What the Checkboxes Actually Mean

Line 6 has separate checkboxes for New York City and Yonkers. You can only check one (you can’t live in both). The options:

• NYC full-year resident — You lived in one of the five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island) for all of 2025. You’ll compute NYC income tax on Line 41.
• NYC part-year resident — You moved into or out of NYC during the year. You’ll prorate your NYC tax based on the months you lived there.
• Yonkers full-year resident — You’ll pay the Yonkers surcharge on Line 44, which is 16.75% of your net state tax.
• Yonkers part-year resident — Same as above, prorated.

If you don’t live in NYC or Yonkers, you leave Line 6 blank. That’s it. No other New York city or town imposes an income tax through the IT-201.

NYC Tax Rates: The Extra Layer

New York City’s income tax is progressive, with four brackets for 2025 (NYC Department of Finance; IT-201 Instructions, NYC tax tables):

• 3.078% on income up to $12,000 (single) / $21,600 (married filing jointly)
• 3.762% on the next tier up to $25,000 / $45,000
• 3.819% on income up to $50,000 / $90,000
• 3.876% on everything above that

These rates sit on top of New York State’s rates (4% to 10.9%). So a high-earning Manhattan resident could face a combined state-plus-city marginal rate of 14.776% — before federal taxes even enter the picture. That’s why some people move to New Jersey and commute. The math works out for incomes above roughly $200,000, though you’d need to factor in NJ’s own income tax and the cost of the commute.

The Yonkers Surcharge

Yonkers doesn’t have its own income tax with separate brackets. Instead, it takes 16.75% of your net state tax (after credits) and adds it on (NY Tax Law § 1323). The calculation happens on Line 44. If your net state tax after credits is $5,000, your Yonkers surcharge is $837.50.

Yonkers residents who work in NYC sometimes think they’re double-taxed at the city level. They’re not — but only because they don’t check the NYC box. They check the Yonkers box and pay the Yonkers surcharge instead. You’re one or the other, never both.

“I Work in NYC but Live in Westchester”

This is the single most common misunderstanding about Line 6. If you commute into Manhattan every day but your apartment is in White Plains, you do not check the NYC box. NYC’s income tax is based on where you live, not where you work. Your employer withholds NYC tax from your paycheck? That’s their error (or a precaution if you gave them a NYC address). You’ll get it back as a refund on Line 72 when you file.

The reverse is also true: if you live in Brooklyn but work remotely for a company in Buffalo, you still check the NYC resident box. Residency is what counts. The commuters who moved to the suburbs during 2020-2021 and kept working remotely learned this the hard way — NYC argued they were still “residents” if they maintained an apartment, received mail there, or kept their voter registration in the city.

Moving Mid-Year

If you moved into or out of NYC or Yonkers during the tax year, you check the part-year resident box. Your city tax gets prorated based on the number of days you lived there. But “moved” has a specific meaning. Spending weekends at a friend’s apartment in Brooklyn while your lease runs in Hoboken doesn’t make you a part-year NYC resident.

The Department of Taxation and Finance looks at where your domicile is — your permanent, primary home (NYS domicile and residency rules). They’ll check your driver’s license address, voter registration, where your kids go to school, where you get mail, and where your car is registered. Changing your mailing address to your parents’ house in Long Island doesn’t cut it if you’re still sleeping in Manhattan five nights a week.

For a mid-year move, you’ll need to complete Form IT-360.1 to calculate the prorated NYC or Yonkers tax. The IT-201 instructions walk through this, but it’s one of the more calculation-heavy parts of the return.

Common Mistakes on Line 6

• Checking NYC because you work there — Residency, not employment, determines this box. Suburban commuters should not check it.
• Not checking the box when you actually live in NYC — Some people skip it thinking they can avoid city tax. The state cross-references your address. You’ll get a notice.
• Confusing Yonkers with other Westchester towns — Only Yonkers has a surcharge. Scarsdale, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon — none of them trigger the Line 6 checkbox.
• Forgetting to prorate after a mid-year move — If you moved out of NYC in June, you owe city tax only through your move date. Don’t pay the full year.

Sources & References

• NY IT-201 Instructions (Line 6, NYC/Yonkers) — tax.ny.gov
• NY Tax Law § 1323 — Yonkers Income Tax Surcharge
• NYS Domicile and Residency Definitions — tax.ny.gov
• Form IT-360.1 Instructions (Change of City Resident Status) — tax.ny.gov