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Payroll in New York

Payroll services for New York businesses.

Visory provides payroll services for New York businesses with staff across the state. A dedicated Payroll Specialist runs each pay run remotely in your own payroll platform, handling state and city withholding, family leave and disability deductions, and the notice every new hire needs. Delphi AI takes the repetitive parts, overseen by the team. You approve each run before anyone is paid. One flat monthly fee.

  • A dedicated team you know by name
  • New York rules in every pay run and close
  • One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
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Lower Manhattan’s skyline and One World Trade Center across the Hudson River at golden hour, seen from Hoboken.
Photo: Mike Chavarri, Unsplash License

Payroll in New York

What every New York pay run covers.

A dedicated team prepares each pay run, checks it, and sends it to you to approve before anyone is paid. Six things are right every time.

  • Withholding, every run Federal withholding, and state and local taxes where they apply, worked out in every run from each employee’s own forms.
  • Filed on schedule Quarterly and annual payroll tax filings prepared from the same runs and filed on schedule by your payroll platform, so nothing is rebuilt at the deadline.
  • Unemployment insurance New York contributions worked out on each employee’s wages, up to the state’s taxable wage base.
  • Leave that adds up Paid leave accrued in the file to the state’s rules, so balances are right when someone asks.
  • Paid on the right day Pay frequency and final pay set to the state’s rules, and every run approved by you before anyone is paid.
  • New hires, set up properly New employees reported to the state and set up before their first pay run.

New York rules

The New York rules every pay run works to.

Eight rules set by New York State, each with the law that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.

Withholding leaves the account days after payday.

The $700 trigger means most employers pay over the tax after every payroll, and the quarterly return has to agree with every payment made, so payroll and the books are reconciled each pay run, not each quarter.

Set by New York Tax Law, Article 22; Publication NYS-50-T-NYS (1/26)

Employers withhold New York State income tax using the 2026 tables in Publication NYS-50-T-NYS, revised for rate cuts of 0.2 percentage points on taxable income up to $215,400 ($323,200 for joint filers), phased in over 2026 and 2027. Rates rise with income to 10.90% above $25 million, and supplemental wages such as bonuses may be withheld at 11.70%. Once withholding reaches $700, it is paid with Form NYS-1 within 3 or 5 business days of the payroll.

New York Tax Law, Article 22; Publication NYS-50-T-NYS (1/26); withholding tables for payrolls made on or after January 1, 2026.

Sources NYS Tax Department: Withholding tax rate changes for 2026 NYS Tax Department: Publication NYS-50-T-NYS (1/26), New York State Withholding Tax Tables and Methods NYS Tax Department: Personal income tax expenditure estimates, tax rate structure NYS Tax Department: Publication NYS-50, Employer’s Guide to Unemployment Insurance, Wage Reporting, and Withholding Tax

The cost lands early in the year.

Contributions stop once an employee’s wages pass $17,600, so the first quarter carries most of the year’s cost, and a budget that spreads it evenly understates January to March.

Set by New York Labor Law, Article 18 (Unemployment Insurance Law)

Employers pay unemployment insurance contributions on the first $17,600 of each employee’s wages in 2026, up from $12,800 in 2025; from 2026 the wage base resets each January 1 to 18% of the state average annual wage. Total 2026 rates run from 1.7% to 9.5%, including the 0.075% Re-employment Services Fund, and new employers pay 4.1%. Form NYS-45 is due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31.

New York Labor Law, Article 18 (Unemployment Insurance Law); 2026 wage base and contribution rates, from January 1, 2026.

Sources NYS Department of Labor: NYS-45 quarterly reporting and the UI wage base NYS Department of Labor: Unemployment insurance rate information, 2026

The rate follows the work location.

A business with staff in Manhattan and in Albany pays two different floors, so each employee’s work location in the payroll file decides which one applies.

Set by New York Labor Law, § 652

The minimum wage is $17.00 an hour in New York City, on Long Island, and in Westchester County, and $16.00 in the rest of the state. The Department of Labor has confirmed the rates stay the same on January 1, 2027, because one of the law’s off-ramps was met. Only hospitality employers may take a tip credit: tipped food service workers in New York City are paid a cash wage of at least $11.35.

New York Labor Law, § 652; current rates, unchanged on January 1, 2027.

Source NYS Department of Labor: Minimum wage

Sales tax quarters are not calendar quarters.

Tax collected is held for the state until the return for March to May, June to August, September to November, or December to February is due, so the books show it by filing period, and $300,000 of taxable receipts in a quarter moves you to monthly returns.

Set by New York Tax Law, Article 28

Sales of services are exempt from New York sales tax unless they are specifically taxable. Taxable services include interior decorating and design, protective and detective services, certain information services, and maintaining, servicing, and repairing real property. The state rate is 4%; with local tax, the combined rate is 8.875% in New York City and Yonkers and from 7% to 8.75% elsewhere. Most vendors file quarterly, for quarters ending in May, August, November, and February.

New York Tax Law, Article 28; combined rates in Publication 718, effective March 1, 2025.

