The Tax Brief real effective rates for 111+ countries — bi-weekly, free.
TAX GUIDE

New York Remote Worker Tax Guide 2026: Convenience Rule

Daniel · CountryTaxCalc Updated October 2026
Run the calculator → Jump to FAQ
At a glance

Key Facts

The rule
A nonresident whose primary office is in New York has home-office days counted as New York work days unless the employer has established a bona fide employer office (DTF; TSB-M-06(5)I)
Bona fide employer office
Meet the primary factor, or at least 4 of 6 secondary factors and 3 of 10 other factors
Statutory residency
A New York permanent place of abode for substantially all of the year plus 184 or more days in New York (any part of a day counts)
NY State tax, $120,000 single (engine, 2026)
$6,181 if all wages are New York-source; about $742 if only 30 of 250 work days count
New York City tax
Residents only, 3.078% to 3.876% on the schedule we checked; nonresidents of the city owe no NYC income tax
Home-state credit
Connecticut's instructions expressly cover it; New Jersey and Pennsylvania treatment of convenience-rule wages could not be confirmed
Introduction

New York can tax a remote worker who lives in another state. The rule that does it, the convenience of the employer test, treats home-office days as New York work days when your assigned or primary office is in New York, unless your home office qualifies as a bona fide employer office.

This guide is built from New York Department of Taxation and Finance guidance. It explains the test and its factors, how residency works, how nonresident tax is calculated, what your home state may credit, and how New York City and Yonkers fit in. Worked examples use our tax engine, and we say plainly what we could not verify.

Section 01

What New York's Convenience of the Employer Rule Actually Says

New York taxes nonresidents only on New York-source income. The Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) says so directly: "As a nonresident, you only pay tax on New York source income, which includes earnings from work performed in New York State, and income from real property located in the state." The convenience of the employer rule decides how much of a nonresident employee's wages count as New York-source when some or all of the work is done at a home office outside New York. It comes from the personal income tax regulations (section 132.18(a)), which DTF quotes in its memorandum TSB-M-06(5)I: - If a nonresident employee performs services both within and without New York, New York-source wages are the share of total compensation that matches the ratio of working days in New York to total working days. - "Any allowance claimed for days worked outside New York State must be based upon the performance of services which of necessity, as distinguished from convenience, obligate the employee to out-of-state duties in the service of his employer." - Nonworking days (weekends, holidays, illness, vacation, leave) are left out of both sides of the ratio. DTF's current nonresident guidance puts it plainly: "If you are a nonresident whose primary office is in New York State, your days telecommuting are considered days worked in the state unless your employer has established a bona fide employer office at your telecommuting location." **What this means in practice** - A normal work day spent at your out-of-state home office is treated as a New York work day if your assigned or primary work location is at an established New York office of your employer, unless your home office qualifies as a bona fide employer office (explained in the next section). - The Form IT-203-B instructions describe the necessity standard as duties that, "by their very nature cannot be performed at the employer's place of business." - If your assigned or primary work location is at an office of your employer outside New York, DTF says a normal work day at home is treated as a day worked outside New York. The rule turns on where your employer's office is. It is not a blanket claim on every remote worker who has had a New York employer. - A day at home that is not a normal work day is a nonworking day. DTF's examples of things that do not make a normal work day are responding to occasional phone calls or emails, reading professional journals, or being available if needed. **Where this guide stops** We have not independently verified how the rule applies to employers with no physical office, to fully remote companies headquartered in New York, or how recent audit and tribunal decisions have treated particular fact patterns. Those turn on specific facts. If your situation is one of them, get advice from a New York-experienced tax professional rather than relying on a general guide.
Section 02

The Bona Fide Employer Office Test (TSB-M-06(5)I)

For tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2006, DTF's position is that if your assigned or primary office is in New York, a normal work day at your home office is treated as a day worked outside New York only if the home office is a bona fide employer office. DTF's memorandum says the home office must meet either: a) the **primary factor**, or b) **at least 4 of the 6 secondary factors and 3 of the 10 other factors.** **Primary factor** - The home office contains or is near specialized facilities that your duties require and that cannot be made available at the employer's place of business. DTF's example is a test track for testing new cars. Specialized equipment that could physically be set up at the employer's New York office does not meet this factor. **Secondary factors (you need at least four)** 1. The home office is a requirement or condition of employment (for example, a written employment contract that requires you to work from home to perform specific duties). 2. The employer has a bona fide business purpose for an office in the locale where your home is. 3. You perform some of your core duties at the home office. 4. You meet or deal with clients, patients or customers on a regular and continuous basis at the home office. 5. The employer does not provide you with designated office space or other regular work accommodations at one of its regular places of business. 6. The employer reimburses you for substantially all (80% or more) of the home office expenses, or pays fair rental value plus supplies and equipment. **Other factors (you need at least three, in addition to four secondary factors)** - A separate telephone line and listing for the home office. - Your home office address and phone number on the employer's letterhead or business cards. - A specific area of the home used exclusively for the employer's business (an area used for both business and personal purposes does not count). - Product inventory or samples kept in the home office (wholesale or retail sellers only). - Employer business records stored at the home office. - A sign indicating a place of business at the home office. - Employer advertising that shows the home office as a place of business. - A business insurance policy, or business rider on your homeowner's policy, covering the home office. - You are entitled to and actually claim a federal home office deduction. - You are not an officer of the company. **Reading the test** - The memorandum describes these factors as ones employees "should use to assist them" in deciding, and the test is a count of factors rather than a single question about your preference. - An employee who is simply allowed to work from home as a perk, with a desk still available in New York, is likely to meet few of the secondary factors. That is our reading of the factor list, not a DTF ruling on any particular case. - Several of the other factors depend on what the employer does (letterhead, insurance, advertising, a separate phone line). You cannot satisfy them alone, so raise this with your employer before the year starts, not at audit.
Section 03

New York Residency Rules: Domicile, 184 Days and the 30-Day Rule

Residents pay New York tax on all income wherever it is earned. Nonresidents pay only on New York-source income. DTF's instructions for Form IT-203 give the definitions. **Resident** You are a New York State resident for income tax purposes if either of these applies: - You maintain a **permanent place of abode** in New York for substantially all of the tax year and spend **184 days or more** in New York during the tax year (any part of a day counts as a day), whether or not you are domiciled in New York. - Your **domicile** is New York State (unless you meet all conditions of Group A or Group B below). **Domicile** - Your domicile is the place you intend to have as your permanent home, the place you intend to return to after being away. You can have only one, and it does not change until you can show you abandoned the old one and established a new one. - DTF says a change of domicile "must be clear and convincing" and is clear and convincing "only when your primary ties are clearly greater in the new location." - DTF's instructions say easily controlled factors such as where you vote, where your driver's license and registration are issued, or where your will is located "are not primary factors." Updating those is sensible but will not carry a change of domicile alone. - DTF tells taxpayers to compare: the size, value and nature of use of each residence; employment or business connections in both places; time spent in each place; where items of significant sentimental value are located; and close family ties in each place. - If you move somewhere for a limited time only (however long), your domicile does not change. **Permanent place of abode** A residence you permanently maintain, whether you own it or not, that is suitable for year-round use. It usually includes a residence your spouse owns or leases. A residence occupied by a full-time undergraduate student while attending school is not a permanent place of abode for that student. **Domiciliaries who are not residents: Group A** Even if your domicile is New York, you are not a resident if you meet all three of these: - You did not maintain any permanent place of abode in New York during the tax year; - You maintained a permanent place of abode outside New York for the entire tax year; and - You spent 30 days or less in New York (part of a day counts). (Group B covers people abroad for at least 450 days in a 548-day period and is not relevant to most remote workers.) **If you keep a New York home** DTF's note says that if you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York but claim to be a nonresident, you must be able to provide adequate records to substantiate that you did not spend more than 183 days of the tax year in New York. Form IT-203 Schedule B (on Form IT-203-B) asks for the address of any living quarters available to you in New York and your number of days in New York, even if the days were on personal business. **New York City and Yonkers** DTF's instructions apply the same tests to New York City and Yonkers, substituting the city for the state. If you meet the definition of a resident of New York State, New York City or Yonkers, you may not file Form IT-203; you file the resident return, Form IT-201.
Section 04

