Why Are There So Many Yonkers, NY Questions on my NYS Tax Form?

Happy Tax Season! Or is it? Whatever your outlook is on taxes, you have to file them either way over the next few weeks.

As I was preparing to file my taxes, I saw and remembered seeing every year a ton of questions or prompts about Yonkers, New York.

NYS Loves Yonkers...

After all these years of filing my taxes in New York State, I have one question, WHY?! Why am I, a Hudson Valley resident, being grilled about spending time in Yonkers?

And I now know I'm not alone.

Earlier this week a TikTok went viral when it broached the Yonkers-tax form- subject:

@joncomulada5 I swear if i did i didnt mean to. #taxes#taxseason#newyork#nyc#yonkers#fyp♬ Suspect Interrogation - Soundcritters

i’m from buffalo and met someone from yonkers once i was so excited. “the tax place?!”

always terrified that I accidentally lived in Yonkers for part of the year

Why is Yonkers, NY So Important on NYS Tax Forms?

I did a little research so you didn't have to and found 2 versions of the answer. Version 1 comes from the Official Website of New York City. They write:

Residents of Yonkers are subject to the Yonkers Resident Withholding Tax. This tax must be included in paychecks for all employees who live in Yonkers.

This tax applies to any services performed or employment in New York City or elsewhere in New York State.

The conditions for this tax are similar to those for the New York City Payroll Tax.

If you need it broken down in layman's terms like me, head to Reddit. A Reddit user named grandzu answered a similar question to mine explaining:

NYC and Yonkers are the only cities in NYS with their own local income tax on top of the state tax.

Maybe next year New York State can just hand out a completely different packet for Yonkers residents.