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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.

two people looking at paper documents
Did you receive a letter asking you to complete Form DTF-32, DTF-33, TD-210.2, TD-210.3, or TD-210.7? 

To receive your new check sooner, use your mobile device to submit your form online! For more information and instructions, see Online Document Upload.

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

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.

How to respond to an RFI letter (Form DTF-948 or DTF-948-O)

  1. Review our checklists to ensure you include everything we need in your response:
  2. 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.
     
  3. 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:
    1. Take a picture of the documentation with your smartphone or tablet.
    2. Either save the picture to your smartphone or tablet, or email the picture to yourself to save to another device.
    3. 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.

  4. 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?

  1. Log in to or create your Online Services account.
  2. Select the ≡ Services menu, then choose Respond to department notice.
  3. From the Notices page, select your notice from the Quick response section.
  4. 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 image of Notice type screen

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:

If you received a form not listed below, see Respond to your notice or bill.

Letter Example

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.

Demo: Respond to a Department Notice

Demo: Respond to a Department Notice
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