Sources NYS Tax Department: Quick reference guide for taxable and exempt property and services NYS Tax Department: Publication 718, Sales and Use Tax Rates by Jurisdiction NYS Tax Department: Filing requirements for sales and use tax returns

Two balances, kept apart.

Sick leave accrues with hours worked, while prenatal leave is a fresh 20 hours each year, so the payroll file tracks both, and a headcount that reaches 100 lifts the sick leave cap for everyone.

Set by New York Labor Law, § 196-b

Employees accrue at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 5 to 99 employees provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year, and those with 100 or more up to 56 hours; with 4 or fewer, the 40 hours may be unpaid unless net income is over $1 million. Every private employer also provides 20 hours of paid prenatal leave a year, separate from sick leave.

New York Labor Law, § 196-b; sick leave accrual from September 30, 2020; prenatal leave from January 1, 2025.

Sources New York State Senate: Labor Law § 196-b, sick leave requirements New York State: Paid sick leave New York State: Paid prenatal leave, information for employers

Two deductions, two different caps.

The family leave deduction stops at $411.91 for the year and the disability deduction at 60 cents a week, and both have to agree with what the insurer bills, so each is reconciled every month.

Set by New York Workers’ Compensation Law, Article 9

Employers must provide disability benefits coverage, with Paid Family Leave usually a rider on the same policy. In 2026, employees contribute 0.432% of gross wages to Paid Family Leave, up to $411.91 a year, and the maximum weekly benefit is $1,228.53. Toward disability benefits, an employer may collect 0.5% of wages, up to 60 cents a week; those benefits pay 50% of the average weekly wage, up to $170 a week.

New York Workers’ Compensation Law, Article 9; Paid Family Leave rates for 2026, from January 1, 2026.

Sources NYS Workers’ Compensation Board: Paid Family Leave updates for 2026 NYS Workers’ Compensation Board: Disability benefits and Paid Family Leave insurance NYS Workers’ Compensation Board: What are disability benefits

The job sets the pay calendar.

A business with site or warehouse staff and office staff can need two pay cycles, and a leaver’s final pay runs on the next regular payday, not whenever the paperwork is finished.

Set by New York Labor Law, § 191

Manual workers are paid weekly, no later than seven calendar days after the end of the week in which the wages are earned. Clerical and other workers are paid as agreed, but no less often than semi-monthly. When employment ends, final wages are due no later than the regular payday for the pay period in which it ended.

New York Labor Law, § 191.

Source New York State Senate: Labor Law § 191, frequency of payments

Onboarding is part of the pay run.

The new-hire report and the pay notice draw on the same setup as the first pay, so both are done the day someone is added to the payroll file.

Set by New York new hire reporting; Wage Theft Prevention Act

Employers report each new or rehired employee working in New York to the Department of Taxation and Finance within 20 calendar days of the hiring date, including whether dependent health insurance is available. Under the Wage Theft Prevention Act, each new hire also receives a written notice of their pay rate, overtime rate, and regular payday, in English and in their primary language where the Department of Labor offers a translation.

New York new hire reporting; Wage Theft Prevention Act; Wage Theft Prevention Act in force from April 9, 2011.

Sources NYS Tax Department: Publication NYS-50, Employer’s Guide to Unemployment Insurance, Wage Reporting, and Withholding Tax NYS Department of Labor: Notice of pay rate (Wage Theft Prevention Act)

Rules last checked October 9, 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.

Local rules

Where the rules change across New York.

Your team applies the local rules as well as the New York ones. These are the places where a local tax, a wage rate, or a leave law differs from the rest of the state.

A stone tower of the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River at dusk, with the Manhattan Bridge in the distance.
Photo: Alexander Rotker, Unsplash License

New York City

The five boroughs add a city income tax on residents, the higher commuter tax rate, and a time off law of their own.

  • New York City income tax is withheld from all wages paid to city residents, even for work outside the city, using Publication NYS-50-T-NYC; supplemental wages may be withheld at 4.25%.
  • Employers with more than $312,500 of payroll in the commuter district in a quarter pay the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax. In the five boroughs, it is 0.60% of the quarter’s payroll there once that passes $437,500, and 0.895% above $2.5 million.
  • Under the city’s Protected Time Off Law, most employees get up to 40 or 56 hours of paid protected time off a year and 32 hours of unpaid protected time off from the start of employment, on top of 20 hours of paid prenatal leave.
The pergola and planted beds of Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers on a sunny day.
Photo: Fatu Sakanoko, Unsplash License

Yonkers

Yonkers has two wage taxes of its own: a surcharge on residents’ state tax and an earnings tax on nonresidents who work there.

  • Employers withhold the Yonkers resident tax surcharge, 16.75% of the New York State tax, from all wages paid to Yonkers residents, including residents of certain areas of Bronxville, Scarsdale, and Tuckahoe, wherever they work.
  • Nonresidents who work in Yonkers have the 0.50% nonresident earnings tax withheld from wages for the work done there, allocated by the days worked in Yonkers on Form IT-2104.1.
  • Yonkers is in Westchester County, so the $17.00 minimum wage and the commuter tax’s suburban rates apply, and its combined sales tax rate is 8.875%, the same as New York City.

