The metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax (MCTMT) is a new tax imposed on certain employers and self-employed individuals engaging in business within the metropolitan commuter transportation district (MCTD). This department administers the tax for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (The MCTD includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester.)

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 The tax applies to you if:

  • you’re required to withhold New York State income tax from wages; and
  • your payroll expense exceeds $2,500 in any calendar quarter.

The tax does not apply to you if you’re:

  • an agency or instrumentality of the United States;
  • the United Nations; or
  • an interstate agency or public corporation created pursuant to an agreement or compact with another state or Canada.

Effective date:

  • March 1, 2009

Calculating the tax

  • Your MCTMT due is .34% (.0034) of your payroll expense for all covered employees for each calendar quarter.
  • Use your payroll expense for the entire quarter when applying the $2,500 limitation even when your liability is based on less than a full calendar quarter. (For example, apply the $2,500 limitation based on your payroll expense for the period January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2009 even though the MCTMT effective date is March 1, 2009.)

When to file and pay

  • For tax year 2009, your MCTMT return and payment are due as follows:

Period

Due date

March 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009*

November 2, 2009

October 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

February 1, 2010

*Be sure to include the MCTMT due for the period March 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009.

  • For tax years after 2009, you must file and pay for each calendar quarter as follows:

Quarter

Due date

January 1 to March 31

April 30

April 1 to June 30

July 31

July 1 to September 30

October 31

October 1 to December 31

January 31

No extensions of time to file or pay the tax are allowed.

  • You are not required to file until the first quarter when your payroll expense exceeds $2,500. However, if you previously filed but have a payroll expense of less than $2,500 for a later quarter, you must file a return showing no tax due.

How to file and pay

  • Web File through the Online Tax Center and pay directly from your bank account.  (To use the Online Tax Center and Web File, you must register your business.  We encourage you to register before it’s time to Web File.)
  • File Form MTA-305, Employer’s Quarterly Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax Return and pay by check or money order. (This form is not available yet.)
  • You do not have to attach a listing of covered employees when filing and paying the tax.

You can choose to pay this tax using the PrompTax program if you currently use the PrompTax program to file New York State withholding tax.  See employers participating in the PrompTax program for details.

For more information