Changes to your personal income tax refund

If your refund is:

• not issued within 45 days of the due date or from the date you filed (whichever is later), interest will be paid from that date.
• issued within 45 days of the due date or from the date you filed (whichever is later), you will not receive interest.

Special rules: Interest will not be paid to you on the portion of your refund that is attributed to credits such as the real property tax credit, earned income credit, child or dependent care credit, college tuition credit, farmers' school tax credit, New York City school tax credit, Pass Through Entity Tax (PTET), or if your return cannot be processed.

If you want to respond

If you received an adjustment notice, you can respond online or by mail with supporting documentation. To respond online:

1. Gather the documents that support your claim.
2. Make digital copies of your documents. Hint: You can use your smartphone to take and share a clear and legible picture.
3. Log in to (or create) your Online Services account.
4. Select the ≡ Services menu in the upper left-hand corner of your Account Summary homepage.
5. Select Respond to department notice from the expanded menu.
6. On the first screen, under the Notice type section, select the option I received a notice about my refund.
7. From the drop-down menu, select the form number of your letter. (You can find the form number in the bottom left-hand corner of your letter.)

To respond by mail:

1. Follow the mailing instructions on your adjustment notice.
2. Send us any documents that support your claim.

If you are entitled to an additional refund amount, we will issue you a separate check for that amount.

If you received a letter other than an account adjustment notice (Form DTF-160 or Form DTF-161), see Respond to a letter requesting additional information to learn what to include in your response.

If you already responded

If you responded to a letter about an adjusted refund, it may take several months to process your response; it takes more time to review a complicated return or one that has missing or inaccurate information. We process responses in the order we receive them.

If you marked filing status 2 (Married filing joint return) and you do not want to apply your part of the refund to your spouse's debt because you are not liable for it:

• complete Form IT-280, Nonobligated Spouse Allocation (instructions), and
• attach the form to your original income tax return.

If you did not file Form IT-280 with your original income tax return, you cannot file an amended return to disclaim your spouse's debt. However, we will notify you if we apply your refund to your spouse's debt. You will have 10 days from the date of notification to file Form IT-280. 

We may apply your money to debt you owe to:

• the Tax Department,
• another New York State agency (such as the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance),
• the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or
• tax debt for another state.

For more information on specific programs that apply your refund to outstanding debts, see Tax refund offset programs.

If you have an outstanding New York State tax debt, and the amount applied does not pay your debt in full, you must resolve your remaining balance. If you do not resolve your balance, we may proceed with collection action.