Taxes in New York City
New York City levies its own real, separate, graduated Personal Income Tax directly on RESIDENTS (3.078% to 3.876%), layered under New York State's own real, graduated income tax (4% to 10.9% for 2026) -- for a top-bracket resident, a real combined marginal rate near 14.8%, among the highest in the US -- and this record states one crucial, precise distinction plainly: unlike Philadelphia's Wage Tax, NYC's own resident tax does NOT apply to nonresident commuters, following the 1999 repeal of the city's prior commuter tax.
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Learn moreNYC's Own, Separate Resident Income Tax
New York City levies its own Personal Income Tax directly on city residents, running four real brackets: 3.078% on the first $12,000 of city taxable income (single filer), 3.762% up to $25,000, 3.819% up to $50,000, and 3.876% above $50,000. This is a real, distinct tax layer from New York State's own income tax, applied only to people who actually LIVE within the five boroughs.
New York State's Own Graduated Income Tax, Layered Underneath
New York State's income tax runs nine progressive brackets for 2026, from 4.0% up to 10.9% (some vendor tax calculators cite the bottom bracket as 3.9%, reflecting a real, disclosed 0.1-point cut in the FY2026 state budget that this record does not force to one precise figure). The temporary top 'millionaire' brackets (9.65%-10.9%) were extended through 2032 under that same budget.
A Top-Bracket NYC Resident's Real, Combined Marginal Rate Runs Near 14.8%
Combined, a top-bracket NYC RESIDENT's real marginal income-tax rate runs approximately 14.776% (10.9% NY State + 3.876% NYC), rounded to roughly 14.8% -- genuinely among the highest combined state-plus-local income tax burdens in the entire United States, exceeding even California's own top marginal rate. Movers relocating specifically for a high-earning career should budget for this precisely rather than assuming NYC's tax burden resembles a lower-tax state.
The Crucial Distinction: NYC's Tax Does NOT Apply to Nonresident Commuters
Unlike Philadelphia's Wage Tax (which applies to non-resident commuters too, at a slightly reduced rate), NYC's own resident income tax applies ONLY to actual city residents. The city's prior nonresident 'commuter tax' (a 0.45% earnings tax on people who worked in NYC but lived outside it) was repealed effective July 1, 1999, after New York's Court of Appeals held a partial-repeal statute unconstitutional. Today, the roughly 1.6+ million people who commute INTO NYC daily from New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley pay NO separate NYC resident income tax -- a real, precise, and genuinely different mechanic from Philadelphia's model that movers weighing 'live in the city vs. commute in' should understand exactly.
Sales Tax and the Real, Distinctive Mansion Tax on Home Purchases
NYC's combined sales tax runs 8.875% (4% NY State + 4.5% NYC local + a 0.375% MTA-funding surcharge). Separately, home buyers face New York State's own real, distinctive, progressive 'mansion tax' on residential purchases of $1 million or more, running from 1.0% up to 3.9% at $25 million and above, applied to the ENTIRE purchase price -- a real, substantial cost for many Manhattan and increasingly Brooklyn buyers specifically; see the taxes.mansionTaxRangePct field on the base record and the buying-a-home topic page.
Key takeaways
- NYC levies its own resident Personal Income Tax (3.078%-3.876%, four brackets) directly on city residents -- a real, separate layer from NY State's own tax.
- NY State's own income tax runs 9 brackets, 4.0%-10.9% for 2026 (some sources cite 3.9% at the bottom, reflecting a real, disclosed FY2026 budget cut), with the top 'millionaire' brackets extended through 2032.
- A top-bracket NYC resident's real combined marginal rate runs approximately 14.8% (10.9% state + 3.876% city) -- among the highest in the US, exceeding even California's top rate.
- Crucially, NYC's own resident tax does NOT apply to nonresident commuters (following the 1999 commuter-tax repeal) -- a real, precise, and genuinely different mechanic from Philadelphia's Wage Tax, which does tax nonresidents.
- NYC's combined sales tax runs 8.875%; home buyers should separately budget for NY State's real, distinctive mansion tax (1.0%-3.9%) on any purchase of $1 million or more.
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