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Employers: metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax (MCTMT)

The tax applies to you if:

  • you are required to withhold New York State income tax from wages; and
  • your payroll expense for covered employees in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD) exceeds $312,500 in any calendar quarter.

The tax does not apply to you if you are:

  • an agency or instrumentality of the United States;
    Note: For an employer to be an agency or instrumentality of the United States, there must be (1) a federal law specifically stating the employer is an agency or instrumentality of the United States, or (2) a decision in a federal court case which specifically states that the employer is an agency or instrumentality of the United States. 
  • the United Nations;
  • an interstate agency or public corporation created pursuant to an agreement or compact with another state or Canada;
  • a federally chartered credit union;
  • a household employer on wages paid to household employees; or
  • any eligible educational institution including:
    • a public school district,
    • Board of Cooperative Educations Services (BOCES),
    • a public elementary or secondary school,
    • a school that serves students with disabilities of school age as defined in Article 85 or 89 of the Education Law,
    • a nonpublic elementary or secondary school that provides instruction in grade one or above, or
    • all public library systems [as defined by § 272(1) of the Education Law] and all public and free association libraries [as defined by § 253(2) of the Education Law] beginning with the first quarter of 2016.

Calculating the tax

For purposes of calculating the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax (MCTMT), the MCTD is divided into two zones:

  • Zone 1 includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island).
  • Zone 2 includes the counties of Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester.

Your MCTMT due for a calendar quarter is the sum of:

  1. your payroll expense in the calendar quarter for all covered employees in Zone 1 multiplied by the applicable MCTMT rate from Table 1 below, and
  2. your payroll expense in the calendar quarter for all covered employees in Zone 2 multiplied by the applicable MCTMT rate from Table 2 below.

Note: In order to be subject to the MCTMT for the quarter, the employer must have payroll expense in the entire MCTD (both Zone 1 and Zone 2) greater than $312,500.

Example: An employer has payroll expense within the MCTD of $650,000. $450,000 of that payroll expense is attributable to Zone 1 and $200,000 of that payroll expense is attributable to Zone 2. The employer’s MCTMT liability is $2,920 ([$450,000 x 0.60%] + [$200,000 x 0.11%]).

 

Table 1:

 Calculating tax
Payroll expense attributable to Zone 1 MCTMT Rate
Over $0 but not over $375,000 0.11% (.0011)
Over $375,000 but not over $437,500 0.23% (.0023)
Over $437,500 0.60% (.0060)

Table 2:

 Calculating tax
Payroll expense attributable to Zone 2 MCTMT Rate
Over $0 but not over $375,000 0.11% (.0011)
Over $375,000 but not over $437,500 0.23% (.0023)
Over $437,500 0.34% (.0034)

Mandatory and voluntary PrompTax program participants who cannot calculate their quarterly payroll expense at the beginning of a calendar quarter should see Employers participating in the PrompTax program.

When to file and pay

You must file and pay for each calendar quarter as follows: 

 When to file and pay
Quarter Due date*
January 1 through March 31 April 30
April 1 through June 30 July 31
July 1 through September 30 October 31
October 1 through December 31 January 31

*When the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day.

  • No extensions of time to file or pay the tax are allowed.
  • If you are not subject to the MCTMT for a quarter, you are not required to file a return for that quarter. If you become subject to the tax in a subsequent quarter, you must file a quarterly return and pay the tax due.
  • If you have made any MCTMT payments during the quarter, or have an overpayment carried over from a previous quarter, you must file a quarterly return to request a refund (or credit to the next quarter if you anticipate owing MCTMT in that quarter).

How to file and pay

  • File and pay online: Web File Form MTA-305, Employer's Quarterly Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax Return and pay directly from your bank account through our Online Services after a business account is created.
  • You can also file using the Tax Department's Online Services MCTMT Upload. See the file formatting instructions for how to format your file.
  • You can choose to make MCTMT payments using the PrompTax program if you currently are enrolled voluntarily in the PrompTax program to file New York State withholding tax. If you are required to participate in the PrompTax program for New York State withholding tax you must make your MCTMT payments using the PrompTax program. See employers participating in the PrompTax program for details.
  • File paper Form MTA-305, Employer's Quarterly Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax Return, and pay by check or money order.

For more information, see:

Updated: