How To Read A New York Pay Stub
The deductions between gross and net include several that only New Yorkers pay.
The gap between what an employer agrees to pay and what arrives in the account is wider in New York than in most of the country, because more authorities take a share. Understanding the lines is the first step to knowing whether they are correct.
Federal deductions
Federal income tax is withheld according to the information on your Form W-4. Social Security and Medicare are withheld separately at fixed rates, with Social Security applying only up to an annual wage limit — which is why take-home pay can rise partway through the year for higher earners.
State and city
New York State income tax is withheld. If you are a New York City resident, city income tax is withheld as well. This is a genuinely separate tax, not a portion of the state's, and it is the line that most surprises people arriving from elsewhere.
Residency, not workplace, determines city tax. Someone living outside the city and commuting in generally does not pay it; someone living in the city and working elsewhere generally does.
The small mandatory items
You will see deductions for state disability insurance and for the state's paid family leave program. Both are small, both are mandatory, and both fund benefits you may claim.
Pre-tax and post-tax
Retirement contributions, health premiums and transit or commuter benefits may be deducted before tax, which reduces taxable income. Whether a given deduction is pre-tax or post-tax changes its real cost meaningfully, and the stub distinguishes them.
Commuter benefits are a genuine and underused saving for anyone with a regular fare.
What to check
Confirm the year-to-date figures each quarter rather than once a year. Check that your residency status is right, particularly after moving — city tax withheld for a non-resident, or not withheld for a resident, is a common and expensive error.
If the withholding is far from your actual liability, adjust the W-4 rather than treating a large refund as a windfall. It is your money, lent without interest.
This is general information, not tax advice. Rates and thresholds change; confirm current figures with the agencies linked below or with your accountant.