151.15 Preparation of New York State income tax returns.

(a) General.

(1) Each taxpayer should carefully prepare his New York State income tax return so as to fully and clearly set forth the data required to be stated therein. Incomplete or incorrect New York State income tax returns will not ordinarily be accepted as meeting the requirements of law. However, a written statement filed by a taxpayer which fully and clearly discloses all items of his income and the deductions thereform, even though not made on the prescribed form, may be accepted as a tentative New York State income tax return sufficient to relieve the taxpayer from liability for the penalties imposed for delinquent filing, provided that it is filed within the prescribed time and is accompanied by full payment of any income tax shown to be due thereon, and provided further that it is replaced without unnecessary delay by a New York State income tax return made on the prescribed form.

(2) The Tax Commission will permit, under prescribed conditions and upon compliance with official specifications, the reproduction of certain New York State income tax forms. Official New York State income tax forms used for reporting income for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 1972 under article 22 of the Tax Law may be reproduced and filed with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and computer-prepared forms may be substituted for the official forms, if they comply with the standards and requirements prescribed by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

(b) Reporting whole dollar amounts.

(1) If the amount of any item which must be shown on a New York State income tax return is not a whole dollar amount, the taxpayer may, if he so elects, report it as a whole dollar amount. If he elects to do this, he must treat any part of a dollar in excess of 49 cents as a whole dollar, but may disregard any part of dollar not in excess of 49 cents. That is, if the exact amount is $1,234.50, he must report it as $1,235, but if the exact amount is $1,234.49, he may report it as $1,234.

(2) The election to use whole dollar amounts applies only to items which are required to be shown on a New York State income tax return; it may not be used in computing the amount of such items. For example, if the taxpayer is required to report on his New York State income tax return the total of 101 transactions, each of which produced income or gain of $10.49, the taxpayer may not disregard the extra 49 cents in each of these; the total income or gain derived from these transactions is $1,059.49, and the right of election to report whole dollar amounts permits the taxpayer to disregard only the 49 cents included in this total.