How New York Calculates Nonresident Tax: The Income Percentage

New York does not simply apply its rates to your New York wages. Section 601(e) of the Tax Law, as described in TSB-M-06(5)I, works like this: 1. Compute the tax as if you were a New York resident for the entire year, on your income from all sources, reduced by certain credits. 2. Multiply that tax by the **income percentage**: your New York-source income divided by your New York adjusted gross income from all sources. On Form IT-203 the income percentage is line 31 in the New York State amount column divided by line 31 in the Federal amount column (entered on line 45 of the 2025 form). This is why a nonresident's other income (investments, for example) can raise the tax applied to the New York wages even though that other income is not itself taxed by New York. It also means a "rate times New York wages" shortcut is only right when your New York wages are your only income. **Engine-run figures (New York State only, 2026)** These come from our New York tax engine for a single filer with wage income only, standard deduction, no dependants, no other income and no adjustments. They are New York State income tax only: no federal tax, no payroll taxes, no New York City or Yonkers tax, and no home-state tax. Tax if all wages are New York-source: - $60,000 of wages: $2,643 - $80,000: $3,723 - $100,000: $4,861 - $120,000: $6,181 - $150,000: $8,291 - $180,000: $10,148 - $200,000: $11,328 **Example 1: Florida or Texas resident, $120,000, New York is the assigned office** Facts we assume: 250 work days, of which 30 are in the New York office and 220 at home; no other income. - Convenience rule applies and the home office is not a bona fide employer office: all 250 days are New York work days, so 100% of wages are New York-source, the income percentage is 1.0 and New York tax is **$6,181** (engine). The home state has no income tax, so $6,181 is the total state tax. - The home office does qualify as a bona fide employer office: only the 30 New York days count. New York-source wages are $120,000 x 30/250 = $14,400, the income percentage is 0.12, and the tax is about $6,181 x 0.12 = **$742** (our arithmetic applying the income percentage, rounded). The home state has no income tax. - The difference in this example is about $5,439 a year. It rests entirely on whether the home office meets the DTF test, which we cannot assess for you. **Example 2: Moving to Florida on 1 July, continuing for the same New York employer** You are a part-year resident. DTF's memorandum says that for a part-year resident the convenience test applies only to the nonresident period, and the ratio uses work days in that period only. Facts we assume: $200,000 of wages, no other income, the assigned office is in New York, and the Florida home office does not qualify as a bona fide employer office. - Resident period (January to June): all income is taxed by New York, wherever earned. - Nonresident period (July to December): home-office days count as New York work days, so those wages are New York-source as well. - Result: all $200,000 is New York-source, the income percentage is 1.0, and New York tax is **$11,328** (engine, full-year computation). Florida has no income tax. In this example the move saves no New York State income tax unless the home office qualifies or the job changes. - If the home office does qualify as a bona fide employer office, New York-source wages for the nonresident period depend on your actual New York work days, so we do not show a figure. **Equity pay** DTF's IT-203 instructions say that if, as a nonresident or part-year resident, you received stock options attributable to services performed in New York, some or all of the related federal income may be included in New York source income. Options, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights, termination agreements and covenants not to compete are allocated on Form IT-203-F (Multi-Year Allocation Form). Keep records of where you performed services.
Section 05

Credits in Your Home State: CT, NJ, PA and No-Income-Tax States

New York gives nonresidents no credit for tax paid to the home state. DTF's resident credit (Form IT-112-R) is available only to full-year or part-year New York residents, and only for tax on income sourced to and taxed by the other jurisdiction during the New York resident period. Whether double taxation is avoided therefore depends on your home state's credit for taxes paid to other jurisdictions. We checked the rules of three neighbouring states from their own publications. **No-income-tax home states (FL, TX, NV, WY, SD, TN, AK, NH, and WA for wages)** There is no home-state income tax on wages, so there is nothing to credit and nothing to double. You pay New York's tax on whatever share of your wages is New York-source. **Connecticut: the credit expressly covers this situation** The 2024 Form CT-1040 instructions say qualifying income tax payments are taxes you actually paid on income derived from or connected with sources within the qualifying jurisdiction. Among the items they list as sourced to the other jurisdiction is "compensation received as an employee for personal services performed from a home office in Connecticut for an employer in a qualifying jurisdiction that applies a convenience of the employer test in determining whether nonresident compensation is derived from or connected with sources within the qualifying jurisdiction." The credit is limited to the least of the tax paid to the other jurisdiction, the Connecticut tax on the Connecticut adjusted gross income sourced there, and your Connecticut income tax. Illustration (engine, single, wages only, $120,000): New York tax under the convenience rule is $6,181 and Connecticut tax on the same wages is $6,275. The credit is capped at the lower figure, so you would owe New York $6,181 and Connecticut roughly $94 after the credit, about $6,275 in total. You end up paying at Connecticut's higher overall rate, split between the two states. This ignores Connecticut-specific items such as its property tax credit, which the instructions say to complete before Schedule 2. **New Jersey: we could not confirm the credit** - New Jersey's Schedule NJ-COJ credit is the lesser of the tax actually paid to the other jurisdiction or the New Jersey tax on that income. New Jersey's January 2026 publications (GIT-3W for wages, GIT-3B for business and nonwage income) say you can include only "income properly taxed by another jurisdiction", and give "services rendered within that jurisdiction" as the first example of income a jurisdiction may properly tax. - Those publications also tell New Jersey residents to use only the income actually taxed by New York, taken from the New York State amount column of Form IT-203. They do not say whether New York tax on wages for days you worked at a New Jersey home office under the convenience rule counts as "properly taxed". We could not find a New Jersey statement either way, so do not assume a full credit. Ask a New Jersey-experienced preparer, or the Division of Taxation, before you rely on it. - If the credit were allowed in full in the $120,000 case, the cap would be New Jersey's $5,454 tax (engine), so you would owe New York $6,181 and New Jersey nothing. If it were refused, you would owe both ($6,181 plus $5,454). The answer on your return may fall anywhere between these. - Separately, New Jersey enacted its own convenience rule, retroactive to 1 January 2023, for nonresident employees of New Jersey employers who live in states that use a similar test, naming Delaware, Nebraska and New York as examples (Division of Taxation FAQ). That affects New York residents working for New Jersey employers, not New Jersey residents working for New York employers. **Pennsylvania: we could not confirm the credit** - Pennsylvania's resident credit (Schedule G-L) applies to non-Pennsylvania-sourced income taxed by another state, judged "using Pennsylvania sourcing rules". The Department of Revenue says it does not permit a credit for tax paid to another state on Pennsylvania-source income, and the credit cannot exceed the Pennsylvania tax paid on the same income. - The Pennsylvania guide we read does not mention telecommuting or the convenience rule. We therefore cannot say whether Pennsylvania accepts New York tax on convenience-rule wages as eligible for the credit. Do not assume it does. - Pennsylvania's tax on $120,000 of wages is $3,684 (3.07%, engine). If the credit were allowed, it would be capped at that amount, so your total state tax would be New York's $6,181. If refused, you would owe $6,181 plus $3,684, before any Pennsylvania local taxes. **What to do** Claim the credit on your home-state return and attach or keep a copy of the nonresident return you filed with New York. Connecticut, for example, disallows the credit if you do not attach the return filed with the qualifying jurisdiction (or keep a copy and provide it on request, if you e-file). If you take a position your home state may question, document it.
Section 06

New York City and Yonkers: Resident-Only and Local Layers

**New York City** DTF's nonresident guidance says: "Nonresidents of New York City are not liable for New York City personal income tax." The city tax applies to New York City residents (full-year or part-year). A remote worker living outside the five boroughs does not owe city income tax on wages, even if the wages are New York State-source under the convenience rule. The same domicile and statutory-resident tests apply to the city as to the state (see the residency section above). New York City resident tax schedule for a single filer or married filing separately (2025 IT-201 instructions; the same rates appear in DTF's 2026 estimated-tax booklet): - Taxable income up to $12,000: 3.078% - $12,000 to $25,000: $369 plus 3.762% of the excess over $12,000 - $25,000 to $50,000: $858 plus 3.819% of the excess over $25,000 - Over $50,000: $1,813 plus 3.876% of the excess over $50,000 For married filing jointly the bracket limits are $21,600, $45,000 and $90,000, with the same rates; head of household uses $14,400, $30,000 and $60,000. The city tax is computed on New York taxable income (after the New York deduction) and is reduced by city credits. Our engine models the NYC school tax credit, so the figures below are New York City resident tax after the NYC school tax credit; other city credits you may qualify for, such as the household credit, are not included. **Illustrations (single, wages only)** These figures come from our engine (New York City resident tax after the NYC school tax credit), using the $8,000 New York standard deduction. The schedule above gives the before-credit amount; the school tax credit then reduces it: - $100,000 of wages: city taxable income $92,000, so $1,813 + 3.876% x $42,000 = about $3,441 before the credit, or about $3,175 after the NYC school tax credit. New York State tax from the engine is $4,861, so state plus city is about $8,036 for a New York City resident. - $200,000 of wages: city taxable income $192,000, so $1,813 + 3.876% x $142,000 = about $7,317 before the credit, or about $6,823 after the NYC school tax credit. New York State tax is $11,328, so state plus city is about $18,151. - The same $200,000 earner living in Westchester or on Long Island is a New York State resident but not a city resident, and pays the state tax and no city tax. The difference is the city tax, roughly $6,823 here. Moving within New York State changes city tax, not state tax. **Yonkers** DTF's IT-201 instructions set the Yonkers resident income tax surcharge at 16.75% of net New York State tax. At $200,000 that is about 16.75% x $11,328 = $1,897 before credits (our arithmetic). Nonresidents who earn wages in Yonkers may owe the Yonkers nonresident earnings tax (Form Y-203). We did not verify that rate, so check the Y-203 instructions. DTF's memorandum says the telecommuter rules above apply to the Yonkers nonresident earnings tax as well. **Other New York taxes** Self-employed people may also owe the New York City Unincorporated Business Tax or the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax. Their thresholds and rates are set in the New York City Department of Finance and DTF instructions, and we did not verify them for this guide.
Section 07

