Withholding tax filing requirements

Employers paying wages or other payments subject to New York State withholding must file a return and pay the New York State, New York City, and Yonkers taxes required to be withheld. Beginning with the 1st quarter of 2019, you must provide complete wage and withholding totals (Form NYS-45, Part C, columns d and e) each calendar quarter, for all employees. (Prior to calendar year 2019, Part C, columns d and e, were only completed on the 4th quarter return.)

You must electronically file and pay your withholding tax returns. Filers of paper returns may be subject to penalties and delays in processing.

NYS-45, Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting, and Unemployment Insurance Return

All employers required to withhold tax from wages must file Form NYS-45, Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting, and Unemployment Insurance Return, each calendar quarter.

• If you withhold less than $700 during a calendar quarter, remit taxes withheld with your quarterly return, Form NYS-45. See NYS-1 below if you withhold $700 or more during the calendar quarter for additional filing requirements.
• Generally, employers must file quarterly, even if they did not pay wages during the quarter and have zero withholding. See Instructions for Form NYS-45 for exceptions.

NYS-1, Return of Tax Withheld

If you withhold $700 or more during a calendar quarter, you must file Form NYS-1, Return of Tax Withheld, and remit the tax due, within 3 or 5 business days after the payroll that caused the accumulated tax withheld to equal or exceed $700.

• If you have more than one payroll within a week (Sunday through Saturday), you are not required to file Form NYS-1 until after the last payroll in the week.
• When a calendar quarter ends between payrolls paid within a week, any accumulated tax required to be withheld of at least $700 must be remitted with Form NYS-1 after the last payroll in the quarter.
• If you have filed at least once during the calendar quarter (using Form NYS-1) and have an unremitted balance of tax withheld that is less than $700 after the last payroll of the quarter, remit this amount with your quarterly return, Form NYS-45, instead of with Form NYS-1.

Quarterly wage and withholding totals

• You are required to report, each calendar quarter, federal gross wages subject to withholding and the total amount of withholding for every employee paid during the calendar quarter you are reporting.
• The total amount for all employees in column e of Form NYS-45 should equal the amount reported on Form NYS-45, Part B, line 15 for the same quarter.

Due Dates

For more information on when to file withholding tax returns, see Withholding tax due dates.

Resources

• Withholding forms and Instructions
• Withholding publications and guidance
• Withholding tax filing methods
• Publication NYS-50, Employer's Guide to Unemployment Insurance, Wage Reporting, and Withholding Tax
• Email subscription service
• Jurisdiction/Rate Lookup by Address