Moving to Florida from NYC

[bagehot1900]

If I move to Florida from NYC on January 1,2021 will NY still tax the bonus I will be getting on January 30, 2021 because NY assumes the bonus was for the work performed in 2020? 

What if I move to Florida on March 1, 2021 (and still get my bonus on Jan 30) - would NY pro-rate taxes or do I pay full year taxes because the bonus was for the work performed in NY in 2020? 

[TomD8]

New York Tax Law 631 defines non-resident income attributable to "a business, trade, profession or occupation carried on in this state" as NY-source income, and therefore taxable by NY.

https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/tax-law/tax-sect-631.html

Therefore a bonus received by you in 2021 for work carried out in NY in 2020 is entirely taxable by NY, regardless of whether you file for 2021 as a non-resident or part-year resident of NY.

[Opus 17]

Unfortunately, this is one of the exceptions to the general rule that income is taxed when you receive it.  The bonus will be taxable in NYC since it was earned for work performed in NYC, even though it was paid after you moved away.

What happens is, for your 2021 tax return, you will file a non-resident tax return for NYS, on which you report and pay NY taxes on your NY-source income only.  If you also filed a tax return for your home state, you include the bonus as taxable income but your home state would give you a credit for the tax you paid in NY so you don't get double-taxed.  But since you will be moving to Florida and Florida does not have a personal income tax, this won't be an issue.  

[Critter-3]

Make sure that they still withhold NY taxes on the bonus  so you are not in trouble and I hate to also mention that NY uses the total annual income figure to calculate the non resident taxes ... not fair but that is what it is. 

[Opus 17]

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@Critter-3 wrote:

Make sure that they still withhold NY taxes on the bonus  so you are not in trouble and I hate to also mention that NY uses the total annual income figure to calculate the non resident taxes ... not fair but that is what it is. 

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NY is not going to tax all the person's Florida income, but it will use the total income to determine things like the tax bracket and applicability of the standard deduction and personal exemption.  For example, if the bonus is $1000, and you had no other income, it would not be taxed in NY because it is less than the personal exemption. However, if your income from other states would put you in a certain NY tax bracket, then the bonus will be taxed at that rate. 

[Opus 17]

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@Critter-3 wrote:

Make sure that they still withhold NY taxes on the bonus  so you are not in trouble and I hate to also mention that NY uses the total annual income figure to calculate the non resident taxes ... not fair but that is what it is. 

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Or just make an estimated payment online at the NY tax web site.  The maximum state plus city tax is slightly under 12%, unless your total income is more than $2 million.  If you made an estimated payment of 12% to the state, and it was too much, you would get a refund when you file your return.