New York · 2026 planning data
New York SUTA rate and employer cost for 2026
New York's sourced 2026 unemployment-insurance model uses a taxable wage base of $17,600 per employee and a 4.10% standard new-employer rate. The assigned rate can differ after an acquisition, experience rating, industry classification, or state assessment.
How the New York SUTA line is estimated
State unemployment tax applies only up to the annual UI wage base for each employee. For an employee earning at least $17,600, the planning calculation is:
min(UI-taxable wages, $17,600) × 4.10% = up to $722The standard sourced new-employer rate in the EmployerCost model is 4.10%. A transferred experience account, special industry rule, assessment, or employer notice can produce a different total.
What this New York estimate does not include
New York employers owe one mandatory cost that this calculator does not add to the total, because it depends on facts the calculator never asks for — how many people the employer has, which city the work happens in, how much payroll it runs in a quarter. Adding it to every employer would overcharge the ones the rule does not reach, so it is named here instead of buried in a number.
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Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax — about $360 a year for a $60,000 employee
A bracketed payroll tax, 0.055% to 0.895% in Zone 1. The figure shown is the 0.60% bracket.
Applies when: Only the twelve MCTD counties, including the five boroughs, and only above $312,500 of quarterly payroll. The brackets step hard: crossing $437,500 a quarter moves a $60,000 employee from about $33 to $360 a year.
Source: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: MCTMT
What changes the real employer cost
- New York's 2026 taxable wage base rose to $17,600 from $12,800 in 2025 -- the largest single-year increase of any state this year. An employer budgeting on last year's base understates its New York unemployment cost by roughly a third.
- New York employer cost planning should account for UI rate assignment, workers compensation classification, and local rules where applicable.
- This site models state UI at a planning level and does not calculate employee withholding.
- Employer Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA remain separate federal cost lines.
- Workers compensation in New York runs 182% of the national median — 82% above it, 3rd of 51 jurisdictions at $1.98 per $100 of payroll (Oregon DCBS 2024 premium rate ranking). That is a relativity between states, not your rate: class code, carrier, payroll exposure and experience modifier decide what you actually pay.
- Health benefits, retirement contributions, payroll software, and HR administration depend on the employer's choices.
Use the calculator's custom SUTA field whenever an official notice supplies a different rate. Read the SUTA rate guide and employer payroll tax guide before relying on a planning result.
New York employer cost questions
What is the New York SUTA wage base for 2026?
The sourced taxable wage base used by EmployerCost is $17,600 per employee. Wages above that cap are not included in this SUTA line, but can still affect Social Security, Medicare, benefits, workers compensation, and other costs.
What rate should a new New York employer use?
The standard sourced new-employer rate in the EmployerCost model is 4.10%. A transferred experience account, special industry rule, assessment, or employer notice can produce a different total.
Is SUTA the full cost of a New York employee?
No. Start with salary, then add employer FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers compensation, benefits, and payroll administration. The New York calculator keeps uncertain items as ranges.
Official sources
- New York Department of Labor 2026 UI rate information
- U.S. Department of Labor — Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, effective January 2026
Verified against official sources July 30, 2026.
General planning information only. Not payroll, tax, legal, insurance, or HR compliance advice.