New York's 183-day rule, explained (the state says 184)
New York counts any part of a day, and the test is 184 or more days plus a permanent place of abode. What counts, what doesn't, and what to keep.
New York counts any part of a day in the state as a full day, and taxes you as a resident if you spend 184 or more days there in a year and keep a permanent place of abode in the state. Both parts have to be true. The number everyone searches for is 183; the state’s own page says 184 or more.
This explains how a state counts days. It is not tax or legal advice. Confirm your situation with a tax professional.
The test has two parts
New York’s definitions page sets out what the state calls statutory residency. You are taxed as a resident, even if your home is elsewhere, when both of these are true in the same year:
| Part | What New York says | What it means for a two-home household |
|---|---|---|
| Days | 184 or more days in the state during the year | Every day you set foot in New York, with two narrow exceptions below |
| Abode | A permanent place of abode in New York for substantially all of the year | A house or apartment you keep, suitable for year-round use, owned or rented |
Miss either part and the statutory-residency test is not met. Meet both and the state treats all of your income as a resident’s, wherever it was earned. Domicile, the question of where your true home is, is a separate test with its own rules, and this page does not cover it.
What counts as a day
Any part of a day. Arrive at 11 p.m. and that is a New York day. Leave at 7 a.m. the next morning and that is a second one. The state’s audit guidelines quote the regulation: presence in the state for any part of a calendar day is a day spent in New York, and they add that this holds “for whatever reason (business or pleasure)”.
The guidelines also give the case that trips people up. A Connecticut couple who lived on the border drove into New York on 21 and 22 days in two years, to shop and eat. Those days counted, and the couple were statutory residents. The judge’s line is worth remembering: there is no shopping or dining exception.
What this means in practice: if you keep a New York home and spend winters south, your count is not “the days I lived in New York.” It is every day you were in the state at all, including the drive up, the drive down, a day trip from Connecticut, and a layover where you left the airport.
The two exceptions
The same guidelines list the only two situations where presence does not count.
Travel. A day is disregarded if you were in New York solely to board a plane, ship, train or bus for somewhere outside the state, or you were continuing a trip that began outside New York and ends outside it. Stops that are incidental to the travel keep it a travel day: the guidelines name stopping for gas or a meal while driving through, buying something at the terminal, or using an ATM. Arriving a day early for a meeting does not.
Medical confinement. Days spent as an inpatient in a New York medical facility are generally not counted. Outpatient days generally are. The guidelines call this a sensitive area and tell auditors to handle it with care, which is a reason to keep the paperwork.
There is no exception for weather, family emergencies, or a hurricane that keeps you in the state. If it was not travel-through or inpatient care, it counts.
What “permanent place of abode” means
The definitions page describes it as a residence you maintain permanently, whether or not you own it, that is suitable for year-round use. A camp, a barracks, or a structure without ordinary living facilities does not qualify. A place kept only for a temporary stay does not qualify either.
Two points from the guidelines matter for a two-home household:
- The abode test and the day test are separate. You do not have to use the New York home on every New York day for the days to count, and the days count even on a trip where you stayed in a hotel.
- “Substantially all of the year” is about how long you maintain the abode, not how often you sleep there. Keeping the house all year and visiting it for a week still maintains it all year.
Who has to prove it
You do. The regulation requires anyone domiciled outside New York who keeps a permanent place of abode there, and claims to be a nonresident, to keep adequate records showing they did not spend more than 183 days in the state. In an audit the standard is clear and convincing evidence, and the state reconstructs your year from cell phone records, tolls, card statements and travel bookings.
What has worked, according to the state’s own guidelines: contemporaneously kept diaries or calendars backed by credible testimony, documentary evidence showing an overall living pattern, and in some cases credible testimony alone. What has not worked: records built after the fact with gaps the auditor can fill from your phone bill.
The practical reading is simple. Start a day log before you need one, keep it as you go, and keep the receipts that show where you were on travel days. StateClock, coming soon, does the first part automatically from your phone; a free day-count spreadsheet does it by hand.
Where to read the rule yourself
The two documents this page is built on are public:
- New York’s income tax definitions, which state the 184-day test and define the abode.
- The Department’s Nonresident Audit Guidelines (December 2021), pages 52 to 55, which explain how auditors count a day, the two exceptions, and what records meet the burden.
Rules change. The facts on this page were checked in October 2026 and are re-checked every January.
Frequently asked questions
Is it 183 days or 184?
The statute says more than 183 days. New York's own definitions page phrases it as 184 days or more. They mean the same thing; 184 is the first day that meets the test.
Does a day I only drive through New York count?
Not if you are continuing a trip that began outside the state and ends outside it, and your stops are incidental, such as gas or a meal. Getting out to do something purposeful, like shopping, makes it a New York day.
Do hospital days count?
Days confined as an inpatient in a New York medical facility are generally not counted. Outpatient visits generally are. The state's audit guidelines treat this as a sensitive area; keep the records.
What if I keep a New York home but live in Florida?
Then both parts of the test matter: the New York home may be a permanent place of abode, and every part-day in New York counts. The state's page and the guidelines are linked above; your tax professional applies them to your facts.