POS system for New York businesses
New York's state sales tax is 4%, but almost every sale also carries a county or city rate, and New York City adds its own plus a transportation surcharge. SeroPOS holds each part as a rate inside one tax group, so a Brooklyn café or a Buffalo shop charges the right total.
New York in SeroPOS
State, local and MCTD
Add 4%, your local rate and, in the metro area, the transportation surcharge, then combine them into one group.
Clothing under $110
Qualifying clothing and footwear under $110 an item is exempt from the state rate, so it can take its own rate.
0% for exempt items
Most grocery food and other exempt items take a 0% rate, while prepared food stays on the full group.
Prices with or without tax
Each product has a "price includes tax" setting, so tax-in pricing at a bar or event works without manual maths.
Global Payments or Gravity
Take card and tap payments on terminals that get the amount straight from the till, with tips coming back to the receipt.
Tax collected by period
The Tax Report shows tax on sales, purchases and expenses for any date range and location, with the invoices behind it.
New York sales tax at a glance
New York's state sales tax rate is 4% as of 2026, administered by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Counties and some cities add a local rate, and the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District adds a 0.375% surcharge in New York City and the surrounding counties. In New York City the combined rate is 8.875%.
Outside the city, combined rates in most counties are around 7% to 8.75%. Grocery food is generally exempt, while restaurant meals and prepared food are taxable. Clothing and footwear under $110 an item is exempt from the state's 4%, and in some areas from local tax too. Confirm the rate for your address with the department before you open.
Building your tax group in SeroPOS
In the back office go to Settings, then Tax Rates, and add the state rate of 4%. Then add each local rate that applies at your address, such as the New York City rate of 4.5% and the 0.375% transportation surcharge, ticking "for tax group only" so they can't be picked alone. In the SeroPOS app the same screens are under Admin, then Taxes.
Open Tax Groups and combine the rates into one group named after the place and the total, for example "NYC 8.875%". Make it the default tax so new products pick it up, and add a 0% rate for exempt items. If you sell clothing, add a separate group for items under $110 that leaves out the parts that don't apply in your area.
Clothing stores and the $110 exemption
For a boutique or shoe store, the $110 exemption changes the tax line by line: a $90 pair of jeans and a $150 jacket in the same basket are taxed differently. In SeroPOS the tax is part of the product, so set up the qualifying lines with the exemption group and the rest with the full group, and the cashier never has to decide.
If you sell variations, such as sizes and colours, each variation can carry its own price. Where a price change moves an item across the $110 line, update its tax at the same time. The back office product list filters by tax, which makes it quick to check every item on the exemption group before a sale weekend.
Cards on Global Payments or Gravity Payments
SeroPOS sends the amount straight to the card terminal, so nobody keys the total twice. With Global Payments you can use Global Pay Cloud, which needs no cable or IP address, or run SeroPOS on the Global Payments T650P handheld itself through Terminal Plus. With Gravity Payments you enter your account details and device name in Gravity Pay Settings.
A tip entered on the terminal comes back and prints as Tip / Gratuity. Partial approvals ask for the balance on another card or in cash. If a card is approved but the sale doesn't save, SeroPOS keeps the approval in an outbox and records it again, and a duplicate-charge guard warns before the same card is charged twice.
Already have a merchant account? Keep it if your processor is supported. If you want to compare costs, send us a recent statement and we'll quote a rate. Card processing is arranged separately from your SeroPOS plan. Tell us your monthly card volume and the terminals you use today, and we can say which setup fits your counter before you commit.
Tax reports and QuickBooks Desktop
The Tax Report in the back office shows tax collected on sales, tax paid on purchases and tax on expenses, with an overall figure and the invoices behind each number, filtered by location and date range. Run it for your filing period, and use the Product Taxes section of the daily sales summary to see which products the tax came from.
On the Pro plan SeroPOS sends sales, payments, customers and items to QuickBooks Desktop, US edition 2021 or later (Pro, Premier or Enterprise on Windows), through the Web Connector. It can build your sales tax items, groups and tax agency in QuickBooks for you, matched by rate rather than by name. The QuickBooks Online connection is set up for Canadian companies today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax rate in New York City?
As of 2026 the combined rate in New York City is 8.875%: 4% state, 4.5% city and the 0.375% Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge. Rates elsewhere in the state depend on the county. Confirm yours with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
How do I combine the New York state rate and my local rate in a POS?
Create the state rate (4%) and your local rate (for example 4.5% city and 0.375% MCTD) as separate tax rates, tick "for tax group only" on the local ones, then combine them in a tax group, for example "NYC 8.875%". Assign the group to taxable products. Customers see one tax total, while reports keep each part.
Is clothing taxed in New York?
Clothing and footwear under $110 an item is exempt from the 4% state sales tax, and in New York City from the local tax too, as of 2026. Other counties may still charge local tax. Set up a separate tax group for qualifying items in SeroPOS that leaves out the parts that don't apply.
Are these New York sales tax rates current?
The rates on this page are well-known public rates as of 2026. State and local rates change, often at the start of a quarter, so confirm the rate for your exact address with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance before you open. In SeroPOS each rate is stored once, so a change is a single edit.
How much does SeroPOS cost?
Standard is $30 a month and Pro is $50 a month, with a 14-day free trial and no card needed. Standard covers the full POS for one location and three users. Pro adds the floor plan designer, multi-till, CRM, recipes, advanced reports, QuickBooks and WooCommerce. Extra locations are charged at the plan price.