Description

Add support for modeling the New York Paid Family Leave (PFL) payroll tax in PolicyEngine US.

Background

New York's Paid Family Leave is a state insurance program funded entirely through employee payroll deductions. The program provides partially-paid time off for eligible workers to care for family members or bond with a new child.

Key Implementation Details

Funding Mechanism

• Funded by: Employee payroll deductions only (no employer contribution)
• Tax basis: After-tax wages (deducted from net pay, not gross)
• Coverage: Applies to commissions and bonuses in addition to regular wages

2024 Parameters

• Contribution rate: 0.373% of gross wages
• Maximum annual contribution: $333.25
• Maximum weekly contribution: ~$6.40 (based on annual cap)

2025 Parameters

• Contribution rate: 0.388% of gross wages
• Maximum annual contribution: $354.53
• Maximum weekly contribution: ~$6.82 (based on annual cap)
• NY State Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW): $1,757.19

Implementation Notes

• Employees earning below the NYSAWW threshold contribute proportionally less
• The Department of Financial Services sets the contribution rate annually
• Reference: Department of Tax Notice No. N-17-12

Proposed Implementation

1. Create new variables for NY PFL payroll tax calculation
2. Add parameter files for contribution rates and caps (2024, 2025)
3. Implement logic for:
   • Calculating PFL contributions based on gross wages
   • Applying annual contribution caps
   • Handling the after-tax nature of the deduction
4. Add comprehensive YAML tests for various income scenarios
5. Update household net income calculations to account for PFL deductions

References

• New York State Paid Family Leave
• Department of Tax Notice No. N-17-12

Related Files

This will likely involve creating/modifying files in:

• `policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/ny/tax/income/`
• `policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/ny/`

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Co-Authored-By: Claude noreply@anthropic.com