Liverpool (WSYR-TV) – A NewsChannel 9 viewer in Liverpool buys his firewood for heat at the same location each year.
For the past three years, he has been charged about $60 in tax on those cords. Meanwhile, he thought firewood purchased as fuel for heat was tax exempt.
At the state level – and in many cases at the local level too – New York State does not subject residents to the 4 percent sale tax on residential energy sources.
Counties and cities that impose a local sales tax may choose to either tax or exempt residential energy sources, including firewood.
Communities in Central New York that tax residential gas, propane, electricity, steam, coal, fuel oil, and wood are as follows: Cayuga County, the city of Auburn, Cortland County, the city of Oneida, the city of Oswego, Tompkins County, and the city of Ithaca.
If you feel you’ve been wrongly charged for a home energy source, you should contact the sales tax information center at (518) 485-2888.
If you have a question for the Your Stories team, (315) 446-9900 or email YourStories@9wsyr.com.
