I need a sanity check before I set aside money. I live in Queens and took a job with a Jersey City company last fall. I have been fully remote since day one—my quarterly office visit is mostly to grab equipment and sit through an all-hands, not to do my daily work. My W-2 has NJ state withholding and NJ SUI/SDI, but I do not see a separate New York City withholding line or code.

I know I owe New York State tax as a resident. The part nobody in my payroll dept can answer confidently is whether the city income tax still applies if the employer is not in NYC and I never physically work there. I have gotten both answers from coworkers: one says remote means I only owe NJ, another says I owe NYC because I sleep here.

Before I go back to HR with a form number, can anyone who has dealt with this layout give me the short version? Is there a separate city filing, or does the state resident return handle it? If my employer refuses to withhold, am I supposed to make estimated payments for the city portion too? I would rather not get a notice from DOF in eighteen months.

Following this because I just moved here and my company is based in Connecticut. They only withhold CT state tax, no NY line, no NYC thing. I thought if you live in NYC you pay NYC tax, but my coworker said no because I'm remote from CT. Now I'm confused. Is there a rule where you pay where the company is based instead? I hope someone knows. Good luck OP!

Nah, the city doesn't care that your desk is a laptop in Queens and the home office is in Jersey. If your address is in the five boroughs, you're a resident and you owe city tax. The source of the paycheck doesn't erase that. Your employer probably hasn't withheld because their payroll is lazy and set you up as NJ remote. Ask them to switch you to NY and check the NYC box. If they won't, you'll pay it on the NY return anyway. Don't let them tell you it's optional.

I did this from Brooklyn for a Philly company. They withheld PA and I had zero PA work days. It was a mess. At tax time I had to file a PA nonresident return to get the PA withholding back, then pay NY State and NYC on my resident return.

Your case is NJ, but same idea: New York taxes residents on all income. If NJ is being withheld, it doesn't mean you owe NJ. You likely need to file a NJ nonresident return to get the NJ withholding back unless you'll have actual NJ work days. For the city part, it's calculated on the NY resident return; estimated payments go under personal income tax. Keep a notepad of days you go to Jersey, because those can get sticky.

My wife is full remote from Brooklyn for a company in Stamford. Her paycheck shows NY state and NYC withholding, because their payroll knows our address. She's never set foot in the CT office. So yes, city tax from day one. If your HR says they can't, ask to talk to the payroll rep, not the manager. Most systems can turn on NY withholding once they register. If they absolutely won't, set aside the money yourself—the state and city are not joking around with underwithholding penalties.

Agreed with everyone. To DykerNewbie, the 'remote from CT' line is a withholding issue, not a residency issue. If you live in NYC, you file NY resident and you owe city tax. Your employer might be able to just change your work state in the payroll portal. I had to do a CT nonresident return once because an old employer withheld the wrong state. It took a while but I got it refunded. Annoying but not scary.

Thanks, this confirms my read. To close the loop for anyone else in the same spot:

• You owe NYC tax because you're a resident. It does not matter that the employer is in NJ and you never physically commute.
• The city tax is part of your NY State resident return, not a separate city-only filing. You'll see it after the state amount is calculated.
• Your employer should be withholding NY state and NYC if your home address is in the five boroughs. The form to start is usually NY IT-2104, but HR/payroll should know their own side.
• If NJ tax is coming out, don't assume that's correct. If you have no actual NJ work days, you may need to file NJ nonresident to get it back and then pay NY/NYC.
• Keep records of any days you physically go to Jersey. Once you start doing a few days there, the state-source calculation gets more complicated and you want a log.

I'd also add: if payroll refuses to switch withholding, make the NY/NYC estimated payments now rather than waiting. Underwithholding interest isn't a fun surprise. Thanks all.