What payroll returns does a New York employer file?

A new business registers for unemployment insurance, withholding and wage reporting at once, through New York Business Express (NYS-50). It also needs a disability and paid family leave insurance policy for its employees.

The rule is the last day of the month after the quarter; a date on a weekend moves to the next business day, which is why January 31, July 31 and October 31, 2027 become February 1, August 2 and November 1 (tax.ny.gov). The IRS gives ten more days to file Form 941 if every deposit was made on time (irs.gov).

New York income tax withheld from paychecks is not held until the return. Once the tax withheld in a quarter reaches $700, the employer files Form NYS-1, the return of tax withheld, and pays it within 5 business days after that payroll, or 3 business days for employers who withheld $15,000 or more two years earlier. New employers start on the 5-day schedule. Below $700 in a quarter, the tax is paid with NYS-45 (tax.ny.gov; tax.ny.gov). Employers who withheld $100,000 or more the year before must pay through PrompTax instead (TR-370-N).

NYS-45 reports the quarter’s withholding, unemployment insurance contributions and each employee’s wages, in one return filed online and paid by ACH debit. Since 2025, all of its parts are filed together, and New York State, New York City and Yonkers tax withheld are reported separately for each employee (tax.ny.gov). Every quarter’s return carries each employee’s wages and tax withheld for that quarter. A correction is now a complete new return.

The employer, not the employee, pays New York unemployment insurance, on each employee’s wages up to the year’s wage base: $17,600 for 2026, now set each January at 18% of the state average wage (NYS-50). For 2026, a new employer pays 4.1% in total: a 4.025% unemployment rate plus the 0.075% re-employment services fund (dol.ny.gov; Form IA 98). After that, the rate follows the employer’s own record: the balance of its account against its average payroll of the last five years, from 1.7% to 9.5% in 2026. Rate notices arrive each February.

The metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax applies to employers in New York City and Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester counties whose payroll there is more than $312,500 in a quarter (tax.ny.gov). Since July 1, 2025, it is 0.055% up to $375,000 of quarterly payroll, 0.115% up to $437,500, then 0.60% in New York City (0.34% in the other counties) and, for most private employers, 0.895% (0.635%) above $2.5 million. The threshold counts payroll in both areas together; the rate follows the payroll in each. It is filed on its own quarterly return, Form MTA-305, on the NYS-45 dates, and only for quarters above the threshold.

New York requires employers to carry disability and paid family leave insurance for their employees, with no lapse (wcb.ny.gov). The employer may deduct part of the disability cost from pay, 0.5% of wages up to 60 cents a week. Paid family leave is funded by employees, through a payroll deduction the employer may take: 0.432% of wages up to $411.91 a year in 2026, and 0.452% up to $451.81 in 2027 (2026 notice; 2027 notice).

Each quarter, Form 941 reports federal income tax withheld and Social Security and Medicare tax: 6.2% each from employer and employee on wages up to $184,500 in 2026 and $192,300 in 2027 (SSA notice), and 1.45% each on all wages. Deposits are monthly for a new business, or semiweekly once the tax reported for the lookback year passes $50,000 (Publication 15). Form 940 reports the federal unemployment tax once a year: 0.6% of the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages for most employers.

By February 1, 2027 for 2026, each employee gets a W-2 and the Social Security Administration gets copies; contractors get Form 1099-NEC (irs.gov).

New and rehired employees are reported to New York within 20 calendar days of hire, online or with a copy of their Form IT-2104. Independent contractors with contracts over $2,500 are reported too, online only (tax.ny.gov).

A Brooklyn restaurant with eight employees pays $60,000 of wages in the first quarter of 2027, about $7,500 each. It opened in 2026, so it is a new employer. At 2026 unemployment rates, the latest published:

• After each payroll: once New York withholding for the quarter reaches $700, an NYS-1 and payment within 5 business days. Federal withholding and Social Security and Medicare are deposited by the 15th of the next month: February 16 for January, since February 15, 2027 is a holiday (Publication 15).
• Social Security and Medicare: 7.65% × $60,000 = $4,590 from the restaurant, and the same withheld from staff.
• Unemployment insurance: 4.1% × $60,000 = $2,460, paid with NYS-45; every employee is still under the wage base.
• Federal unemployment: 0.6% of the first $7,000 of each employee’s pay, 0.6% × $56,000 = $336.
• MCTMT: none; $60,000 is below $312,500.
• Withheld for leave insurance: up to 0.452% × $60,000 = $271.20 for paid family leave and 8 × 13 weeks × 60 cents = $62.40 for disability.
• April 30: NYS-45 and Form 941.

For running this every pay period, see payroll. The other New York dates are in the New York tax deadlines guide.