Seizures

If all other attempts to collect your tax debt have failed, we may seize and sell your non-exempt real or personal property at auction to pay your debt. We must file a tax warrant before we seize and sell your property.

During a business seizure, collection agents may have the locks changed at your place of business, denying you access to your place of business and your business assets. Alternatively, agents may remove all of the merchandise at your business, or seize your business assets and store them elsewhere until the assets are sold at auction.

What happens

If you fail to resolve your tax debt, we may proceed with collection action. If you continue to fail to resolve your tax warrant, and we have exhausted all other collection efforts, we may review your case for possible seizure.

If we determine it’s in the best interest of the state to seize your property, we will:

• Seize your assets (i.e. vehicles, cash register contents, business, etc.) in accordance with the New York Civil Practice Laws and Rules (CPLR), Article 52.
• Notify you of the intended auction sale date, location and time.
• Sell your property at public auction in accordance with the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), Article 52.
• Send you an accounting detailing the disbursements of the auction proceeds.

If the auction proceeds exceed your tax debt and our expenses, we will return the surplus to you.

If at any time before the auction begins, you pay in full or make satisfactory arrangements to pay the tax, penalty, and interest owed, along with the expenses we incurred during the seizure and preparation of the auction, we will release and return the property to you.

How to resolve

You must work with the agent assigned to your case once we seize your property. Contact the agent using the number provided to you, or call 518-457-5893 and enter your taxpayer ID number when prompted.

For more information, see Publication 131, Your Rights and Obligations Under the Tax Law.