NY W2 Box 16 same as Box 1 but I only spent 50% of the time in NY

[MarilynG1]

Theoretically your W-2 should split this out for you (and TurboTax).  You should have two lines in the State section; Box 15 - NJ, Box 16- Wages earned in NJ, Box 17-Tax paid to NJ.  Second line, Box 15 - NY, Box 16 - Wages earned in NY, Box 17 - Tax paid to NY.

If 75% of the wages reported on your W-2 were earned in the NJ period, and 25% during the NY period (plus income from parental leave, which replaces wages), that sounds like an accurate allocation of income between the two states. 

Click this link for more info on How to File a Non-Resident State Return. 

[Aoiree]

Thanks @MarilynG1!

My W2 does attempt to split it out by state for me in the informational/summary section (i.e. outside of the boxes)

Within the boxes itself....

Box 16 of NJ reflects a fraction of taxable wages in line with the summary.

Box 16 of NY reflects whole year federal taxable wages (which I'm to understand is how New York requires it and is in-line with other posts in this chain).

But...From further reading:

Would I not be expected to use form NY IT-203-B Schedule A to do the allocation (as per NY Instructions for nonresidents) regardless of what my employer put on the informational summary section of the W2?

Basically NY IT-203-B Schedule A summarizes out to :

X "Workdays" working from home assigned to NJ office

Y "Workdays" working from home assigned to NY office

Y/(X+Y) =  NY's % Allocation of taxable wages.

Further reading appears to suggest any year end discretionary pay (bonus) for 2020 but paid in 2021 should use a 2020 NY IT-203-B Schedule A allocation and not 2021's allocation (my W2 appears to agree in practice.)

For sanity sake:Tried to back into my employers numbers it appears they use a straight-line calculation via WEEKdays instead of WORKdays... which makes sense as they can't predict exactly when an employee will distribute future nonworking days in real-time and it's probably the best they can do.

X = "Weekdays" assigned to NJ office

Y = "Weekdays" assigned to NY office

Y/(X+Y) =  NY Allocation

Every year I read way more about something personal tax related than I ever intended to :(

[AmyC]

Yes, you need the 203-B schedule A and the program handles that for you using the days method. It will be in your list of forms.

A bonus for 2020 paid in 2021, should have been during your NJ assignment and not related to NY at all. Your NY time was zero for 2020 and NY has no claim to that income.

@Aoiree

[lucas_a]

Where on my W2 does it show the amount I earned just in New York? How does my tax preparer know the percentage to prorate my taxes for the state for that year?

[LindaS5247]

Your NYS wages would be shown in box 16 of your Form W-2.

If you are using TurboTax enter your Form W-2 as it is shown, and it will correctly flow to your NYS tax return.  Your tax professional should have no issue figuring what your apportionment would be for multiple states.

In general, if you lived in multiple states, you will likely be filing two state tax returns.  And you will likely get a tax credit on your residential state tax return for taxes paid in your nonresidential state.  You should enter your nonresidential state tax return into TurboTax first so the credit will properly flow to your residential tax return. It also depends on if your states have tax reciprocity or not.

Filing taxes for the two different states will depend on several factors, including: 

• Which state is considered the source of the income
• Specific states involved
• If you changed jobs or kept the same one
• If there’s a reciprocity agreement between the states involved

You’ll likely file a part-year resident return in both states. Usually, you’ll have to file a state return in any states that you:

• Have earned income from wages or self-employment
• Have property that produces income

Regardless of whether you're a part-year resident or a nonresident in the state where you are working, an apportionment schedule will be completed if you have income in more than one state. This form can usually be found in the state's part-year or nonresident income tax return. You use the schedule to "apportion" how much of your income is taxable in each state.

• Part-year residents not only pay tax on income earned from work performed in the state, but also pay tax on all other income received while residing in the state.
• Nonresidents generally only pay tax on income they earned from work performed in the state, and on income received from other sources within the state.

After you use the apportionment schedule to allocate the appropriate amount of your income and deductions to the new state, you need to calculate what percentage of your total income is state income. We'll call this the "apportionment percentage," and it is used in the rest of the calculations.

Click here for more information regarding figuring your taxes when multiple states are involved.

Click here for a list of states that have tax reciprocity.

[Antic5]

I'm in the same circumstances, except that I have NEVER  been a resident of NY.  I only worked there for a couple weeks.  How do I handle this as a non-resident?

[AmyC]

You will file a NY nonresident return. Your resident wages will tax all of your income and give you a credit for the NY tax paid. 

Your w2 screen in the program should show the NY income and your resident state should show - total minus NY wages.

@Antic5