In a typical case, the IRS will audit federal tax issues, and when audit changes are made, it will notify New York State. With little additional work, New York will bill the taxpayer the amount of additional state tax resulting from these federal tax changes. Taxpayers are required to report the IRS audit changes on a New York State amended return within 90 days of the IRS notification, regardless of whether they receive a bill from the state.

Last month, the TaxStringer published our article, The Multistate Tax Implications of a Mobile Workforce, on various tax considerations facing employers with an increasingly mobile workforce. How the world has changed in just a few weeks!

In 2019, Americans took an estimated 470 million domestic business trips, and spent more than $327 billion on business travel, which has increased year after year. In fact, global business travel is forecasted to increase by 6.9% in 2020. Surveys suggest that 85% of companies have employees who work outside their resident jurisdiction—and more employees are travelling away from their home business location than ever before.

A case concerning New York State statutory residency for the years 2012 and 2013 was recently decided by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the matter of Nelson Obus. This case reveals specifics of the law surrounding statutory residency, and how that law can potentially trip up taxpayers.

A hearing was held before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Barbara J. Russo in the matter or SoulCycle, Inc. vs. the NYS Division of Taxation. The determination was issued on May 23, 2019.