Hello,
I moved from NYC to NJ in Jan 2021. My office address also changed from NYC to NJ (my employer has an NJ office). I got a bonus in March 2021 from my employer. The bonus partly is for work that I did while residing in NYC. Do I have to pay NYC taxes even though I was an NJ resident and was based out of the NJ office?
Thanks!
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Preparing tax returns for a state-to-state move like yours is very complicated. I'll give you my thoughts on it, but I'm certainly not an expert on such situations. If it gets too confusing, you might want to go to a tax professional for this year. (But even that's not a guarantee. See my personal story at the end of this post.)
Technically any money you earn for working, including a bonus, is taxable by the state or locality where you did the work. That would mean allocating the bonus partly to NY (including NYC) and partly to NJ. But to be practical, I would just report it the way it's shown on your W-2s. That approach is the least likely to raise any questions.
Your description of your W-2s is a little confusing, but if I understand correctly, in effect the employer reported the entire bonus as New York income (but not NYC). I would just enter the amounts as they appear on the W-2s, but enter it as if it were all on one W-2, with one line of state information for NY and NYC, and a second line of state information for NJ. Don't enter three separate W-2s in TurboTax.
You didn't say exactly when you moved from New York to New Jersey. Unless you moved on January 1 you are going to have to file a part-year resident return for NY in any case, even if you only lived in NY for a small part of the year. NYC tax is included in the NY state return. Your NJ return will also be part-year resident.
When you do your NY return you will have to specify how much you actually earned in New York State. The amount you earned in NY should be your base pay allocated proportionally based on how long you worked in each state, plus the bonus. When it asks how much you earned in New York City, just leave the total NYC wages from the W-2. That's technically not correct, but that's the way the employer reported it, and I don't see any way to add the bonus to your NYC income if it's not included in box 18. So to answer your original question, if you do it this way you will not be paying NYC tax on the bonus.
I don't think you will get any credit on your NJ return for tax paid to another jurisdiction because, if I understand correctly, you did not have any NY income while you were a NJ resident. Therefore you are not paying NJ tax on any of your NY income. Your NY income is taxed only by NY and your NJ income is taxed only by NJ. There is no double taxation, so there is nothing to give a credit for.
(As an aside, here's my personal experience with a similar situation. Many years ago when I moved from New York City to New Jersey I had my tax returns done by a mid-sized accounting firm, i.e. not just an individual accountant. New York disagreed with the way my income was allocated, and wanted me to pay a small amount of additional tax. The accountant I dealt with at the firm said the rules are unclear and I should just pay the additional tax. Where the rules about how to do the allocation were unclear, they did it in the way that favored me, but the state disagreed. So it's tricky, even for the experts.)
Most states take the attitude, in that situation, that the income was earned in NY and is subject to NY tax. As such, they usually require your employer to withhold NY tax, when they pay the bonus to you.
So, as, a practical matter, if your employer withheld NY tax, on the bonus, you're stuck with having to file a NY return for 2021. NJ will also tax it (because it was received while you were a NJ resident) but will give you a credit for what you paid NY. There will be little or no double taxation, but you have the hassle , and cost, of filing two state returns.
My question is specifically about the NY City tax in this situation - whether I need to pay it. I get that I have to file NY return and use it as a credit for NJ return.
Did you have only one employer in 2021? In another post about 401(k) contributions you said you had two employers.
How is the bonus shown on your W-2? Your W-2 should have a NY line and a NJ line (or you should have two W-2s). Is the bonus included in box 16 on the NJ line? Is it included in the local (NYC) wages on the NY line? Note that NY has an unusual rule that box 16 must be equal to box 1, so the box 16 amount on the NY line doesn't tell you anything.
I'll reply on Tuesday. I'm away from home without my computer, so capabilites are very limited.
Hi @rjs
I had only one employer in 2021. The other post about 401k is for 2022 when I had two employers.
I have 3 W2s (Main W2- Fed+NY, Local Reference- NYC and NJ). The NJ W2 box 16 does NOT include the bonus amount and yes, as you said for NY box 16 is the same as box 1 (main W2). The bonus is NOT included in the local wages (box 18) - (box 20 - NYC RES).
Preparing tax returns for a state-to-state move like yours is very complicated. I'll give you my thoughts on it, but I'm certainly not an expert on such situations. If it gets too confusing, you might want to go to a tax professional for this year. (But even that's not a guarantee. See my personal story at the end of this post.)
Technically any money you earn for working, including a bonus, is taxable by the state or locality where you did the work. That would mean allocating the bonus partly to NY (including NYC) and partly to NJ. But to be practical, I would just report it the way it's shown on your W-2s. That approach is the least likely to raise any questions.
Your description of your W-2s is a little confusing, but if I understand correctly, in effect the employer reported the entire bonus as New York income (but not NYC). I would just enter the amounts as they appear on the W-2s, but enter it as if it were all on one W-2, with one line of state information for NY and NYC, and a second line of state information for NJ. Don't enter three separate W-2s in TurboTax.
You didn't say exactly when you moved from New York to New Jersey. Unless you moved on January 1 you are going to have to file a part-year resident return for NY in any case, even if you only lived in NY for a small part of the year. NYC tax is included in the NY state return. Your NJ return will also be part-year resident.
When you do your NY return you will have to specify how much you actually earned in New York State. The amount you earned in NY should be your base pay allocated proportionally based on how long you worked in each state, plus the bonus. When it asks how much you earned in New York City, just leave the total NYC wages from the W-2. That's technically not correct, but that's the way the employer reported it, and I don't see any way to add the bonus to your NYC income if it's not included in box 18. So to answer your original question, if you do it this way you will not be paying NYC tax on the bonus.
I don't think you will get any credit on your NJ return for tax paid to another jurisdiction because, if I understand correctly, you did not have any NY income while you were a NJ resident. Therefore you are not paying NJ tax on any of your NY income. Your NY income is taxed only by NY and your NJ income is taxed only by NJ. There is no double taxation, so there is nothing to give a credit for.
(As an aside, here's my personal experience with a similar situation. Many years ago when I moved from New York City to New Jersey I had my tax returns done by a mid-sized accounting firm, i.e. not just an individual accountant. New York disagreed with the way my income was allocated, and wanted me to pay a small amount of additional tax. The accountant I dealt with at the firm said the rules are unclear and I should just pay the additional tax. Where the rules about how to do the allocation were unclear, they did it in the way that favored me, but the state disagreed. So it's tricky, even for the experts.)
Thanks for the detailed answer!
> Your description of your W-2s is a little confusing, but if I understand correctly, in effect the employer reported the entire bonus as New York income (but not NYC).
Yes, that is correct. I moved at the end of Jan 2021. So I have one month of NYC tax, and [one month + bonus] of NYs tax in my W2.
I received an audit from NY so that's why I posted this but I will consult with a tax professional for responding.
What happened here? I'm in a similar situation (but with severance vs a bonus). Have moved out of NYC. Did this trigger an audit and did you lose?
Severance income that is related to employment which was previously carried on in the state of New York is considered NYS source income under 631(b)(1)(F). If you didn't allocate this income properly, it will be adjusted by the state.
Understand New York State but what about New York CITY.
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