On most purchases, the tax rate to use is determined as follows:

Property or service delivered to you in New York State If property or a service is delivered to you in New York State, the tax is computed at the combined state and local rate in effect in the locality where the delivery occurs regardless of where you reside. The rate that applies is the rate in effect at the time of delivery.

 Property or service brought into New York State

 If you are a New York State resident and you purchased property or a service outside New York State and you brought the property into New York State to your jurisdiction (locality) of residence, the tax is computed at the combined state and local rate in effect where you reside. The rate that applies is the rate in effect at the time you brought the property or service into that jurisdiction.

Property or a service delivered in one locality of New York State and used in another locality

If you use the property or service in another locality in New York State, other than the locality to which you paid tax, you owe use tax to the second locality if you were a resident of that locality at the time of the purchase and its rate of tax is higher than the rate of tax originally paid.

Rates by jurisdiction:

 Publication 718, New York State Sales and Use Tax Rates by Jurisdiction, provides the tax rates in effect for all counties and cities that impose tax. You may also visit our Online Services at www.tax.ny.gov and click on the link for the sales tax jurisdiction and rate lookup. There you can use our electronic service to obtain the current combined State and local sales tax rate and the proper jurisdiction and jurisdiction code.

 Example: You buy garden equipment for use at your Hudson, New York residence through an out-of-state catalog company that did not collect

New York State sales tax from you. Sales tax is due on the purchase price of your equipment, including shipping and handling costs charged by the seller, and is computed at the combined state and local tax rate in effect in Hudson, New York (Columbia County), on the date delivery occurred.

 Example: You are a resident of Queens, New York, and you send your couch to Pennsylvania, to be re-upholstered. The vendor does not collect New York State sales tax from you. The couch is then shipped to your summer residence in Lake George, New York, for use there. Sales tax is due on the cost of the re upholstering, including shipping and handling charges made by the upholsterer, and is computed at the rate in effect for Lake George, New York (Warren County), at the time you took delivery of the couch.