Filing Nonresident and Part-Year Returns: Forms IT-203 and IT-203-B

**Which return** - Nonresidents with New York-source income file Form IT-203 (Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return). DTF says you must file if you have New York-source income and your New York AGI exceeds the New York standard deduction, or if you want a refund of tax withheld, or you want to claim certain refundable or carryover credits. - Part-year residents also file IT-203. You allocate income between the resident and nonresident periods using the instructions' part-year resident income allocation worksheet. - If you meet the definition of a New York State, New York City or Yonkers resident, you may not file IT-203; you file Form IT-201, the resident return. **What Form IT-203-B is** Form IT-203-B is titled Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Allocation and College Tuition Itemized Deduction Worksheet. It is not a change-of-residence computation. Schedule A allocates wage and salary income earned both inside and outside New York while a nonresident, using the work-day ratio (this is where the convenience rule is applied), with one Schedule A per job. Schedule B lists living quarters you maintained in New York and your days in the state. Schedule C is the college tuition itemized deduction worksheet. DTF says that failing to complete and submit Schedule A will delay processing of your return. **Schedule A inputs** You enter the total days employed at the job while a nonresident, then the Saturdays and Sundays not worked, holidays not worked, sick days, vacation days and other days not worked. You then enter days worked in New York and the wages earned during the nonresident period. The result is the wage amount allocated to New York for the New York State amount column. **Deductions and credits** Nonresidents and part-year residents claim the New York standard deduction ($8,000 single, $16,050 married filing jointly, $11,200 head of household on the 2025 table) or New York itemized deductions, and file the credit forms they qualify for. We have not summarised the New York credits (household credit, earned income credit, child credits, real property tax credit and others) because eligibility rules and amounts change by year; see the current forms. **Deadlines** For tax year 2025 the due date was 15 April 2026, with an automatic six-month extension to 15 October 2026 if you filed Form IT-370 and paid any tax due by the original due date. DTF's 2025 instructions give the 2026 estimated tax dates as 15 April, 15 June, 15 September 2026 and 15 January 2027, and say estimated tax is generally required if you expect to owe at least $300 of New York State, New York City or Yonkers tax after withholding and credits. **Refund claim window** DTF says you generally must file a claim for credit or refund within the later of three years from when you filed the return or two years from when you paid the tax. If you did not file a return, the claim must be filed within two years from when you paid the tax. DTF also advises keeping a copy of your return for at least seven years.
Section 08

Records and Planning for New York Remote Workers

These are practical steps based on the official rules above. We have not cited audit statistics or enforcement trends, because we could not verify them from DTF publications. **If you want bona fide employer office treatment** - Compare your situation with each factor in TSB-M-06(5)I. Write down which secondary and other factors you meet and why. - Ask your employer in writing whether it will treat your home as an office location: a written requirement to work from home, no designated desk for you in New York, reimbursement of 80% or more of home-office expenses, a separate business phone line, and so on. - The factors turn on how the arrangement actually works, and many depend on the employer's conduct. Only claim factors that are true. - Keep daily records of where you worked and which days were normal work days, since the Schedule A allocation depends on day counts. **If you are leaving New York** - Domicile: build the primary-ties evidence DTF lists (residence, employment, time spent, sentimental items, family ties), not just a driver's license and voter registration. - Abode and days: if you keep any New York living quarters, track days against the 184-day test and keep records showing you spent no more than 183. If you keep none, hold a permanent place of abode elsewhere for the entire year and stay 30 days or fewer in New York, DTF's Group A rule means a New York domiciliary is not treated as a resident. - File IT-203 for the year of the move, using the part-year worksheet and Schedule A of IT-203-B for any wages you allocate. - Equity compensation that vests after you leave can be partly New York-source (see Form IT-203-F). **Day counting** - Count every day in New York, including partial days, for the 184-day test. DTF's Schedule B instructions say not to count days you traveled through New York to use a common carrier such as a plane, train or bus. - Keep contemporaneous evidence such as travel receipts and calendars. **Check withholding and estimated tax** If you earn New York-source wages and your employer is not withholding New York tax on them, you may owe at filing. Review your payslips at the start of the year, and consider estimated payments if you expect to owe $300 or more. **Get advice for edge cases** Consider a New York-experienced CPA or enrolled agent if you are changing residency, relying on the bona fide employer office test for a large income, claiming a home-state credit that your state may question, or have equity pay or self-employment income.
Section 09

