Which New York return does an S corporation file?

CT-3-S (New York S Corporation Franchise Tax Return).

New York S-Corporation Election

By Edmond Hui · Facts verified July 29, 2026 against primary state sources

New York recognizes S-corporation status but does not grant it automatically. Filing IRS Form 2553 is not enough on its own here: CT-6 (Election by a Federal S Corporation to be Treated as a New York S Corporation). A SEPARATE New York election is required; NY does not automatically follow the federal S election. Approval must be received before filing as a NY S corp.

S corporation facts for New York: the state recognizes S-corporation status but does not grant it automatically, and a separate state election is required in addition to the federal Form 2553. Incorporating costs $125 to file. The biennial report fee is $9. — New York recognizes S-corporation status but does not grant it automatically; a separate state election is required in addition to IRS Form 2553. Source: MyStateLLC 50-state S-corp election dataset, compiled from state filing offices and revenue departments, July 2026; any figure we could not confirm is labeled on the page.

State treatmentRecognized, but a state election is required

Separate state formRequired

State corporate income taxYes

Does New York recognize the federal S election?

State treatment of the S election

Follows the federal election	Not automatically. A separate state election is required
Separate state election form	CT-6 (Election by a Federal S Corporation to be Treated as a New York S Corporation). A SEPARATE New York election is required; NY does not automatically follow the federal S election. Approval must be received before filing as a NY S corp.
State return	CT-3-S (New York S Corporation Franchise Tax Return)

Do not assume Form 2553 is enough here. New York is the only state in this 50-state review that publishes a separate S-corporation election of its own. Filing federally without it generally means being taxed as a C corporation at the state level while filing as an S corporation federally. Check the form's own instructions for the deadline, which is not the same as the federal one.

What an S corporation still owes New York

New York S corporations still owe the fixed dollar minimum franchise tax based on New York receipts: $25 (≤$100,000), $50 (≤$250,000), $175 (≤$500,000), $300 (≤$1,000,000), $1,000 (≤$5,000,000), $3,000 (≤$25,000,000), $4,500 (over $25,000,000). NY also offers an optional Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) election that an electing NY S corporation can make.

Franchise or gross-receipts tax

New York's corporate tax is a franchise tax. C corporations pay the highest of the business income base tax, the capital base tax, or the fixed dollar minimum tax. The C-corporation fixed dollar minimum tax is based on New York receipts and ranges from $25 (receipts up to $100,000) to $200,000 (receipts over $1 billion). Paid to the Department of Taxation and Finance (not the Department of State).

New York corporation vs New York LLC

State filing charges only. Corporate income tax and franchise tax are excluded because both depend on income or net worth, so no flat figure exists for either entity.

	Corporation	LLC
Formation filing fee	$125	$200
Report cadence	Every two years	Every two years
Report fee	$9	$9
Entity-level tax on the LLC side	N/A	Partnership, LLC and LLP Annual Filing Fee

Worth noticing: a corporation is $75 cheaper to file here than an LLC. That is the exception nationally. Corporations are the cheaper filing in only 14 of the 50 states, the two entities cost the same in 26, and the LLC is cheaper in 10.

Full New York LLC cost breakdown · LLC vs C-corp explained · LLC vs S-corp explained

How New York compares

State treatment of the federal S election	States
Follows the federal election, no state form needed	42
No corporate income tax, so no state election exists	5
Has a corporate income tax and does not follow the election. The corporation is taxed like a C corporation	2
Follow the election but still impose some entity-level tax on the S corporation, California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Delaware among them	N/A
Require a separate state election form as well	1

Compare all 50 states · LLC vs S-corp · S-corp salary and savings calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

: Not automatically. New York recognizes S-corporation status, but filing federal Form 2553 is not enough on its own. A separate state election is also required: CT-6 (Election by a Federal S Corporation to be Treated as a New York S Corporation). A SEPARATE New York election is required; NY does not automatically follow the federal S election. Approval must be received before filing as a NY S corp.
: New York S corporations still owe the fixed dollar minimum franchise tax based on New York receipts: $25 (≤$100,000), $50 (≤$250,000), $175 (≤$500,000), $300 (≤$1,000,000), $1,000 (≤$5,000,000), $3,000 (≤$25,000,000), $4,500 (over $25,000,000). NY also offers an optional Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) election that an electing NY S corporation can make.
: CT-3-S (New York S Corporation Franchise Tax Return).

Where these numbers come from

This page covers how New York treats the federal S-corporation election and what an S corporation still owes the state. Every figure was checked against New York's own published sources on July 29, 2026, the state business filing agency's fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state tax applies, the state Department of Revenue. Commercial formation-service pages were used as leads only and are never cited. Anything the review could not confirm from an official source is left blank on this page rather than filled with an estimate.

Corporate income tax and franchise tax are quoted as the state publishes them, as rate schedules and thresholds, and are excluded from every dollar total here. They depend on income or net worth, so there is no flat figure that would be true for every corporation.

Primary sources:

https://www.tax.ny.gov/bus/ct/def_art9a.htm
https://dos.ny.gov/certificate-incorporation-domestic-business-corporation
https://dos.ny.gov/biennial-statements-business-corporations-and-limited-liability-companies
https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/ct/ct3si.pdf
https://www.tax.ny.gov/forms/current-forms/ct/ct6.htm
New York statute: Business Corporation Law Section 402 (certificate of incorporation)
New York statute: Tax Law Article 9-A (corporate franchise tax)

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It describes rules that can differ from state to state, and fees, rates, forms and deadlines can change after we review them. It cannot tell you what applies to your own business: that turns on where the business is formed, where it operates and how it is taxed. Confirm anything you rely on with the state or federal agency concerned, or with a licensed attorney or CPA, before you act on it.

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

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