Form ST-129: Occupancy Exemption for Government Employees

Form ST-129, Exemption Certificate for Occupancy By Government Employees, is the New York State Tax Department form a government employee on official business gives a hotel, short-term rental operator or booking service to certify the stay is exempt from sales tax.

The form is issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for New York State and local sales and use tax. According to its instructions, it lets an eligible employee certify the exemption from state-administered New York State and local sales taxes, including the unit fee in New York City.

Completing it produces a signed certificate, not a tax return. The employee certifies that he or she works for the governmental entity named on the form, that the entity has paid or will pay the occupancy charges, and that the charges are incurred in the performance of official duties. The hotel operator, short-term rental unit operator or booking service keeps the certificate as evidence of exempt occupancy and must make it available to the Tax Department on request.

The certificate covers the room charges for one business and one set of dates. It does not cover anyone else: each traveler completes a separate certificate. The Onondaga County Comptroller lists the form with its other downloadable forms, such as travel authorization and tax exempt letters.

Government employees of the United States, New York State, or political subdivisions of New York State may use Form ST-129. The instructions apply it to an employee who is on official New York State or federal government business and is renting a room or rooms in a hotel or short-term rental unit.

• State entities: agencies, instrumentalities and public corporations of New York State, and political subdivisions such as counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts.
• Federal government: the United States and its agencies and instrumentalities.
• Groups: if you travel in a group on official business, each person completes a separate certificate and gives it to the operator or booking service.
• Several locations: if you stay at more than one location, complete a certificate for each one.

Do not use this form if you work for another state or one of its agencies or political subdivisions. The instructions say these do not qualify for the sales tax exemption, and give the city of Boston and the state of Vermont as examples.

Hotel operators, short-term rental unit operators and booking services do not complete the employee's part; they receive the certificate, check the employee's identification and keep the form.

Give Form ST-129 to the hotel operator, short-term rental unit operator or booking service when you book or check in. The instructions say the certificate should be presented to the operator at check-in or upon booking.

The operator's deadline is firm: the certificate must be presented no later than 90 days after the last day of the first period of occupancy. An operator that accepts it after 90 days has the burden of proving the occupancy was exempt.

Operators must keep the certificate for at least three years after the later of two dates: the due date of the last sales tax return to which the certificate applies, or the date the return was filed.

The form carries no separate renewal cycle. A new certificate is needed for each location where you stay, and for each person in a group traveling on official business.

Form ST-129 is not filed with an agency. You give the completed, signed certificate to the hotel operator, short-term rental unit operator or booking service.

• At booking or check-in: provide the completed form to the operator or booking service, together with proper identification. The operator should not accept the certificate unless you show appropriate and satisfactory identification.
• For each location and each traveler: give a separate certificate to each operator where you stay. In a group, each person gives his or her own.
• Payment: the exemption is valid if the government employee pays with cash, a personal check or credit/debit card, or a government-issued voucher or credit card.
• Operator's copy: the operator keeps the certificate as evidence of exempt occupancy and must make it available to the Tax Department on request.

For questions, the form lists www.tax.ny.gov, the Sales Tax Information Center at 518-485-2889, and 518-457-5431 to order forms and publications. TTY or TDD users dial 7-1-1 for the New York Relay Service. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.