What We Could Not Verify

This guide is built only from the sources listed on this page and from our own engine runs. Under our accuracy policy, here is what we deliberately left out or hedged: - **A separate "telecommuter credit."** We found no New York DTF guidance describing one. Relief comes through the allocation rules (the bona fide employer office test), not a credit. - **New Jersey and Pennsylvania credit for New York convenience-rule tax.** Their own publications make the credit depend on income "properly taxed" or sourced to the other state, and we could not find a statement either way on this situation. Connecticut is the only one of the three whose instructions expressly cover it. - **Court and tribunal outcomes.** We did not fetch case law for this rewrite, so we make no claims about case results or litigation trends. - **Other states' convenience rules.** The New Jersey Division of Taxation names Delaware and Nebraska alongside New York. We did not verify the rules of Pennsylvania or any other state, so we do not list "convenience rule states." - **Audit practices, penalty percentages and assessment look-back periods.** The IT-203 instructions we read give only the refund-claim window. Statements about audit triggers, penalty ranges, assessment periods and what auditors request are omitted. - **Yonkers nonresident earnings rate, UBT and MCTMT rates, and 2026 amounts for New York credits** (household, earned income, child, real property). Not verified. - **2026 New York forms.** DTF's 2026 IT-201 and IT-203 instructions were not yet available when we checked. Residency, form descriptions and NYC and Yonkers details come from the 2025 instructions and the memorandum TSB-M-06(5)I (2006). The 2026 state figures (rates and standard deduction) come from DTF's 2026 estimated-tax booklet through our engine's inputs. Check the 2026 forms when they appear.
💡

CountryTaxCalc.com is reader-supported. When you use our partner links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. This helps us provide free tax calculators and comparison tools.Learn more about our affiliate partnerships

CPA Matching

Taxhub

★ 4.8verified reviews  Â·  3,758 reviews

Get matched with a licensed CPA or EA who specializes in your state's tax laws. Taxhub connects you with verified tax professionals for personalized state tax planning and preparation.

âš  Not for simple single-state returns. Free filing is fine for straightforward W-2 situations.

Find a Tax Pro →

Interested in reaching this audience? Advertise on CountryTaxCalc →

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is New York's convenience of the employer rule?

It is the test New York uses to decide whether days a nonresident employee works outside New York count as New York work days. Under the personal income tax regulation quoted in TSB-M-06(5)I, an allowance for days worked outside New York must be based on duties that, of necessity rather than convenience, obligate the employee to out-of-state duties. DTF's current guidance says that if you are a nonresident whose primary office is in New York State, your days telecommuting are considered days worked in the state unless your employer has established a bona fide employer office at your telecommuting location. See the sections above for the factors and worked examples.

Does the rule apply if my employer's office is not in New York?

According to TSB-M-06(5)I and the IT-203-B instructions, days worked at home are treated as New York work days only if your assigned or primary work location is at an established office or other bona fide place of business of your employer in New York State. If your assigned or primary location is at an employer office outside New York, a normal work day at home is treated as a day worked outside New York. Which office you are assigned to matters, so confirm yours.

What makes a home office a bona fide employer office for New York?

DTF's TSB-M-06(5)I says the home office must meet the primary factor (specialized facilities at or near your home that cannot be made available at the employer's place of business) or at least four of six secondary factors and three of ten other factors. Secondary factors include a requirement of employment to work from home, no designated office space provided by the employer, and employer reimbursement of 80% or more of home-office expenses. The full list is in this guide. Meeting the test depends on your facts and your employer's conduct.

How many days in New York make me a statutory resident?

DTF says you are a New York resident if you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York for substantially all of the tax year and spend 184 days or more in New York during the year. Any part of a day counts as a day for this purpose. If you keep a New York abode but claim to be a nonresident, DTF says you must be able to provide adequate records showing you did not spend more than 183 days in the state. Domicile is a separate test and does not depend on a day count.

I moved from New York to Florida but still work for my New York employer. Do I owe New York tax?

