Leaving New York City: the NYC resident tax test
Updated . Not tax or legal advice.
New York City taxes its residents on top of New York State. A person not domiciled in the city is still a city resident if they keep a permanent place of abode in the city and spend more than 183 days of the year there. So leaving New York means passing both the state test and the city test.
The city test
Under the NYC Administrative Code, a statutory city resident is someone not domiciled in the city who keeps a permanent place of abode in the city and spends more than 183 days of the tax year there. The Tax Department describes this as similar to the state test and administers the city tax the same way as the state tax. NY Tax Dept. advisory opinion
A day in the city is also a day in the state. If you keep a Manhattan apartment, your city days and state days both matter. Use the 183-day calculator for your New York days.
Forms for the year you move
- IT-203: the Nonresident and Part-Year Resident return, if you changed both your state and city residence in the same year.
- IT-360.1: Change of City Resident Status, attached to your return when you move into or out of New York City (or Yonkers).
- Special accruals: when you move out of the city, some income you have earned but not yet received, such as installment sale gains, may have to be reported as of your move date, unless you file a bond or other security (IT-260 or IT-260.1).
Source: IT-360.1 instructions. The move counts only if you meant to leave your old home for good and set up a permanent home somewhere else.
Questions people ask
Does New York City have its own 183-day rule?
Yes. A person not domiciled in New York City is a city resident if they keep a permanent place of abode in the city and spend more than 183 days of the year there. NY Tax Dept.
What form do I file when I move out of New York City?
Form IT-360.1, Change of City Resident Status, attached to IT-203 if you also left New York State, or to IT-201 if you moved within the state. IT-360.1 instructions