Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Not unless you ask, and not on a one-time lump sum. New York’s Form IT-2104-P says “you may use this form to voluntarily have New York” State income tax withheld from an annuity or pension payable over a period longer than one year.
Drawing a pension? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: New York tax withholding on pension payments.
New York withholding at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Is it required? | No. Withholding on an annuity or pension is voluntary, on your request |
| Rate or amount | A whole-dollar amount per payment, at least $5 per month and not enough to leave the payment under $10; no percentage |
| How to start or stop it | Form IT-2104-P to the payer; it stays in effect until you ask the payer in writing to end it |
| Direct rollover | Not stated in the documents read |
| Changed for 2026? | No change stated; the form read is the 12/24 edition |
What the New York documents say
Form IT-2104-P, Annuitant’s Request for Income Tax Withholding, opens with “I request voluntary income tax withholding from my annuity or pension”. Its instructions say “you may use this form to voluntarily have New York” State, and New York City or Yonkers where they apply, withhold tax from a pension or annuity payable over a period longer than one year.
The amount rule is “you must request an amount that is at least $5 per month”. On duration the form says the request will remain in effect “until you ask your payer in writing to terminate it”.
A $50,000 withdrawal: cash in hand or a direct rollover
Take a $50,000 401(k) withdrawal paid to you as a lump sum. The IRS says a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you from an employer plan is subject to “mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%)”, which on $50,000 is $10,000 (computed as $50,000 times 20%) held back for federal tax. New York adds nothing on its own: the New York amount withheld is $0 without a request, and the form describes a pension or annuity payable over a period longer than one year, so a one-time lump sum is not the payment it is written for. Where a request does apply, it is a whole-dollar amount of at least $5 per month, not a percentage.
The other path is a direct rollover to an IRA or another plan. For federal tax the IRS says “The mandatory withholding doesn’t apply in a direct rollover”. The New York documents read do not say how a direct rollover is treated for state withholding, so confirm it with the payer before choosing.
What a mover should know
This page is about New York as a state of residence. An instruction line written for a nonresident or part-year filer is not the rule for a resident, and none of the documents read settles a part-year or two-state case, so check each state’s own rule. The federal side is the same everywhere; CMG’s federal 20% withholding on a pension lump sum page covers it.
What the documents do not say
- The one document read is the 12/24 form. It does not address a direct rollover and states no change for 2026.
Common mistakes
- Using Form IT-2104-P for a single lump-sum withdrawal; the form describes payments over a period longer than one year.
- Forgetting the request continues until you end it in writing.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that state withholding settles the state tax owed at filing.
Related: how New York taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, New York retirement taxes, retirement withholding calculator, and retirement taxes by state.
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Answer againSources
- Form IT-2104-P, Annuitant’s Request for Income Tax Withholding (12/24): https://tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/it/it2104p_fill_in.pdf
- IRS Tax Topic 413, Rollovers from retirement plans: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.