East Hampton
Tax preparation and planning in East Hampton, NY
Most East Hampton returns we prepare involve a second home, rental income, or both.
What you get
- Every federal form you are likely to need
- New York State, New York City and Yonkers
- Planning done before year end
- Prior years brought current
The MyCleverCPA team
- 25+ years in regulated finance, compliance and audit
- Tax work led by a CPA. Jillian Sinel holds the CPA and the CAA
- Hamptons Office at 30 Lincoln St, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
In East Hampton
Tax preparation and planning for East Hampton
The first question is always village or town, because they are separate jurisdictions with separate rules and the answer decides what applies to the property.
With owner occupancy at 77.8% and a median home value of $1,178,500 in a town of 29,400 people, this is a property economy. Basis, improvements and the eventual sale matter more on these returns than anything that happens in a single year.
Scope
What is included in tax preparation and planning
The same work wherever you are. Scoped to what you actually need.
Individual returns
- Form 1040 and the schedules behind it
- Schedule C for self-employed filers
- Schedule E for rental property
Business returns
- Form 1120 and Form 1120-S
- Form 1065 for partnerships and LLCs
- K-1s issued to owners and partners
State and city
- New York State and New York City returns
- The Yonkers resident surcharge and nonresident earnings tax
- Returns in other states where you have nexus
Planning and cleanup
- Estimated payments calculated rather than guessed
- Amended returns, Form 1040-X
- Prior-year and delinquent returns
Returns we prepare
- Individual income tax, Form 1040
- C corporation returns, Form 1120
- S corporation returns, Form 1120-S
- Partnership and LLC returns, Form 1065
- Self-employed and Schedule C filers
- Rental property and Schedule E
- Multi-state returns
- Amended returns, Form 1040-X
- Prior-year and delinquent returns
- Extensions
- Estimated tax calculations and payments
- Capital gains and investment reporting
- Cryptocurrency reporting
- Real estate tax matters
- Foreign income and international reporting
- FBAR and foreign account reporting
- ITIN applications and renewals
Local tax
Village or town changes the answer
In the Town of East Hampton, rentals shorter than two weeks are permitted up to twice in any six months, and a rental registry number is required and must appear in the advertisement. Penalties for failing to register run from $3,000 to $15,000, and advertising without the number from $150 to $1,500.
In the Village of East Hampton the rules are tighter. Rentals under two weeks are not permitted at all, there is a maximum of two short term rentals per calendar year, and the registry covers lettings under 120 days with notarised affidavits. The town law does not apply inside the incorporated villages of East Hampton and Sag Harbor, so a village property follows village rules alone.
Enforcement is tightening. The town identified 1,874 listings with roughly half unregistered and moved in late 2025 toward rental tracking software, with officials discussing higher fees and a possible local tax. If you let your house, this is the year to be registered.
On the transfer tax, the 2.5% Peconic rate applies with a $400,000 allowance on improved residential property, but only where consideration is $2,000,000 or less. With a median home value just under $1.2 million, a large share of actual sales here exceed that cap and get no allowance at all. Budgeting on the allowance is how buyers arrive at closing short.
Beyond that: Schedule E, the section 280A fourteen day rule, mixed personal and rental use allocation, passive activity limits, and basis tracking through renovations. Many owners are domiciled in New York City or out of state, which makes nonresident returns on IT-203, domicile analysis and the 183 day statutory residency test the highest value work on this page. Zone 2 for MCTMT at 0.34%.
How it works
How tax preparation and planning runs
Four stages. Most of the value sits in the first two, before anything is filed.
Read the last few returns
Prior returns show the missed elections, the defensive positions and whether the entity still fits.
Confirm the records
A return is only as good as the trial balance sitting behind it.
Plan before year end
Entity, compensation, retirement and timing decisions, while they can still change the number.
File and stay reachable
Returns prepared and filed, and someone who answers in August when a notice turns up.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Am I in the village or the town?
It depends on the address, and it changes your rental rules completely. The village prohibits lettings under two weeks and caps you at two short term rentals a year. The town allows under two weeks twice in six months with a registry number. Establish which you are in before you advertise anything.
Is the first $400,000 of my purchase exempt from the transfer tax?
Only if the consideration is $2,000,000 or less. Above that there is no allowance and the full 2.5% applies from the first dollar. Given what property sells for here, a great many sales fall above the cap, and this is the most common error in East End summaries.
I rent the house out for two weeks a year. Do I report the income?
If you rent for 14 days or fewer in the year and use the property as a residence, the rental income can be excluded entirely, though you then deduct no rental expenses. Go to 15 days and the whole picture changes. It is one of the few genuinely bright lines in the code and it is worth planning around deliberately.
I live in Manhattan and have a house here. Where am I taxed?
It turns on domicile and on day counts, and New York audits residency actively. If you are claiming a change of domicile, the documentation needs to be built as you go rather than assembled afterwards.
When is the right time to switch accountants?
Any time other than April. Moving mid-year gives us room to fix the books and act on what we find before the year closes. Moving in filing season means we file what already happened and start planning for next year.
Can you file returns for previous years I missed?
Yes. Prior-year and delinquent returns are routine. Filing voluntarily before the IRS contacts you nearly always produces a better outcome than waiting, both on penalties and on what options remain open.
Do you handle crypto?
Yes, including exchange activity, staking and the reporting that follows. Bring whatever transaction history you can export. Reconstructing it later costs more than keeping it as you go.
I live outside New York City but work in Manhattan. What do I owe the city?
As a nonresident, no New York City resident income tax. The nonresident earnings tax was repealed in 1999 and the partial version was struck down in 2000. But if you carry on an unincorporated business within the city, the Unincorporated Business Tax can still apply regardless of where you live. Westchester residents with city clients are the usual case.
Do you do foreign income and FBAR?
Yes. Foreign income, international reporting and FBAR filings for foreign accounts. The penalties for missing an FBAR are disproportionate to the effort of filing one, so it is worth checking even if you think you are under the threshold.
Also in East Hampton
Our other services here
Bookkeeping and accounting
Rental property books here need to be kept per property, not in one bucket.
Bookkeeping and accounting in East HamptonTrust and estate tax
With owner occupancy at 77.8% and a median value above $1.1 million, most East Hampton estates are property estates.
Trust and estate tax in East HamptonNonprofit accounting
East End nonprofits frequently raise most of their money from events.
Nonprofit accounting in East HamptonIRS representation
Second home owners here draw residency examinations.
IRS representation in East HamptonTalk to us about tax preparation and planning in East Hampton
Book a time online, or call the Hamptons office directly.
Nearest office
Hamptons Office
30 Lincoln St, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone
Office hours
Sunday to Friday, 11am to 8pm Eastern.
Closed Saturday.