Collections - DOF

Department of Finance


Collections

Unpaid taxes or violations owed to New York City are collected by the Department of Finance through letters, telephone calls, court actions, and other enforcement efforts. These debts include property, business, and excise taxes, parking tickets, camera violations, and Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)-adjudicated Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations.
The best way to avoid collections enforcement is to pay your taxes and violations on time. The Department of Finance offers payment plans for eligible individuals who cannot afford to pay the total amount they owe.

Business taxes

Companies doing business in New York City must pay business taxes to the city. There are several different types of business taxes, each with its own filing requirements. If you have questions, we have support and guidance online that you may find useful.

The Department of Finance may take legal action against you to collect unpaid business taxes. These actions include issuing a warrant and “docketing” the warrant in the county clerk’s office. The judgment (tax warrant) will then be a matter of public record. To collect judgments, the Department of Finance can also levy your bank accounts and seize your non-exempt assets. We can also refer the judgment debt to an outside collection agency.

Payment options

You can pay your business taxes online at e-Services, or visit our Payments webpage for more options. You may be eligible to enter into a payment plan with the Department of Finance. A payment plan will allow you to pay the amount you owe over time, rather than all at once. For information on payment plans, please call us at (212) 440-5300 or contact us online.

Parking violations

You must respond to any parking ticket or camera notice of liability received within 30 days, even if you believe you are not guilty, or you may be subject to penalties. You have the option to pay or dispute your ticket.
If you do not pay or dispute your ticket within approximately 100 days, it will go into judgment. This means the City takes the legal step of entering a default judgment against you for the entire amount of the ticket, plus penalties and interest. The City can take steps to collect the debt, such as sending your debt to a collection agency or seizing your assets. If you owe more than $350 in judgment, your vehicle could be booted or towed.

You can request a hearing for a ticket in judgment only if it is less than one year from the date the ticket went into judgment. To request a hearing, the registered owner or an eligible representative must first submit a Parking / Camera Violations Request for Hearing After Judgment form. Please visit our Vehicle Booting page if your vehicle has been booted.

Payment options

You can pay your parking tickets online at e-Services, in person, or by using the NYC Parking Pay or Dispute app on your phone.
You may also be eligible for a parking ticket payment plan, whereby you pay the total amount you owe in installments, over time, instead of paying all at once. Visit our Parking Ticket Payment Plan webpage for more information, or call (212) 440-5300.

OATH-adjudicated ECB violations

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is the City of New York’s central, independent administrative law court that adjudicates cases that originate from the various agencies that enforce the city’s rules, regulations, and laws. If a City agency issues you a citation for certain common violations, you may be summoned to appear before OATH for a fair and impartial hearing.
OATH-adjudicated simply means that the court has issued a decision on your violation. If you do not attend your OATH hearing, you will be judged in “violation by default” and will have to pay not only the full amount of your base fine or citation, plus interest, but also a default penalty.

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings holds hearings on what are called Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations.

Payment options

You can pay your OATH ECB violations online at e-Services or visit our Payments webpage for more options.

ECB settlements

You may be eligible to settle your OATH-adjudicated ECB default judgments at a reduced cost if you have achieved compliance. For more information, visit our OATH-Adjudicated ECB Violations Settlement webpage, or contact the Collections Division via e-Services.

Payment plans

The Department of Finance also offers payment plans for OATH ECB judgment debt. To see if you are eligible, please visit our Payment Plans for OATH-Adjudicated Environmental Control Board (ECB) Judgment Debt page, or call (212) 440-5300.

Department of Buildings property tax liens

Local Law 153 of 2017 was enacted to allow the conversion of eligible Environmental Control Board (ECB) judgments issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB) into tax liens. Such liens are entered and enforced as provided in Section 28-204.6 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York. DOF sends warning notices to owners prior to showing the converted liens on their tax bills. You can pay the violations at www.nyc.gov/ecbpropertyliens.

Property tax liens

When you do not pay your property taxes, water bills, or other charges, these unpaid charges can become tax liens that may be sold in a tax lien sale.
If your property has unpaid debt that qualifies for the City’s annual tax lien sale, we will sell your lien debt (the amount owed) to an authorized buyer. A lien servicing company, on behalf of the buyer, adds more fees and interest to your debt, so it is better to take care of your debt before we sell the lien.
We will send you at least four notices before your lien is sold informing you of the sale and advising you to pay your debt(s) so that your property's lien is not sold. Visit our Lien Sales page for more information.

Payment Options

Payment Agreements
Standard Payment Agreement
Payment agreements are available whether or not your property has been noticed for a tax lien sale. Any property owner who is interested in paying their property taxes in installments may apply.
If your property has been noticed for a lien sale, entering into a payment agreement or bringing an existing payment agreement up to date will remove your property from the lien sale list. Use our payment agreement estimator to help you estimate what you will owe for each installment.
You can download a Property Tax Payment Agreement Request form from our website. Scan and upload your completed form via our Customer Self-Service Center.
PT AID Payment Agreement
The Department of Finance recognizes that an unexpected event or hardship may make it difficult for you to pay your property taxes. If you qualify for the Property Tax and Interest Deferral (PT AID) program, you can defer your property tax payments so that you can remain in your home. The Property Tax and Interest Deferral program removes properties from the tax lien sale once an application is complete. To apply for a PT AID payment agreement, download and complete the application through the link above, or call 311 for assistance.
For more information on tax liens and the payment options available, please call (212) 440-5300, or 311.

Department of Buildings property tax liens

Local Law 153 of 2017 was enacted to allow the conversion of eligible Environmental Control Board (ECB) judgments issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB) into tax liens. Such liens are entered and enforced as provided in Section 28-204.6 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York. DOF sends warning notices to owners prior to showing the converted liens on their tax bills. You can pay the violations at www.nyc.gov/ecbpropertyliens.

Collection agencies

If you are late paying your parking tickets, OATH ECB judgments, or business tax warrants, your judgment debt may be referred to one of the Department of Finance's debt collection agencies. The appropriate agency will contact you by phone or letter, or both, to collect the outstanding debt. Visit the Department of Finance's Debt Collection Agencies page for more information.

Before you are contacted by a debt collection agency, you should have received a letter from the Department of Finance. If you did not receive a letter, please check e-Services or contact the Department of Finance to verify your debt.

Make payments for any New York City debt only to the New York City Department of Finance. You can make payments online at e-Services or in person at a DOF business center.