FL to NY Move Implications for Bonus

[FLToNY2024]

Hello,

I’m a FL resident since the end of 2021 and am being paid by a FL based company. For 2022 and 2023, I will have spent less than 10 total days in NY for work with no permanent abode in NY. I am planning to move back to NY on April 1, 2024 for work. Each year I’m paid a salary that’s paid biweekly and an annual bonus paid in February of the following year.

The question I have is around the bonus that I will receive for the work I did in 2023 that will be paid in Feb 2024. Would that bonus be subject to NY State Tax if I am being paid by a FL based firm while living in FL at the time of payment?

I could make the argument that I was a FL resident during the period it was earned (2023) and the bonus will be paid by a FL based company in Feb 2024 so I shouldn’t be paying NY tax on it. NY state could make the argument that if I spend over 180 days in NY in 2024, I am a NY full year resident when I get paid my 2023 bonus (even though technically I’m domiciled and living in FL for the first 3 months of 2024) and this I am liable to pay NY tax.

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

[tagteam]

@Critter-3 

[TomD8]

If you literally move your domicile (your main, primary home) from FL to NY in 2024, then for tax year 2024 you will be considered a part-year resident of both states.  You will become a part-year resident of NY on the day you begin living in New York with the intent (as evidenced by your actions) of it being your new domicile.  If you receive the bonus after that date, it will be taxable by New York.  If you receive the bonus before that date, it will not be taxable by New York.

If you keep your domicile in Florida, and your time in New York is temporary in nature, then your bonus would be taxable by New York only if you fall under the 184-day rule, which is stated here:

You may be subject to tax as a resident even if your domicile is not New York.

You are a New York State resident if your domicile is New York State OR:

• you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for substantially all of the taxable year; and
• you spend 184 days or more in New York State during the taxable year. Any part of a day is a day for this purpose, and you do not need to be present at the permanent place of abode for the day to count as a day in New York.
• In general, a permanent place of abode is a building or structure where a person can live that you permanently maintain and is suitable for year-round use. It does not matter whether you own it or not.

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/nonresident-faqs.htm#:~:text=The%20requirements%20to%20be%20a%20New%....