How long does someone need to live in NYC to be file as a full year resident?

[d_mack]

I have read that living in NY for over 6 months would qualify someone as a full year resident. When I click this option for my wife, who was in NYC last year for 9 months, it increases the income we would receive back. It also allows us to EFILE, whereas indicating being a part year resident does not allow us to EFILE. Which should we choose to do?

[TomD8]

I assume you and your wife's main or permanent home (your domicile in tax terminology) is outside New York State.

If that's the case, then she would become a New York resident for tax purposes if she maintained a permanent place of abode in New York State for more than 11 months of the year and spent 184 days or more in New York State during the tax year. Note: Any part of a day is a day for this purpose. 

If she did not meet these criteria, she would file her NY return as a non-resident.

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/pit_definitions.htm

[d_mack]

Thank you for your reply! I can elaborate further, having tried out some different ways of completing the Turbotax screens and read some directions for NY State tax.

I have been a full year resident of NYC for many years.

My wife is from another country. She has been here, physically, since the beginning of April of 2019. In previous years, she has lived in NY under temporary Visa statuses. 

We had been engaged to marry. She has stayed here in our current apartment during any previous stay. But as far as 2019, was not physically in NY or any other state until April.

She has no income to report. These are the options that seem to be available and rationale behind them:

1 - Mark her as full year resident. She has been here for more than 184 days in 2019, (and would it be possible to consider our domicile hers since both of us have been in effect maintaining it?) Filing such would give us a bigger return and allow us to E-File. All positives.

2 - Mark her as part time resident. When we entered the dates she lived here being from April to December, the amount of the return decreased. This seems to be connected to the following guideline for form 201:

"Item F  NYC residents and NYC part-year residents only:

Enter in the applicable box the number of months you and your spouse (if filing a joint return) lived in New York City during 2019. We need this information to verify your New York City school tax credit."

Reasons for not doing this are that it seems to not allow us to E-file, which by all accounts including tax.ny.gov, is highly recommended. 

I would gladly indicate she was a full year resident, take the bigger refund, and use e-filing. But of course I do not want to be flagged for inaccuracies and would report the exact number of months physically here in NY if it seems necessary. 

[TomD8]

Since NYS and NYC became your wife's domicile in April 2019, she is a part-year resident of both NYS and NYC for 2019 tax purposes.  She became a resident of each as soon as she established her domicile.

NY's rule: You are a New York State part-year resident if you meet the definition of resident or nonresident for only part of the year.