NY tax department offers support for filing sales tax returns

The state Department of Taxation and Finance will have extended its call center hours to help businesses and tax professionals who may be using the department's new tax filing system for the first time.

About 250,000 individuals will be using the new system, which officially launched in September, for the first time to file sales tax returns due Dec. 20. The new system will allow business owners to report and file sales taxes online in one go, and will also streamline the process for the department to distribute the tax revenue to local municipalities.

From Dec. 13 to Dec. 20, the tax department's call center line will be open at 518-485-2889 from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

The department will also be offering two online webinars to go over how to use the new system. To register for the webinar or to learn more about the tax filing system, visit http://www.tax.ny.gov/bus/st/stmp.htm