§ 1407 — Designation of agents

§ 1407. Designation of agents. (a) The commissioner of taxation and\nfinance is authorized to designate such banks, trust companies, savings\nbanks, New York state branches of a foreign bank, industrial banks,\nsavings and loan associations, national banking associations, federal\nsavings and loan associations, title insurance corporations and\nrecording officers as he shall deem necessary to act as his agent for\npurposes of collecting the tax imposed by this article. The commissioner\nof taxation and finance shall provide for the manner in which any such\nperson may be designated as his agent subject to such terms and\nconditions as he shall prescribe. The real estate transfer tax shall be\npaid to such agents as provided in section fourteen hundred ten of this\narticle. At the time such a person shall be designated as an agent of\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance, the commissioner of taxation\nand finance shall prescribe whether such agent shall collect the real\nestate transfer tax through the sale of documentary stamps, through the\nuse of a metering machine, by any other method which the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance, by regulation, may provide, or by one or more of\nsuch methods.\n (b) Every person designated to act as an agent pursuant to subdivision\n(a) of this section shall remit to the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance any funds collected by such agent and any returns filed with\nsuch agent under this article, less any fee allowed under subdivision\n(c) of this section, at such times as the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance shall prescribe and shall follow such procedures and keep such\nrecords as the commissioner of taxation and finance may prescribe. Each\ncounty (other than the counties comprising New York city) and New York\ncity shall pay all expenses occasioned by the duties of their respective\nrecording officers to collect the tax imposed by this article, including\nany expense for extra clerks.\n (c) 1. When a recording officer designated to act as such agent is\npresented with a conveyance for recording that is accompanied by a\nreceipt issued by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c) of\nsection fourteen hundred twenty-three of this article, such recording\nofficer shall be relieved of the responsibility to collect the real\nestate transfer tax thereon. He or she shall nonetheless be entitled to\nthe portion of such tax that he or she would otherwise have retained\npursuant to this subdivision, as provided by subdivision (b) of section\nfourteen hundred twenty-three of the tax law.\n 2. When a recording officer is presented with a conveyance for\nrecording that is not accompanied by a receipt described in paragraph\none of this subdivision, he or she shall collect the applicable real\nestate transfer tax and shall retain, from the real estate transfer tax\nwhich he or she collects, the sum of one dollar for each of the first\nfive thousand conveyances accepted for recording and for which he or she\nhas issued a documentary stamp or metering machine stamp or upon which\ninstrument effecting the conveyance he or she has noted payment of the\ntax or that no tax is due, pursuant to any other method for payment of\nthe tax provided for in the regulations of the commissioner of taxation\nand finance, during each annual period commencing on the first day of\nAugust and ending on the next succeeding thirty-first day of July and\nseventy-five cents for each conveyance in excess of five thousand\naccepted for recording and for which he or she has issued such a stamp\nor upon which instrument effecting the conveyance he or she has noted\npayment of the tax or that no tax is due, pursuant to such other method,\nduring such annual period. Such fee shall be payable even though the\nstamp issued or such notation shows that no tax is due. Such a fee paid\nto the register of the city of New York shall belong to the city of New\nYork and such a fee paid to a recording officer of a county outside such\ncity shall belong to such officer's county. With respect to any other\nagents designated to act pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section,\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance shall have the power to\nprovide, at his or her discretion, for payment of a fee to such agent,\nin such manner and amount and subject to such limitations as he or she\nmay determine, but any such fee for any annual period shall not be\ngreater than the sum of one dollar for each of the first five thousand\nconveyances for which such agent has issued a documentary stamp or\nmetering machine stamp or upon which instrument effecting the conveyance\nhe or she has noted payment of the tax or that no tax is due, pursuant\nto any other method for payment of the tax provided for in the\nregulations of the commissioner of taxation and finance, during such\nannual period and seventy-five cents for each conveyance in excess of\nfive thousand for which such agent has issued such a stamp or upon which\ninstrument effecting the conveyance such agent has noted payment of the\ntax or that no tax is due, pursuant to such other method, during such\nannual period.\n