Form TR-960, consent to dissolution

What is Form TR-960?

Form TR-960 is New York's request for the Tax Department's consent to dissolve a corporation. Before a New York corporation can file its Certificate of Dissolution with the Department of State, it generally needs written consent from the New York State Tax Department confirming its tax obligations are satisfied. TR-960 is the mechanism for requesting that consent, in substance, it's a tax-clearance step that has to clear before the dissolution itself can be filed.

In other words, New York doesn't let a corporation simply file to dissolve. It inserts the Tax Department into the sequence first, and TR-960 is how you engage that step.

A corporation step, not an LLC step

This is the single most important thing to get right, because it's a common point of confusion. New York treats corporations and LLCs differently at dissolution. A corporation needs the Tax Department's consent, requested via TR-960, before the Department of State will accept its Certificate of Dissolution. A New York LLC does not go through that same corporate consent gate; it files Articles of Dissolution with the Department of State on a simpler path. So the first question is always which entity you're closing. TR-960 belongs to the corporate track.

Why does New York require consent?

The logic is the same as any tax-clearance requirement: the state doesn't want a corporation dissolving to escape unpaid tax. New York's Department of State won't record a corporation's dissolution until the Tax Department has signed off that franchise tax and returns are current. That consent is the state's assurance that the corporate tax account is square before the entity is permitted to legally end. It puts the tax authority in the path of the dissolution rather than trusting it will be settled afterward.

Where TR-960 fits in the sequence

Order matters, and TR-960 comes early. The rough sequence for a New York corporation is:

1. Bring franchise-tax returns and payments current with the Tax Department.
2. Request the Tax Department's consent to dissolve (TR-960).
3. Receive the written consent.
4. File the Certificate of Dissolution with the Department of State, with the consent attached.
5. Close the federal side, final returns, Form 966, and the IRS business account.

Trying to file the Certificate of Dissolution before obtaining consent gets it rejected, which is why the consent step usually drives the timeline.

How do you get the consent?

The path runs through the Tax Department. You make sure the corporation's franchise-tax returns are all filed and any tax, penalties and interest are paid, then request consent. If the account is current, consent can come relatively quickly; if returns are missing or tax is owed, the request stalls until those are resolved. Because the exact current form name, method and processing time can change, confirm the present procedure with the New York State Tax Department rather than assuming, the substance (tax must be current before consent issues) is stable even when the paperwork details shift.

What do New York LLCs do instead?

A New York LLC closes by filing Articles of Dissolution with the Department of State, a more direct process than the corporate consent route, without the TR-960 step. The LLC still has to handle its tax obligations and, if it ever obtained an EIN, close its IRS business accountbut it doesn't go through the corporate Tax Department consent gate. The full LLC walkthrough is on dissolving an LLC in New York.

Fee and which agency

The consent request is handled by the New York State Tax Department; the subsequent Certificate of Dissolution is filed with the New York Department of Statewhich charges its own filing fee, around $60, though you should confirm the current figure. The two agencies handle two different parts of the close: tax clearance, then dissolution.

Form names, fees and procedures change; we confirm the current New York process before filing.

Rather have the New York filing handled?

Closing a New York corporation means getting the Tax Department consent step right before the Certificate of Dissolution, and doing them in the wrong order just gets the dissolution bounced. We confirm the franchise-tax account is current, obtain the consent, file the Certificate of Dissolution, and close the IRS account and final returns on the federal side. That's a Complete Closure for a corporation that operated. If you're actually closing an LLC, we'll point you to the right path. A specialist is on WhatsApp 24/7.