Did Turbotax miscalculate my NYS tax on my 2017 return?

[kc2cnq]

I have used the NYS instructions and formula for the tax based on my Taxable Income.  I get a different answer (about $180 less) than Turbotax.  This seems worth investigating.  I have checked my arithmetic 3 times.

[rjs]

What "formula" did you use to calculate the tax? Did you follow the instructions at the top of page 21 of the Instructions for Form IT-201?

Which filing status box is checked in item A on page 1 of your Form IT-201?
What are the exact amounts on your Form IT-201 lines 33, 38, and 39?
What is the amount of tax that you calculated?

[kc2cnq]

Of course I followed instructions.  Formula was 2093 + 0.0645*(TI - 43000), appropriate to filing jointly and my range of TI.  Line 33 121082, Line 38 105032, line 39 6277 (I get 6094).

[kc2cnq]

OK rjs, I am humbled by your answer - - I did NOT follow carefully.  The correction you supplied indicates that I ran into the phaseout of the standard deduction.  I assume this will happen again in 2018.

[kmrentfrow]

The New York State Tax rate schedule is a Lie

[rjs · Accepted solution]

TurboTax did not miscalculate. The formula that you used is from the tax rate schedule on page 57 of the IT-201 instructions. But you can't use the tax rate schedule if your New York AGI, Form IT-201 line 33, is more than $107,650. Your arithmetic is accurate using the tax rate schedule, but you can't use that to calculate your tax.

The instructions for line 39 at the top of page 21 say "Is line 33 (your New York AGI) $107,650 or less? . . . If No, see Tax computation - New York AGI of more than $107,650, beginning on page 58."

At the top of the tax rate schedule on page 57, which you used to calculate the tax, there is a box that says "If your New York AGI amount on Form IT-201, line 33, is more than $107,650, see pages 58, 59, and 60 to compute your New York State tax."

Your New York AGI on line 33 is $121,082, which is more than $107,650. So you have to use the tax computation worksheet on page 58 of the instructions. For your filing status, AGI, and taxable income, you would use Tax computation worksheet 1. If you work through that worksheet you will get the same result that TurboTax got.