Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Trust

Prospectus Supplement	May 18, 2018
Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Fund
Prospectus dated March 30, 2018

Beginning on May 21, 2018, the fund will offer class R6 shares to:

• employer-sponsored retirement plans that are clients of third-party administrators (including affiliates of Putnam) that have entered into agreements with Putnam;

• investors purchasing shares through an asset-based fee program that is sponsored by a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution;

• investors purchasing shares through a commission-based platform of a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution that charges the shareholder additional fees or commissions, other than those described in the prospectus and statement of additional information, and that has entered into an agreement with Putnam Retail Management to offer class R6 shares through such a program;

• corporations, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors that have been approved by Putnam; and

• unaffiliated investment companies (whether registered or private) that have been approved by Putnam.

The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R6 shares.

The front cover page is supplemented to add class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that the fund’s symbol for class R6 shares is PNYRX.

The following information is added to similar disclosure for the fund under Fund summary — Fees and expenses:

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Share class	Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)
Class R6	NONE	NONE

Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Share class	Management fees	Distribution and service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses	Total annual fund operating expenses
Class R6	0.43%	N/A	0.09%=	0.52%

= Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year, restated to reflect the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R6 shares.

Example

The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year

and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.

Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class R6	$53	$167	$291	$653

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Trust Class R6
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price)	none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)	none

Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses	Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Trust Class R6
Management fees	0.43%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees
Other expenses	0.09%	[1]
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.52%

Example

The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.

Expense Example	Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year	Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years	Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years	Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years
Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Trust | Class R6 | USD ($)	53	167	291	653

[1] Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund's last fiscal year, restated to reflect the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R6 shares