Is appliance repair taxable in New York?
Yes. New York taxes the LABOR on repairs to tangible personal property — an appliance, a boiler or a unit that never becomes part of the building — as well as the parts. This is a different question from work on the real property itself: the same technician on the same visit can be doing taxable work on an appliance and differently treated work on the structure, and the invoice has to tell them apart. Source: N.Y. Tax Law §1105(c)(3),(5); Publication 862; TB-ST-104 (Capital Improvements) and TB-ST-129 (Contractors — Repair, Maintenance and Installation Services to Real Property).
| What | New York |
|---|---|
| Repair labor on an appliance | Taxable |
| Parts | Taxable |
| Repair labor on the building — residential | Taxable |
| Repair labor on the building — commercial | Taxable |
Notes
The canonical version of the whole doctrine. ALL charges for materials and labor on a repair, maintenance or installation project are taxable, including expenses and markup. A capital improvement is exempt when the customer gives the contractor Form ST-124, Certificate of Capital Improvement. The contractor pays tax on materials at purchase and may credit tax paid on materials transferred in a taxable project. Form ST-120.1 is the contractor's own exempt purchase certificate.
Source
N.Y. Tax Law §1105(c)(3),(5); Publication 862; TB-ST-104 (Capital Improvements) and TB-ST-129 (Contractors — Repair, Maintenance and Installation Services to Real Property). — last checked 2026-09-15.
This is a summary of a state’s published guidance, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change, local jurisdictions add their own, and the treatment of a specific job depends on the contract and the work. Check the citation and speak to a CPA or a state tax adviser before relying on it.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora resolves this rule on every invoice a contractor raises — per line, from the job site’s own address — and prints the rate, the jurisdiction and this citation on the document itself, so the estimate a customer accepts is the invoice they are billed. Where the rule is more nuanced than a single answer, Seayora refuses to guess a total rather than quoting a confident wrong one.
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