New York Payroll Instructions

New York has state income tax withholding. Tax tables changed in 2023. Ditto for every year ever since we started writing payroll software, except for a 3 year gap in 2019-2021. There have been 30 changes during the past 33 years.

NOTE: For a few years there were odd jumps in the tables, including an amazing 94% withholding rate on a narrow band of income at about $2 million a year. Those are now gone. Rates still are a little odd, but nothing like the heady days of 2019-21.

There is also separate tax withholding for residents of New York City and Yonkers. New York City added an additional table step in mid-2010, but then removed it in 2018. Yonkers uses a fixed percentage of the state rate, so their tables have all the same quirkiness. We converted NYS and Yonker to annual tables in 2023, to account for their odd handling of incomes in the millions. NYC is still weekly. All get converted to your pay period.

NY Taxes include a state disability deduction (paid by employees). This deduction helps to cover the employee disability insurance that employers are required to carry.

Click here for more about Goldenseal payroll accounting software.

HINT: Our payroll software includes free annual updates for US federal and New York State tax withholding rates. Click here to download payroll updates for New York state, New York City, Yonkers and federal tax tables, applicable to all users of our payroll software.

New York State Withholding Instructions

To enter withholding information for an employee in your Goldenseal company file, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Payroll tab on the left, and choose Employees.
  2. Locate the employee's record.
  3. Click the Payroll Setup button.
  4. Enter the employee's marital status into the Marital Status field (see note below).
  5. Choose a New York Tax Package (see notes below).
  6. Enter the number of federal dependents into the Federal Exemptions field.
  7. Enter the number of NewYork State dependents into the State Exemptions field.
  8. Enter the number of Yonkers or New York City dependents into the Local Exemptions field.
  9. Click OK.

TAX PACKAGE NOTES: Separate Tax Packages are used for residents of New York City or Yonkers. If an employee resides in either, choose the appropriate Resident package; if an employee works in but lives outside of either, choose the appropriate Non-resident package. Otherwise, use one of the State packages.

Also, choose Old W4 for employees using pre-2020 W-4 forms. Choose New W4 Step2- if they did not check the box in step 2 of the new form. Choose Step2+ if they did check it.

New York State Unemployment Tax Instructions

New York state SUTA unemployment tax is based on the first $12,300 of wages for each employee (2023 cutoff amount). The SUTA tax rate for new employers is 4.1%. After the first year the rate varies from 1.5% to 9.9% for each employer, depending on past hiring and layoff history.

In 2004 and 2005, New York owed money to the Feds for unemployment payments, meaning that the FUTA rate for NY employers was 1.1% rather than .8%. However in 2006 New York returned to a positive funds balance, and the FUTA rate returned to its usual .8%.

To enter your New York SUTA tax rate into Goldenseal payroll accounting software, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Items.
  2. You'll see a list of Tax Items. Open the New York SUTA item, and open it. HINT: If you don't see SUTA in the list,you'll need to import the New York State payrollinfo first.
  3. Enter the percentage rate that you pay into the field to the right of Calculation method.
  4. If the cutoff amount has changed, enter it into the dollar field to the right of First Adjustment.

New York Marital Status

Enter the marital status of each employee in the Marital Status popup field on their employee account record:

State Tax Contacts

Website

Little Known Tax Facts

New York residents who go over Niagara Falls in a barrel are required to pay an import duty of $3.50 per barrel, when they cross from the Canadian portion of the river into New York waters.

Official State Lawn Ornament

Upstate-- Repeal the SAFE act sign.
Downstate-- bicycle chained to sign with tires and seat stolen.