TurboTax NJ State edition Residency Status question for a Snowbird

[jdominic1957]

I am using Turbotax NJ State edition and I am technically a snowbird (travels back and forth to NJ with the seasons) that has declared domicile in Florida and in 2021 have spent 139 days in NJ but not contiguously. I want to verify which "Residency Status" I should choose using NJ TurboTax edition. Of the three TurboTax choices (Full Time, Non-Resident or Part-time Resident) Part-time seems the logical choice, but if I select Part-time TurboTax asks me the span of time I was in NJ with only a contiguous time frame (ie from-to). Can you give me some guidance on which residency status to choose?

[SweetieJean]

Part YEAR (not Part TIME) means you moved from one state to another during the year. See this re NJ:

Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents (state.nj.us)

[TomD8]

You can't just "declare" domicile.  Your state of domicile is determined by state rules and regulations.  See page 2 of the reference @SweetieJean gave you to see how NJ defines domicile.  You can have only one domicile at a time.

If you changed your domicile during 2021, then for 2021 you are a part-year resident of each state.

If your domicile (by NJ's definition) remained in NJ all of 2021, then for 2021 you are a resident of NJ and a non-resident of FL.

If your domicile was in FL all year, then for 2021 you are a resident of FL and a non-resident of NJ.

[jdominic1957]

Just for clarity, I have previously declared domicile in Florida.  Completed the Florida "Declaration of Domicile" and corresponded to the State of NJ as required by the Florida Division of Taxation, all part of the process to for Homesteading in Florida.  

My question is specifically a TurboTax question, which "Residency option" in the TurboTax NJ State edition should I select (non-resident or part-time resident) when completing my NJ Taxes. Part-time residency seems logical, but selecting it then requires you to select a contiguous timeframe (from/to) and as a snowbird I come back to NJ various times. 

[TomD8]

Use the date the FL became your state of domicile.  Your return trips to NJ after that date are irrelevant, unless you maintain a permanent place of abode in NJ and spend more than 183 days of the taxable year in NJ.

[jdominic1957]

I do maintain a permanent abode in NJ and spent 139 days there in 2021.

[SundayInSalem]

Snowbirds are never part-year residents. New Jersey will audit you if claim to be a part-year NJ resident every year and they like auditing snowbirds who claim Florida residency to escape NJ tax.

If you need to file a NJ return, file as a nonresident.

You declared Florida as your domicile so you are no longer a NJ resident.

[TomD8]

@jdominic1957 --

Then, if your domicile changed to FL in 2021, you file as a part-year resident of NJ.  You only file as a part-year resident in a year when your domicile changes.

If you had spent 183 days or more in NJ after becoming domiciled in FL, you would have had a situation of dual residency, which is an entirely different kettle of fish.  In that situation you would be both a domicilary resident of FL and a statutory resident of NJ.