In our article, we wondered aloud whether states like New York could loosen such day count limitations or requirements for taxpayers impacted by shutdown or travel restrictions. This of course has to be balanced with an understanding that state budgets in particular – like pretty much every other American’s budget this year – is thrown into chaos because of economic slowdowns.
Interestingly, the Treasury Department seemed to jump in front of some of these issues recently, at least with respect to different types of federal tests that have similar day count requirements. Specifically, the IRS issued guidance providing relief to individuals and businesses affected by travel disruptions in new published guidance:
- First they issued an FAQ, providing that certain business activities conducted by a nonresident alien or foreign corporations will not be counted for up to 60 days in determining whether the taxpayer was engaged in a trade or business or had a permanent establishment;
- Also, a new Revenue Procedure provides that exclusions from gross income under IRC § 911 for individuals outside the country for at least 330 full days will not be impacted as a result of days spent away from a foreign country due to the travel restrictions, through July 15, 2020.
- Another Revenue Procedure provides that for purposes of counting U.S. residency and determining whether an individual applies for tax treaty benefits, a period of up to 60 consecutive calendar days of U.S. presence that relate to travel restrictions will not be counted.
Of interest, this Revenue Proc also contains an excellent justification for the relaxation of day-count restrictions, given the powerful impact it has had on a taxpayer’s ability to travel freely:
“The COVID-19 Emergency, as defined in section 3.01 of this revenue procedure, may have affected the travel plans of foreign travelers who intended to leave the United States. Regardless of whether they were infected with the COVID-19 virus, individuals may have become severely restricted in their movements, including by order of government authorities. Individuals who do not have the COVID-19 virus and attempt to leave the United States may also face canceled flights and disruptions in other forms of transportation, shelter-in-place orders, quarantines, and border closures. Additionally, even those who can travel may feel unsafe doing so during the COVID-19 Emergency due to recommendations to implement social distancing and limit exposure to public spaces.”
Because of these unprecedented developments, the IRS has rightfully and reasonably taken steps to protect taxpayers who would otherwise be negatively impacted through no fault of their own. These are exactly the kind of day-count relief provisions that our article outlines as possible in New York and other states. Indeed, like the gross income exclusion relief in IRC § 911, the 548-day rule requires a taxpayer to spend a certain amount of days outside the country during a specified period in order to qualify for relief from New York’s residency tests. So it will be interesting to see if states like New York follow the federal government’s lead.
