CPA for New York, NY Clients: Remote Tax, Payroll and Accounting

We are a Naperville, Illinois CPA firm, and we serve New York City clients remotely; we do not have an office in New York. New York City adds layers of tax that people in most of the country never see: a city income tax, a separate business tax for self-employed people, a commuter payroll tax and, in Yonkers, its own surcharge. This page explains each of them in plain terms.

New York City resident income tax

All income of a city resident is subject to city personal income tax, no matter where it is earned, and nonresidents of the city do not owe it. For 2025 a single filer pays 3.078% up to $12,000 of city taxable income, 3.762% from $12,000 to $25,000, 3.819% from $25,000 to $50,000 and 3.876% above $50,000, with separate schedules for joint filers and heads of household. The city tax is reported on the state Form IT-201. If you move into or out of the city during a year, residency details drive the outcome, so keep records of where you lived and worked. A city resident who also pays another state's income tax can generally claim a state resident credit against New York tax.

The Unincorporated Business Tax

The Unincorporated Business Tax, or UBT, is a 4% tax on taxable income allocated to the city from an unincorporated business such as a sole proprietorship, partnership or single-member LLC. Individual sole proprietors file Form NYC-202, and city residents may claim a credit against their personal income tax for part of the UBT paid, with the credit depending on income. Employees and people who only hold investments for their own account are generally outside the UBT. Whether your freelance or professional work is a UBT business depends on the facts, and our page for self-employed people and freelancers gives more background.

MCTMT and Yonkers

The Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax covers two zones. Zone 1 is the five boroughs. Zone 2 is Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester. Employers owe it once covered payroll exceeds $312,500 in a calendar quarter, and the rate schedule changed for quarters starting on or after July 1, 2025. Self-employed individuals owe it when net earnings from self-employment in a zone exceed a threshold: $50,000 through tax year 2025, and $150,000 beginning with tax year 2026. The 2025 state instructions use 0.60% for Zone 1 and 0.34% for Zone 2 when computing the tax for self-employed owners.

Yonkers adds more. Yonkers residents pay a surcharge equal to 16.75% of their New York State tax for 2025, and people who live elsewhere but earn wages in Yonkers file a nonresident earnings tax return on Form Y-203. See our guide to local payroll taxes for how employers handle these items.

The community

New York City has about 239,000 residents who identify as Asian Indian alone or in combination (roughly 2.8%), with about 133,000 in Queens alone (about 5.7%). The wider New York metro area has about 737,000, or about 3.7% (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). We help New York families with the US-India tax treaty and India account and property reporting.

How we can help

We prepare federal, New York State and city returns, evaluate whether the UBT or MCTMT applies to your business, and run payroll that handles the city and commuter taxes. Our multi-state tax work coordinates your other states, our New York page covers state rules, and our business tax preparation page covers entities. For decisions about your own taxes, talk with a qualified professional.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your situation. Rules, limits and deadlines change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a qualified professional before you act. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship with CPA Tax Payroll and Accounting Corp.