How do I file if I moved from New York to vacation home in PA due to pandemic

[tommy75]

Hi there!  My family and normally file as New York State and NYC residents but due to Covid we moved to our 2nd home in Pennsylvania since March 30th. The entire family is working and attending school remotely. They attend a NYC school. We only return to NYC every 3 weeks for a day or so to check on things, pick up the mail, etc. We still have NY withholdings but given that we have been PA residents longer than NY can we file as part time residents in NY? PA and NY does have tax rate difference in PA favor. 

Any help? 

[xmasbaby0]

New York is going to tax you all year unless your employer established an office in PA and told you to work there.

See this:

https://www.hodgsonruss.com/assets/htmldocuments/Telecommuting_5.22.20.pdf

[DanielV01]

Maybe, but it is complicated. New York has a very aggressive law when it comes to telecommuting, and that didn't change because of COVID.  If you are working for a company remotely that is based in New York, New York taxes the income.  As far as state taxes are concerned, claiming part-year residency in Pennsylvania won't help you.  You will still pay NY tax on all of your income, and, if you are a Part-Year PA resident, would technically need to file a PA return (part-year resident) and claim a credit for taxes paid to NY, which should leave your tax for PA at $0.  Since you have to pay NY state tax on all of your income, there are no savings on state tax.

It is possible, however, that you might be able to get out of some of the New York City taxes.  New York City only taxes residents who work in NYC.  You are considered to be working in New York City if you are telecommuting for the same law that makes your income taxable in NYS.  But are you a resident of NYC?  Maybe.  New York considers you a resident if you maintain an abode (if you did not sell your residence or stop your lease, you are still "maintaining an abode" in NYC), and you were present in the city for at least 184 days in the year.  If both are true, you are considered a statutory resident of New York City (and State).  

If you maintained a domicile in New York City, but were not physically present in New York City for at least 184 days except through telecommuting, then the issue is whether or not New York City considers telecommuting (especially with regards to the COVID outbreak) to be considered a physical presence, or even if your relocation to PA is considered a bona fide change of domicile (the fact that your children are still attending NYC schools remotely does not help your argument if it is a "close call").  Those issues appear to be very murky, as this website suggests:  New York Residency Issues

New York is known to be very aggressive in it's tax enforcement, so if you decide to claim your income in a way that they could disagree with, you will need to be able to support your position, and there are factors that New York might find that go against your argument.