NY state residency for international students on F-1 visa

[Anonymous]

I am an international student and I started my masters in the Fall of 2021 and completed it in December 2022, the whole time I am on F-1 visa. I leased an apartment in NYC from the beginning of my course till Feb 2023. I did go to California for 3 months in 2022 for my internship. Apart from that I lived in that NYC apartment. 

I know that I am a non-resident alien for tax purposes for federal income tax, but I want to know if I am a resident or non-resident in the state of NY. According to the NY tax website, I need a permanent place of abode and mine does qualify for that (correct me if I am wrong). But does my non-resident federal status also apply to all the NY state since I am exempt?

[MinhT1]

Full-time international students are considered NON-RESIDENTS of NY state and city for tax purposes, and should file NY nonresident tax form IT-203.

Please read this NYU document for more information.

As a F-1 visa holder, you are a nonresident alien for the first five years or part-years in the US.

[Edited 03/27/2023 | 10:06 AM PST]

@Anonymous 

[Anonymous]

@MinhT1 I am not an undergraduate student. As mentioned in the question I am a graduate student. So, I am a resident or non-resident in NY state for tax purposes based on the info I provided? Thanks!

[MinhT1]

As a F-1 visa holder, you are an exempt individual for the first five years or part-years in the US and are considered as a nonresident alien.

Your NY state residency status follows your US status. So you are a nonresident alien for NY state.

Please read this IRS document for more information.

[Anonymous]

I understand the federal status and IRS document you linked only talk about the federal status. Can I please know the source for this statement - "Your NY state residency status follows your US status." All the sources I looked at only say that your federal and state residency can be different. The NYU document also mentions the following :

• Other international visitors, including part-time students, J-1 professors and scholars, and individuals in H-4 status are considered NY RESIDENTS for state and city tax purposes; if they both:
  • 1) had a place to stay in NY for at least 11 months; and
  • 2) were physically in NY for at least 6 months of the year. NY Residents should file NY resident tax form IT-201.

I do fulfil all these requirements so, I am very confused. 

[DaveF1006]

I am unable to find any credible source that disputes the information in the NYU source document that you mention above. At Turbo Tax, we do not rely on unofficial source documents such as those generated by NYU but rely more on information provided by the NYS/NYC tax code. I was unable to find any information outside the source document you mentioned.

Turbo Tax does not prepare 1040 NR tax returns but our affiliate at Sprint Tax does. Click on this link to begin preparing your federal and NYS return.  It will inform you if you need to file as a resident in NYS and NYC after entering your information. 

I was able to find that NYS is in conformity with federal tax law thus the information you found in the NYU site may be taken out of context. This is just an assumption though. 

Please contact sprint tax for more additional details. 

[Anonymous]

@DaveF1006 Thank you for checking! and yes I am using Sprintax. I just used this forum to ask this question. Sprintax is telling me that I am a resident for tax purposes in NYS and NYC. and a non-resident for federal tax purposes.

You said "I was able to find that NYS is in conformity with federal tax law" - does this mean I am a non-resident in NYS because I am a non-resident for federal? and if so wouldn't that make Sprintax wrong? (Also can you please share the resource you used)

[DaveF1006]

No. This does not make Sprint tax wrong. In fact in doing my additional due diligence, I discovered that New York does not conform to the IRC through the specific adoption of the Internal Revenue Code provisions in accordance with NYS Tax Code ¶10-515, Federal Conformity. Generally speaking, NYS/NYC  follows the federal treatment of items of income and deductions but not residency requirements for international students.

Sprint tax has the correct information thus you should follow their advice since they are responsible for filing your return.

[Anonymous]

@DaveF1006 So that means that I am indeed a resident for tax purposes in NYS/NYC as decided by Sprintax? Please confirm this so I can end this thread.

[DawnC]

Yes, if SprinTax directs you to file a resident NY return and a 1040 NR, that is what you should do.   The rules are different for each state.  Generally, you are considered a New York State resident for income tax purposes if you are domiciled in the state.   For most people this is straightforward: the primary residence where you live is both your state of domicile and the state in which you are a resident for tax purposes. 

[thegogo11]

Hi,

I believe that you are not a non-resident of New York State since you are a graduate student. You are probably will be treating as a resident for tax purposes. This exemption is only for undergraduate students. Please read below  and you may find the source of this information at the bottom of this answer.

“

Under the 2009 amendment, a permanent place of abode means a dwelling place of a permanent nature maintained by the taxpayer, whether or not owned by the taxpayer, and will generally include a dwelling place owned or leased by the taxpayer’s spouse. However, a dwelling place maintained by a full-time student enrolled at an institution of higher education, as defined in section 606(t)(3) of the Tax Law, in an undergraduate degree program leading to a baccalaureate degree, and occupied by the student while attending the institution is not a permanent place of abode with respect to that student.
For purposes of this new rule, a full-time student means an individual who is carrying a minimum courseload in a baccalaureate program of 12 hours per semester for at least two semesters, or the equivalent, during the tax year. Accordingly, the amendment does not provide an exception for graduate students pursuing a post-baccalaureate degree

”

the source of this information:

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/income/m09_15i.pdf