Permanent place of abode

A permanent place of abode is half of New York’s statutory resident test. The other half is more than 183 days in the state. Together they make you a resident, even when your domicile is in another state. A day in New York counts toward the test whether or not you spend it at the home. Passing through the state does not count.

New York’s regulation adds that you must keep the home for substantially all of the year. In a year you acquire or give up the home, its auditors generally read that as more than 10 months. So a lease that starts in March will not usually make you a resident that year. A home you rent out for a few summer months still counts as kept for substantially all of the year.

Most homes you could live in all year count, including ones you do not own. A dwelling your spouse owns or leases generally counts, and so does an apartment you rent. A camp or cottage suitable only for vacations, and used only for them, does not. A place without cooking and bathing facilities generally does not count either, and neither does a full-time undergraduate’s housing at school.

Owning a New York home does not by itself make it your permanent place of abode. New York’s highest court looked at a man who owned the Staten Island building where his parents lived. He paid its costs and stayed there occasionally, and it still did not count. The court held that you need a residential interest of your own in the home. Auditors weigh facts such as your right to use it and whether you keep your own things there.