respond to a Department Notice demo).
If you received a form not listed below, see Respond to your notice or bill.
DTF-973.56-O or DTF-973.96-O (wages and withholding)
If your refund status recently changed to the status below, we're sending you Form DTF-973.56-O. To view and respond to your notice now, follow the steps provided to submit the information requested online.
We sent you a letter requesting information to verify the amount of withholding you claimed on your tax return.
Tip: To find your Document Locator Number (DLN), log in to your Individual Online Services account. The confirmation number for your 2019 income tax return is the same as your DLN.
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received and the checklists for responding to your letter to ensure you include everything we need in your response:
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 a notice about my refund, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.52 or DTF-973.73 (child or dependent)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received:
- DTF-973.52, or
- DTF-973.73.
- Review both checklists about responding to your letter to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.52 or DTF-973.73 (college tuition)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received:
- DTF-973.52, or
- DTF-973.73.
- Review our Checklist for acceptable proof of college tuition expenses to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.52 (self-employment income)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter and questionnaire you received: DTF-973.52 and DTF-973.52-ATT.
- Review our Checklist for acceptable proof of self-employment income to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.73 (child and dependent care expenses)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received: DTF-973.73.
- Review both checklists about responding to your letter to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.66 (business loss)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received: DTF-973.66.
- Review our Checklist for acceptable proof of business loss to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.65 (rental loss)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received: DTF-973.65.
- Review our Checklist for acceptable proof of rental loss to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.3 (taxi, limousine, or self-employed driver income and expenses)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received: DTF-973.3.
- Review our Checklist for acceptable proof of taxi, limousine, or self-employed driver income and expenses to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
DTF-973.55 (itemized deductions)
Get ready to respond!
- View the letter you received: DTF-973.55.
- Review our Checklist for acceptable proof of itemized deductions to ensure you include everything we need in your response.
- Gather the documents we requested.
- Save all your documentation in the same place on your computer, so it’s easy to locate when you’re ready to upload. If you have paper documentation, you don’t need a scanner to make a digital copy:
- Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
- Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
- Review the digital copy (picture) to ensure it’s clear and we can read all the words.
You can upload one or more files with a combined total size of 50mb or fewer. We accept files with the following extensions: doc, docx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml, jpeg, jpg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff or pdf. We do not accept files with a zip extension. See Uploading a file: detailed instructions.
- Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name;
- a daytime telephone number where we can reach you;
- your dependent’s Social Security number or date of birth, if requested; and
- the name and phone number of anyone we’re allowed to speak to about this specific response (not any other tax matters) on your behalf (note: in providing this information, you’re authorizing a third-party designee and will need to create a 5-digit PIN to provide to your designee so we can verify their identity if they call on your behalf).
Ready to respond?
- Log in to 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 My return was selected for review or audit, as shown in the image below.
Sample screen of Respond to Department Notice page
What happens next
We review responses in the order we receive them. Your return may remain under review for an extended period to allow us time to review. When complete, your return will move to the processing stage and could be selected for additional review before completing processing.
Once all reviews are complete, we’ll process your return and issue a refund, a bill, or an account adjustment notice, as applicable.
We recommend you open an Individual Online Services account and request electronic communications so you can view online any communications we send.
If we approve a refund or adjusted refund, your status will update to OSC Approved.
If we issue a bill, your status will update to: Balance Due Assessed. You must follow the directions in the letter and reply completely with the information we requested. The Office of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate cannot assist you if you have not responded to our request.
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