Possibly. If your assigned or primary office is in New York and your Florida home office is not a bona fide employer office, the days you work at home count as New York work days, so those wages are New York-source and you file Form IT-203 (as a part-year resident for the year of the move). In our engine example, a single filer with $200,000 of wages and no other income owes about $11,328 of New York State tax in that situation, and Florida has no income tax. If the home office does qualify as a bona fide employer office, only your actual New York work days are New York-source. For the year of the move, the convenience test applies to the nonresident period only.

Can I get a credit in my home state for New York tax paid under the convenience rule?

It depends on your home state's rules, and New York gives nonresidents no credit for home-state tax. Connecticut's 2024 CT-1040 instructions expressly treat compensation for services performed from a home office in Connecticut for an employer in a state that applies a convenience of the employer test as sourced to that other state, so the credit is available. New Jersey and Pennsylvania credit only income properly taxed or sourced to the other state under their own rules, and we could not confirm how either treats New York's convenience-rule wages. Residents of no-income-tax states have no home-state wage tax to credit.

Do I owe New York City income tax if I work remotely for a New York City employer?

Not unless you are a New York City resident. DTF says nonresidents of New York City are not liable for New York City personal income tax. A person living outside the five boroughs, whether elsewhere in New York State or in another state, does not owe city income tax on wages, even if the wages are New York State-source under the convenience rule. City resident rates run from 3.078% to 3.876% on the schedule we checked.

Is Form IT-203-B a change-of-residence form?

No. Its official title is Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Allocation and College Tuition Itemized Deduction Worksheet. Schedule A allocates wages earned inside and outside New York (where the convenience rule is applied), Schedule B reports living quarters maintained in New York and days spent in the state, and Schedule C is the college tuition itemized deduction worksheet. It is filed with Form IT-203.

Are Social Security benefits part of New York-source income for a nonresident?

DTF's IT-203 instructions say not to enter in the New York State amount column any Social Security benefits you received as a nonresident, so they are not part of New York-source income for a nonresident. Federal taxation of the benefits is separate; see the IRS. We did not verify the New York treatment for residents for 2026, so check the IT-201 instructions if you are a resident.

How are stock options and RSUs taxed if I worked in New York when granted but live elsewhere when they vest?

DTF's instructions say that if you are a nonresident or part-year resident and received stock options attributable to services performed in New York, some or all of the related federal income may be included in New York-source income. Options, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights, termination agreements and covenants not to compete are allocated on Form IT-203-F, Multi-Year Allocation Form. Keep records of where you performed services. We have not verified the allocation formula itself.

Should I hire a tax professional?

It is worth considering if you are changing residency, relying on the bona fide employer office test for a large income, taking a home-state credit that your state may question (for example in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, where we could not confirm the treatment), or holding equity compensation or self-employment income that crosses state lines. These rules turn on facts about your employer and your days, which a general guide cannot assess.
Disclaimer:This guide provides general information about New York State tax rules for remote workers and is not tax or legal advice. The convenience of the employer rule, the bona fide employer office test and the residency rules depend on specific facts about you and your employer. Figures are illustrative, for a single filer with wage income only, and exclude federal tax, payroll taxes and most credits. Home-state credit treatment varies, and for New Jersey and Pennsylvania we could not confirm it. Always check the current forms and instructions on tax.ny.gov and consult a qualified tax professional for your situation.
Keep reading

Related Guides

GUIDE
New York Tax Calculator
GUIDE
Florida vs New York Property Tax Comparison (2026)
GUIDE
New York vs Arizona Taxes 2026
GUIDE
Texas Remote Worker Tax Guide
GUIDE
Florida Remote Worker Tax Guide
GUIDE
New York vs Alabama Taxes
GUIDE
New York vs Oregon Taxes
From the brief
US$2Mnet worth that triggers the exit tax
AT€100kdeferred gains: yearly proof from July
HU1%proposed wealth tax above 1bn forints
The Tax Brief · Subscribe free

More like this, every two weeks.

Verified rates, real after-tax figures, plain English. Free.

Bi-weekly. No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.