171-1. Certain overpayments credited against outstanding tax debt owed to the city of New York. (1) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "taxpayer" shall mean a corporation, association, company, partnership, estate, trust, liquidator, fiduciary or other entity or individual who or which is liable for any tax or other imposition imposed by or pursuant to article nine, nine-A, twenty-two, thirty, thirty-A, thirty-B or thirty-three of this chapter, which tax or other imposition is administered by the commissioner of taxation and finance, or who or which is under a duty to perform an act under or pursuant to such tax or imposition, excluding a state agency, a municipal corporation or a district corporation;
(b) "overpayment" shall mean an overpayment which has been requested or determined to be refunded, a refund or a reimbursement, of a tax or other imposition imposed by or pursuant to article nine, nine-A, twenty-two, thirty, thirty-A, thirty-B or thirty-three of this chapter, which is administered by the commissioner of taxation and finance; and
(c) "city of New York tax warrant judgment debt," shall mean tax debt owed to the city of New York that is the subject of a tax warrant issued by the city of New York department of finance and docketed pursuant to the provisions of title eleven of the administrative code of the city of New York and that remains outstanding.
(2) The commissioner of taxation and finance shall enter into a written agreement with the commissioner of finance of the city of New York, which shall set forth the procedures for crediting any overpayment by a taxpayer and the interest thereon against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt owed by such taxpayer of which the commissioner of taxation and finance has been notified by the city of New York commissioner of finance pursuant to the provisions of such agreement.
(3) Such agreement shall include:
(a) the procedure under which the city of New York commissioner of finance shall notify the commissioner of taxation and finance of liability for city of New York tax warrant judgment debt, specifying when the commissioner of taxation and finance will be notified, the information to be contained in such notification and the form and format to be used for such notification;
(b) the fee, if not waived, for reimbursement of the commissioner of taxation and finance by the city of New York department of finance for the full cost of carrying out the procedures authorized by this section;
(c) the minimum period of delinquency of the city of New York tax warrant judgment debt, and the minimum amount of the past due city of New York tax warrant judgment debt against which the commissioner of taxation and finance shall, pursuant to this section, credit an overpayment;
(d) the procedure for transferring the overpayments to the city of New York department of finance so the overpayments can be applied to credit the past due city of New York tax warrant judgment debt;
(e) the procedure for reimbursement of the comptroller by the city of New York department of finance for any overpayment and interest thereon which has been credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt owed by a taxpayer, but which was paid by the taxpayer prior to the overpayment being applied;
(f) the procedure for reimbursement of the comptroller by the city of New York department of finance for any overpayment and interest thereon which has been credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt owed by a taxpayer filing a joint return, but which has been refunded by the comptroller, pursuant to paragraph six of subsection (b) of section six hundred fifty-one of this chapter, to a spouse not liable for the city of New York tax warrant judgment debt owed by such taxpayer;
(g) a provision to the effect that if a taxpayer owes past-due legally enforceable debt that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-f of this article and city of New York tax warrant judgment debt that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to this section, then the overpayment and interest thereon shall be credited against the debts in the order in which the debts accrued. The city of New York tax warrant judgment debt shall be deemed for purposes of this section to have accrued at the time of docketing of the tax warrant; and
(h) such other matters as the parties to such agreement shall deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, including provisions relating to the notice to be given to the taxpayer.
(4)(a) In calculating the amount of an overpayment and interest thereon that shall be credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt owed by a taxpayer that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to this section, the commissioner of taxation and finance shall first credit the overpayment and interest thereon against any:
(i) liability of such taxpayer in respect of any tax or other imposition imposed by this chapter and administered by the commissioner of taxation and finance;
(ii) liability of such taxpayer for any tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this chapter or any other law if such tax is administered by the commissioner of taxation and finance;
(iii) estimated tax for the succeeding taxable year if the taxpayer claims such overpayment or a portion thereof as a credit against estimated tax for such succeeding taxable year pursuant to subsection (e) of section six hundred eighty-six or subsection (b) of section one thousand eighty-six of this chapter or subdivision (e) of section 11-1786 of the administrative code of the city of New York or for any tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this chapter or any other law if such tax is administered by the commissioner of taxation and finance;
(iv) past-due support owed by the taxpayer pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-c of this article;
(v) unreimbursed medical assistance paid on behalf of a child payable pursuant to section three hundred sixty-seven-a of the social services law; and
(vi) the amount of a default in repayment of a state university or city university loan pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-e of this article.
(b) Only the balance remaining, after the overpayment and the interest thereon has been credited as described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, shall be certified to the comptroller as an overpayment plus any interest to be credited, in accordance with paragraph (g) of subdivision three of this section, against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to this section, and/or past-due legally enforceable debt that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-f of this article, with the remainder to be refunded to the taxpayer if such remainder is not required to satisfy the amount of a default in repayment of a guaranteed student loan pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-d of this article. If a taxpayer owes city of New York tax warrant judgment debt that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to this section and past-due legally enforceable debt that has been certified to the commissioner of taxation and finance for collection pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-f of this article, then the overpayment and interest thereon shall be credited against the debts in the order in which the debts accrued.
(5) The commissioner of taxation and finance shall certify to the comptroller the amount of each overpayment and the interest thereon to be credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt, and the balance, if any, of each such overpayment and interest to be refunded to the taxpayer.
(6) The commissioner of taxation and finance shall notify each taxpayer who makes an overpayment, in writing, of the amount of such overpayment and the interest thereon certified to the comptroller as the amount to be credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt. Such notice shall include notification to any other person who may have filed a joint return with the taxpayer of the steps such other person may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the refund.
(7) From the time the commissioner of taxation and finance is notified by the city of New York department of finance of a taxpayer's liability for city of New York tax warrant judgment debt under the agreement provided for in this section, the commissioner of taxation and finance shall be relieved from all liability to such taxpayer, its assigns, successors, heirs or representatives for the amount of an overpayment and interest thereon certified to the comptroller to be credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt and the taxpayer shall have no right to commence a court action or proceeding or to any other legal recourse against the commissioner of taxation and finance to recover such overpayment or interest thereon certified to the comptroller to be credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt. Provided, however, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit such taxpayer from proceeding against the city of New York department of finance to recover that part of such overpayment or interest thereon so certified to the comptroller to be credited against city of New York tax warrant judgment debt that is greater than the amount of city of New York tax warrant judgment debt owed by such taxpayer on the date of such certification.
(8) The commissioner of taxation and finance and the city of New York department of finance may promulgate such rules and regulations as they deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
Last modified: February 3, 2019