rootje
Apr 3, 2009, 08:03 AM
Hi,
I have a question about the tax rates in NY State.
My wife worked there for 6 months, and has an income of roughly 50k. No other income that year.
I worked in WA-state (no state income tax there) and made roughly 120k.
The instructions on the part-time resident form specifically state that we have to file MFJ in New York. OK, no problem there.
However: the tax in NY is computed on the amount of your *federal income*. Later, you compute the quotient (New York Income) / (Federal Income) to adjust this owed tax. A bit of a weird way doing things, but this is what New York State decided to do.
The problem is that our federal income is roughly 50k + 120k = 170k, and all income above 150k in New York is taxed at a flat percentage of 6.85%. The New York State tax rate is only progressive for incomes below 150k, when you make more than 150k then it suddenly becomes a flat tax.
This means that our NY-income of 50k is taxed now at a flax rate of 6.85%. This is 2% higher than you
would expect for an income of 50k, and it means that we have to pay a few hundred bucks to NY.
The entire system sounds a bit unfair to me. Do I miss something, or is this really just the way it works?
Thanks!
I have a question about the tax rates in NY State.
My wife worked there for 6 months, and has an income of roughly 50k. No other income that year.
I worked in WA-state (no state income tax there) and made roughly 120k.
The instructions on the part-time resident form specifically state that we have to file MFJ in New York. OK, no problem there.
However: the tax in NY is computed on the amount of your *federal income*. Later, you compute the quotient (New York Income) / (Federal Income) to adjust this owed tax. A bit of a weird way doing things, but this is what New York State decided to do.
The problem is that our federal income is roughly 50k + 120k = 170k, and all income above 150k in New York is taxed at a flat percentage of 6.85%. The New York State tax rate is only progressive for incomes below 150k, when you make more than 150k then it suddenly becomes a flat tax.
This means that our NY-income of 50k is taxed now at a flax rate of 6.85%. This is 2% higher than you
would expect for an income of 50k, and it means that we have to pay a few hundred bucks to NY.
The entire system sounds a bit unfair to me. Do I miss something, or is this really just the way it works?
Thanks!