Long Island and the Hudson Valley suburbs

Seven suburban counties, from Long Island to Westchester and Dutchess, pay the commuter tax at a lower rate than the city.

  • Zone 2 of the commuter district is Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester counties. Once district payroll passes $312,500 in a quarter, Zone 2 payroll above $437,500 is taxed at 0.34%, and at 0.635% above $2.5 million.
  • The minimum wage is $17.00 on Long Island and in Westchester County, the same as New York City, and $16.00 in Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess, which count as the rest of the state.
  • The commuter tax return, Form MTA-305, is due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31, with no extensions allowed.

How it works from anywhere

A leadership team in New York. Businesses across the United States.

Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with businesses across the United States remotely, inside your own accounting file, so nothing about the work depends on where in the state your office is.

Your own file

Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.

A team you know by name

A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.

New York rules, built in

Visory runs the finance function for growing businesses across the United States, with its US leadership team in New York. Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.

Business hours, and the platform after them

Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals, and your numbers.

What we run for New York businesses

The whole finance function, actually handled.

Bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable, run end to end by a dedicated team with Delphi AI working under their oversight. Flat monthly fee. No hourly billing.

Bookkeeping

Every transaction coded and reconciled, month-end closed on schedule.

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Payroll

Pay runs prepared, checked, and paid on time, every cycle.

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Accounts payable

Bills captured, checked against what's already paid, and paid when you say so.

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Accounts receivable

Invoices out on schedule, overdue accounts followed up in your name.

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Visory Insights

Once a month: what changed, what it means, and what to do next.

See how Insights works

Business Performance Partner

A named partner who walks you through the numbers and the next move.

How your partner works

Bookkeeping services in New York

What customers say

In a customer’s words.

“I have enough people to manage, so it's nice having a partner that ensures nothing is missed when it comes to the very important process of remunerating our people.”

Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ

Common questions

Questions New York businesses ask.

Straight answers about payroll for a New York business, from a team that works remotely.

What does a Visory pay run for a New York business include?

Your Payroll Specialist runs each pay run, with Delphi AI preparing and checking it in the background, and you approve it before anyone is paid. The Payroll Specialist handles new hires, leave, changes, and terminations, applies New York State, New York City, and Yonkers withholding where each applies, and posts the run to your books, so wages, deductions, and leave balances agree every month.

What hours does my payroll team work?

Your payroll team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your payroll information is there whenever you need it.

How often do I have to pay employees in New York?

Manual workers are paid weekly, within seven calendar days of the end of the week in which they earned the wages. Clerical and other workers can be paid as agreed, but at least twice a month. Final pay for anyone who leaves is due by the regular payday for the period they left in. This is general information; the Department of Labor sets the rules.

How much is the Paid Family Leave deduction in 2026?

Employees contribute 0.432% of gross wages to Paid Family Leave in 2026, up to $411.91 for the year, and employers may also collect 0.5% of wages, up to 60 cents a week, toward disability benefits. Your Payroll Specialist stops each deduction at its cap and reconciles both to what your insurer bills, so the books and the policy agree.

How much paid sick leave do New York employees get?

Employees earn at least one hour for every 30 hours worked: up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year with 5 to 99 employees, and up to 56 hours with 100 or more. Every private employer also gives 20 hours of paid prenatal leave a year. In New York City, the city’s own law adds 32 hours of unpaid protected time off.

Does my business pay the commuter transportation mobility tax?

It does if you withhold New York income tax and your payroll in the commuter district, New York City and seven nearby counties, is more than $312,500 in a calendar quarter. The rate depends on the zone and on payroll there, from 0.055% to 0.895%, and the return is due a month after each quarter ends, with no extensions.

What do I have to do when I hire someone in New York?

Report the new employee to the Department of Taxation and Finance within 20 calendar days of the hiring date, and give them a written notice of their pay rate, overtime rate, and regular payday, in English and in their primary language where a translation exists. Your Payroll Specialist does both when the employee is set up, before the first pay run.

What is the minimum wage in New York?

The minimum wage is $17.00 an hour in New York City, on Long Island, and in Westchester County, and $16.00 in the rest of the state. The Department of Labor has confirmed both rates stay the same on January 1, 2027, because one of the law’s off-ramps was met. Your Payroll Specialist applies the rate for each employee’s work location in every pay run. This is general information; the Department of Labor sets the rules.

What is the New York unemployment insurance wage base in 2026?

Contributions are paid on the first $17,600 of each employee’s wages in 2026, up from $12,800 in 2025, and the base now resets each January to 18% of the state average annual wage. Rates run from 1.7% to 9.5%, and new employers pay 4.1%. Your Payroll Specialist prepares the quarterly Form NYS-45 from the same pay runs.

More questions, longer answers. Every question has its own link. See all common questions

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Sources (23) · rules last checked October 9, 2026

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