New York City income tax runs on four progressive brackets, from 3.078% at the bottom to 3.876% at the top, and the top rate arrives early: $50,000 of taxable income for a single filer, $90,000 for a married couple filing jointly. These NYC tax brackets sit on top of New York State’s nine brackets, which is why the combined marginal rate for city residents climbs faster than in most of the country. Only city residents owe the tax; commuters do not.
NYC Tax Brackets by Filing Status
Each rate below applies only to the income falling inside that bracket, not to your entire income. The thresholds change with how you file.
Single and Married Filing Separately
- 3.078% on the first $12,000 of NYC taxable income
- 3.762% on income from $12,001 to $25,000
- 3.819% on income from $25,001 to $50,000
- 3.876% on all income above $50,000
A single filer hits the top city rate at $50,000, a threshold far below the state’s top rate of 10.9%, which doesn’t apply until income exceeds $25 million.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. The NYC Personal Income Tax Before and After the Pandemic – Section: Table 1
Married Filing Jointly and Qualifying Surviving Spouse
- 3.078% on the first $21,600 of NYC taxable income
- 3.762% on income from $21,601 to $45,000
- 3.819% on income from $45,001 to $90,000
- 3.876% on all income above $90,000
Joint filers get roughly double the single-filer thresholds, so the 3.876% rate doesn’t apply until income passes $90,000.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. The NYC Personal Income Tax Before and After the Pandemic – Section: Table 1
Head of Household
- 3.078% on the first $14,400 of NYC taxable income
- 3.762% on income from $14,401 to $30,000
- 3.819% on income from $30,001 to $60,000
- 3.876% on all income above $60,000
Head of household thresholds sit between the single and joint numbers.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. The NYC Personal Income Tax Before and After the Pandemic – Section: Table 1
What the Brackets Actually Cost You
Because the brackets are marginal, the top rate is not the rate you pay on your whole paycheck. Take a single filer with $75,000 of NYC taxable income:
- $12,000 × 3.078% = $369
- $13,000 × 3.762% = $489
- $25,000 × 3.819% = $955
- $25,000 × 3.876% = $969
The total city tax is roughly $2,782, or about 3.71% of taxable income. That is around $232 a month, before New York State and federal taxes.
How NYC Taxable Income Is Calculated
The city doesn’t run a separate calculation. Your NYC taxable income is the same number that flows through your New York State return, so the state’s rules govern the math.
You start with your federal adjusted gross income, then apply New York’s additions and subtractions to reach your New York adjusted gross income. One addition catches many filers: pre-tax benefits under IRC Section 125, such as employer-sponsored health insurance premiums excluded from federal wages, get added back for state and city purposes.
From New York AGI, you subtract either the standard deduction or your itemized deductions, whichever is larger, plus any exemptions. What remains is the figure that runs through the city brackets. The New York State standard deductions for the 2025 tax year are:2Department of Taxation and Finance. 2025 Standard Deductions
- Single: $8,000
- Married filing jointly: $16,050
- Married filing separately: $8,000
- Head of household: $11,200
- Qualifying surviving spouse: $16,050
These are well below the federal standard deduction, so your New York taxable income will almost always exceed your federal taxable income. A single filer taking the $15,000 federal standard deduction gets only $8,000 at the state and city level.
How State Tax Stacks on Top
Because the city tax sits on top of the state tax, your real tax picture depends on both. New York State uses nine progressive brackets, from 4% to 10.9%. For single filers and those married filing separately, the 2025 brackets are:3Department of Taxation and Finance. 2025 Tax Tables
- 4% on the first $8,500
- 4.5% on $8,501 to $11,700
- 5.25% on $11,701 to $13,900
- 5.5% on $13,901 to $80,650
- 6% on $80,651 to $215,400
- 6.85% on $215,401 to $1,077,550
- 9.65% on $1,077,551 to $5,000,000
- 10.3% on $5,000,001 to $25,000,000
- 10.9% on income above $25,000,000
The top three state rates were originally set to expire in 2027 but have been extended through 2032 under the state’s FY 2026 budget.4Office of the New York City Comptroller. The NYC Personal Income Tax Before and After the Pandemic – Section: Endnote 18
At the top of the income scale, the combined state and city marginal rate reaches 14.776% (10.9% plus 3.876%) before federal tax enters the picture. For a middle-income single filer earning $75,000, the state adds roughly another 5.5% on most of the income to the 3.71% effective city rate.
Who Owes the NYC Income Tax
Only New York City residents owe the city tax. If you commute in from New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, or Westchester and work in Manhattan, you pay New York State income tax on your wages but no separate city tax. Residency is the whole ball game.
You count as a city resident if either of two tests is met:5Department of Taxation and Finance. Frequently Asked Questions about Filing Requirements, Residency, and Telecommuting for New York State Personal Income Tax – Section: What Are the Rules for New York City Residency
- Domicile test: your permanent home is in one of the five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island). Time spent elsewhere doesn’t change your domicile if the city is your true, fixed home.
- Statutory residency test: you maintain a permanent place of abode in the city for substantially all of the tax year and spend 184 days or more there during that year.
If either test applies, the city taxes your worldwide income, not just income earned inside the five boroughs. Full-year residents file Form IT-201, the combined state and city resident return.6Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-201 Full-Year Resident Income Tax Return
If You Moved In or Out During the Year
Part-year residents file Form IT-203 together with Form IT-360.1, which allocates income between the resident and nonresident portions of the year.7Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-360.1 Change of City Resident Status You don’t simply prorate by twelfths. The form asks for the income you actually received while living in the city, and your standard deduction and dependent exemptions get prorated by the number of full months of residence, with any period over half a month counted as a full month.
One trap: if you moved out, you still have to accrue income earned during your resident period even if you were paid after leaving. If you moved in, you accrue income tied to your new resident period but exclude New York-source income already accrued before the move.