I do not live in NY. Is my "federal income that was derived from New York sources" the total amount of wages I earned from the company in NY?

It depends.  What determines whether or not your income is taxable in New York depends on whether it is New York Source income.  There are two types of income that New York considers to be New York Source:

• Wages Earned In New York State.  This is fairly simple:  you are working within New York State borders, so New York has the right to tax you for the income you are earning inside of New York.

• Telecommuting for a New York Company conducting business in New York State.  New York argues that telecommuting (working from home) is for the benefit of the employee, so the income is being produced in New York and is therefore taxable to New York.  If you telecommute, and your employer has established with the state that your work is for the employer's convenience, then your telecommuting income is not taxed in New York.

Otherwise, the fact that you work for a New York company does not in and of itself make your income taxable in New York.  You must be working in New York for it to be New York income.

So does that mean I have to put the total earning for my state wages, tips, etc. when it asks me about the new york state portion in the new york income allocations section. 

It depends.

 

Per DanielV01's response above, it will depend upon if it's considered New York source income. 

 

You can also look at boxes 14-15 on your W-2 Form, and if you see NY as the state in any of these boxes, you usually have to enter information in the New York state section in TurboTax. 

 

This will ensure you get a refund for any withholdings that you potentially did not have to make if you determine you did not have any New York source income.

 

Filing requirements for nonresidents of New York

 

@Dapoli

I have the same question and i don't understand the response given here. How did you sort it out?

Reread Daniel's answer. What sort of income do you have that is not covered by the first or second bullet point?

 

@rg1004

 

What if the income is unemployment reported on a 1099-G. My wife and I did not live or work in NY during 2019 but I received NYS unemployment and they withheld unemployment taxes. 

However, when I try to do a non resident return with only the money from the NY unemployment it appears to calculate the tax based on all my income which creates a significant tax liability and penalty that is not countered by the state I am a resident in.

It depends

 

It probably isn't including the entire federal income in your New York calculation though.

 

The forms make it appear that it is going directly from the Federal amounts to the state amounts.  But there are adjustments made before you see the state amount.  The state will only tax you based upon your New York source income.

 

I have attached a blank Form IT-203.  If you look at page 2, you will be able to see how it breaks it out between the federal amounts and the New York amount.  At the bottom of that page, you can see the adjustments made to reach the New York amounts.

 

Blank NY-IT-203 Nonresident form