Do you pay unemployment taxes where you live or work - NYS Department of Labor question
I'm really confused about unemployment taxes and how they work. I live in Connecticut but work in New York and my employer takes out NYS taxes from my paycheck. If I file for unemployment benefits, do I pay unemployment taxes based on where I live or where I work? Does the NYS Department of Labor handle this differently than regular income taxes? I want to make sure I understand this before I potentially need to file a claim.
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Eva St. Cyr
Unemployment taxes are paid by your employer, not by you directly. Your employer pays these taxes to the state where you work, which in your case would be New York. So if you need to file for unemployment, you'd file with the NYS Department of Labor since that's where your employer has been paying the unemployment insurance taxes. It doesn't matter where you live for unemployment purposes - it's all about where you worked.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
•Oh that makes sense! So even though I live in CT, I'd still go through NY's system because that's where my job is located?
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Kristian Bishop
yep your employer pays unemployment insurance premiums to NY state, you dont pay anything yourself for unemployment coverage
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Kaitlyn Otto
Just to clarify - you might see SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act) deductions on some paystubs in certain states, but New York doesn't require employee contributions for unemployment insurance. Your employer pays the full freight to NYS Department of Labor. When you file for benefits, you file in the state where you worked and where your employer paid those taxes.
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Axel Far
•Wait, so some states DO make employees pay into unemployment? I had no idea about that.
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Kaitlyn Otto
•Yes, a few states like Alaska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania require small employee contributions. But New York is employer-funded only.
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Jasmine Hernandez
I had this exact situation when I got laid off from my job in Manhattan but lived in New Jersey. I was worried I'd have to deal with both states but nope - everything went through NYS Department of Labor. The process was actually pretty straightforward once I realized I only needed to deal with NY. Had some trouble getting through on the phone initially though. Someone here mentioned claimyr.com as a way to actually reach NYS agents - might be worth checking out their demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI if you end up needing to call them.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Good to know it's not as complicated as I thought it might be.
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Luis Johnson
This whole system is confusing AF honestly. Like why cant they just make it simple and consistent across all states??
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Ellie Kim
The key thing to remember is that unemployment insurance follows your work location, not your residence. Since your employer has been paying unemployment insurance taxes to New York State, that's where your benefits would come from if needed. Keep your pay stubs showing the NY tax withholdings as they'll be helpful documentation if you ever need to file a claim with NYS Department of Labor.
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