summer internship tax question

[dg421]

My son is a college student in Illinois who worked as an intern in the summer of 2024 in Connecticut. He had an apartment with friends in New York City and commuted to his internship in Connecticut. His residence/drivers license is still Colorado. Where does he need to file state income tax returns for 2024? Does it make a difference if his parents still claim him as a dependent on their tax returns?

[Vanessa A]

No.  It does not make a difference if his parents still claim him.

He will need to file a return for CT as a non-resident since he had income from a CT source.

Depending on the number of days he spent in NY, he may have to file as a resident. If he does qualify as a Part Year resident of NY, then he would need to claim the income he earned working in CT on his NY resident return.  If he does NOT qualify as a NY resident, then he would claim the income he earned in CT on his Co return. 

Resident

You are a New York State resident for income tax purposes if:

• your domicile is New York State (see Exception below); or
• you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for substantially all of the taxable year and spend 184 days or more in New York State during the taxable year, whether or not you are domiciled in New York State for any portion of the taxable year. Note: Any part of a day is a day for this purpose.

Rules for military members and their spouses

Exception: If your domicile is New York but you meet all three of the conditions in either Group A or Group B, you are not a New York State resident.

Group A

1. You did not maintain any permanent place of abode in New York State during the tax year; and
2. You maintained a permanent place of abode outside New York State during the entire tax year; and
3. You spent 30 days or less (a part of a day is a day for this purpose) in New York State during the tax year.

Group B

1. You were in a foreign country for at least 450 days during any period of 548 consecutive days; and
2. You, your spouse (unless legally separated), and minor children spent 90 days or less in New York State during this 548-day period; and
3. During the nonresident portion of the tax year in which the 548-day period begins, and during the nonresident portion of the tax year in which the 548-day period ends, you were present in New York State for no more than the number of days which bears the same ratio to 90 as the number of days in such portion of the tax year bears to 548. The following formula illustrates this condition:

number of days in the nonresident portion     x     90    =     maximum number of days allowed in New York State