@Kairvin2009 wrote:
I have to fill out a tax allocation form for my company. How do I calculate the percentage of time in CA vice FL? Do the weekends count as days? Do I only use work days as part of my calculation? Do days I travel count as a CA wage day (travel to CA without working on Monday or travel home on Friday without working any part of the day in CA)?
Please excuse the ignorance if my next few questions seem stupid:
364 days in a year - 104 days are weekends (Sat, Sun) - which leaves 260 days as "working days". If my company wants me there 3 weeks out of 4 that would equate to 75% of my time spent in CA or a total of 195 days in CA and 65 days in FL.
If I am not spending 195 working days in CA do I make this % less?
I didn't start working on the project until August so I will not be there the full 75%. Next year, I am expected to be out there more time but the temporary assignment is due to end in Sept. Do I give a calculation for this year and at the end of the year change it?
You need to follow the California tax regulations.
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/personal/residency-status/part-year-and-nonresident.html
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2019/2019-1031-publication.pdf
See in particular page 5.
Regarding percentages, I suggest you count the number of days actually in CA, including non-working days, as a percentage of 365 (not 364). This increases your CA percentage if you stay in CA on weekends but decreases your CA percentage if you sometimes fly home. (If you adopted a method of only counting working days, then you could only count working days in Florida, too. Whether you are talking 274 days out of 365, or 195 working days out of 260, the percentage is basically the same.)
You count the actual days that you are "in" California. Keep a calendar and other records of your travel. I would count travel days based on where you sleep each night.
It will also be important to keep documentation from work that the assignment is temporary with a definite end date. If the assignment is indefinite (no planned end date) then CA will want to call you a full year resident. See page 7 of the linked PDF. And to keep documentation that your domicile remains Florida, where you maintain your significant financial, social and personal ties.
You will need to ask your company about the allocation form. Presumably they want to know how much of your wages to withhold CA tax on. If you will be working roughly 75% of the time in CA starting on a certain date (75% of each month) then that's probably what you need to put on the form, since they won't start withholding CA wages until you turn the form in and your assignment starts. If you allocated a net yearly percentage, you would probably be under-withheld, presuming I have correctly guessed the purpose of the form.
If the allocation form determines your CA tax withholding and you get it wrong, the worst that happens is you are under- or over-withheld in CA and you get a refund or owe tax when you file your return. Your situation is a little less complicated than most because you don't also pay income tax in your domicile state, which would involve other adjustments.
