NYC Has Its Own Income Tax — And Most People Misunderstand It
If you live in any of the five boroughs — the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island — you pay three layers of income tax: federal, New York State, and New York City. The city layer is easy to overlook because it is computed on your New York State resident return (Form IT-201), not on a separate city return. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance lists NYC resident tax as one of the additions you report directly on IT-201, lines 47-48 (tax.ny.gov).
Three facts most filers get wrong:
There is no NYC tax on commuters. Only full-year and part-year *residents* pay it. Someone living in New Jersey or Westchester and working in Manhattan owes zero NYC income tax (they face other costs — see our [NYC vs. suburbs comparison](/blog/nyc-vs-suburbs-taxes)).The top city rate is 3.876%, not "about 4% of everything." The rate is progressive: the first $12,000 of taxable income (single) is taxed at 3.078%, and only income above $50,000 reaches 3.876%.The city tax base is your NYC taxable income — a separate computation on the state return that starts from your New York adjusted gross income with its own deduction and exemption amounts.The Official NYC Tax Rate Schedule (2025)
New York City has not changed its four-bracket schedule in years, and it is the same schedule the state publishes in the Form IT-201 instructions (IT-201-I, tax.ny.gov). NYC taxable income up to $65,000 is computed from the tax tables; at $65,000 and above you use the rate schedule below.
Single and married filing separately — filing status ① and ③
| If NYC taxable income is: | The tax is: |
|---|
$0 – $12,000
3.078% of the amount
$12,000 – $25,000
$369 + 3.762% of the excess over $12,000
$25,000 – $50,000
$858 + 3.819% of the excess over $25,000
Over $50,000
$1,813 + 3.876% of the excess over $50,000
Married filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouse — filing status ② and ⑤
| If NYC taxable income is: | The tax is: |
|---|
$0 – $21,600
3.078% of the amount
$21,600 – $45,000
$665 + 3.762% of the excess over $21,600
$45,000 – $90,000
$1,545 + 3.819% of the excess over $45,000
Over $90,000
$3,264 + 3.876% of the excess over $90,000
Head of household — filing status ④
| If NYC taxable income is: | The tax is: |
|---|
$0 – $14,400
3.078% of the amount
$14,400 – $30,000
$443 + 3.762% of the excess over $14,400
$30,000 – $60,000
$1,030 + 3.819% of the excess over $30,000
Over $60,000
$2,176 + 3.876% of the excess over $60,000
For incomes under $65,000, the city's tax tables (rather than these formulas) apply, which can produce slightly different cents-level results.
Worked Examples
Single filer, $100,000 salary
Say a single NYC resident finishes with $80,000 of NYC taxable income after the city's deduction and exemption amounts. The city tax is $1,813 + 3.876% × ($80,000 − $50,000) = $2,976. On a full $100,000 of NYC taxable income the tax would be $1,813 + 3.876% × $50,000 = $3,751 — an effective city rate of about 3.75%.
Married couple, $150,000 joint income
With $130,000 of NYC taxable income filing jointly: $3,264 + 3.876% × ($130,000 − $90,000) = $4,814.
What the total stack looks like
A single filer with $100,000 of taxable income pays roughly $5,432 to New York State (2025 schedule) plus $3,751 to the city — $9,183 of state-and-city income tax before federal tax. That combined 9.2% effective load is why our main calculator shows the city layer separately from the state layer: they are different computations, and the city amount is not a flat percentage of what you owe the state.
| Filer (single) | NYC taxable income | NYC tax | Effective rate |
|---|
$40,000 salary
~$32,000
~$1,125
~2.8%
$100,000 salary
~$80,000
~$2,976
~3.0%
$250,000 salary
~$220,000
~$8,402
~3.4%
Effective rates look low because the city's four brackets top out at 3.876% — but remember this is on top of the state's 4%-6.85% (and 9.65%-10.9% at the very top).
How the NYC Tax Is Actually Filed
Full-year NYC residents report the city tax on Form IT-201, line 47a, computed from the official schedule above (or the tax table under $65,000).Part-year residents use Form IT-360.1, Change of City Resident Status, so the tax is prorated to the months you were a city resident. The state's NYC/Yonkers page covers both cases ([tax.ny.gov](https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/nyc_yonkers_residents.htm)).Household credit: NYC residents who marked "No" at item C (you and your spouse were NYC residents for the entire year) may qualify for the NYC household credit on line 48, which directly reduces the city tax.Joint returns, one spouse a city resident: do not enter a city tax amount; special rules on line 51 apply instead.Deductions Work Differently at the City Level
The city computation does not simply reuse your federal itemized deductions. NYC starts from your New York adjusted gross income and applies its own standard deduction amounts and dependent exemptions from the IT-201 worksheet. That's why two filers with the same federal taxable income can owe different city tax: the city's taxable income is computed independently.
Credits That Reduce the City Tax
NYC household credit (line 48) — the main credit for lower- and middle-income city residents, computed from tables 4-6 in the IT-201 instructions based on filing status and incomeNYC school tax credit — for full-year NYC residents with income under $250,000, worth up to $125 (filing jointly) or $63 (single); it appears on your state return as a city creditEmpire State Child Credit and other state credits reduce your *state* tax, and because the Yonkers-style surcharge does not exist for NYC, city tax is computed after those state credits — the city tax is a separate line, not a percentageWho Does NOT Pay NYC Income Tax
Residents of Yonkers — they pay a Yonkers surcharge instead (see our [Yonkers guide](/blog/yonkers-surtax-guide))Residents of Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, or any other NY county — no city or local income tax exists outside NYC and YonkersCommuters from NJ, CT, or elsewhere — NYC's nonresident earnings tax was repealed in 1999; the city cannot tax a nonresident's wage income (a long-settled point the state Tax Department reiterates on its NYC/Yonkers page)The MCTMT: The Tax Self-Employed New Yorkers Forget
If you are self-employed (including partners) with net earnings attributable to the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District — NYC plus the surrounding counties — you may owe the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax (MCTMT) on top of everything else. The filing threshold is $50,000 of net earnings for tax years 2025 and prior, rising to $150,000 for tax year 2026 and after (tax.ny.gov). Rates run from 0.26% to 0.594% depending on income, computed separately for Zone 1 and Zone 2. If you freelance in the city, this is the line most often missed.
Planning Takeaways
Check your withholding — NYC tax is withheld by employers, but a common error is withholding state only. If your paycheck shows NY state withholding but no city amount and you live in the five boroughs, you will owe at filing time.Claim the household credit if eligible — it directly offsets the city tax for filers who mark item C "No."Part-year moves are prorated — moving in or out mid-year triggers Form IT-360.1; do not pay full-year city tax by accident (see our [NYC movers guide](/blog/nyc-movers-tax-guide-2026)).Model the full stack — run your numbers through the [NY paycheck calculator](/calculators/paycheck) to see federal + state + city + FICA side by side.