Living in Illinois as a nonresident with income from Florida

[luckytraveler97]

Hi, my question is as a nonresident living in Illinois who works remotely and is a resident of Florida (with income coming from a Florida-based source), do I need to file state income taxes? I did some research and could not find my exact answer. The only information I found was that if a nonresident of Illinois earns income from an Illinois-based source/company, then that individual would need to pay state income taxes here. In my case, I don't think that applies, but I'm not 100% certain. I did read about the 30-day rule but again think it only applies to those with Illinois-based income. I've been here since November 1, 2023 and plan to stay longer but am not ready to establish residency. I do have a short-term lease currently signed in my name in Chicago, though. Any insight is appreciated.

[Hal_Al]

Yes, you must file a non resident IL return.  Since you are physically in IL, when you do that remote work, it is considered IL source income. 

If your  resident state was a state with an income tax, you would also report the income on your resident state return, but the resident state would give you a credit for the tax you paid to IL. For that reason, many people don't bother to file in the non resident state*. If you live in a state without an income tax (e.g. FL), it’s more likely you should file in the work states. You can't use the "it all comes out even" rationale for not filing.

*Reference: http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/28/pf/taxes/business-traveler-tax-threat/