Residential Wood Heating Fuel Exemption

Summary

New York exempts retail sales of wood used for residential heating purposes from the state sales tax. The law also permits local governments (municipalities and counties) to grant an exemption from local sales taxes. If a city with a population of 1 million or more chooses to grant the local exemption, it must enact a specific resolution that appears in the state law. Local sales tax rates in New York range from 1.5% to more than 4% in addition to the general state sales tax rate of 4%. For buildings with both residential and non-residential units where more than 25% of the space is used for non-residential purposes, an allocation must be made between the amount of fuel used for residential purposes and that used for non-residential purposes.  The non-residential portion remains subject to the state sales tax.

This exemption also applies to natural gas, propane (sold in containers of 100 pounds or more), electricity, steam, fuel oil (except diesel motor fuel), and coal.

The New York Department of Taxation and Finance publishes a variety of sales tax reports detailing local tax rates and exemptions, including those for residential energy services. The residential energy services sales tax list (Publication 718-R) is updated frequently.