New York Form IT-203 is the state income tax return for nonresidents and part-year residents with income connected to New York. You file it with the Department of Taxation and Finance, and it uses a two-column layout: one column mirrors your federal income, the other captures only the portion New York actually taxes. The return is due April 15, 2026, for the 2025 tax year, with a six-month extension available on request.
Who Has to File
New York Tax Law Section 605 sets the residency line. You’re a resident if you’re domiciled in the state, or if you keep a permanent place of abode here and spend more than 183 days in New York during the year. Anyone who doesn’t meet either test is a nonresident. A part-year resident is someone who moved into or out of the state during the year.
You must file IT-203 if you’re a nonresident or part-year resident and your New York adjusted gross income (the Federal Amount on line 31) exceeds your New York standard deduction.1New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Filing Information for New York State Nonresidents New York source income covers wages for work performed in the state, income from a business operating here, rent from New York property, and gains from selling New York real estate.2Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-203
The 2025 New York standard deduction amounts are $8,000 single ($3,100 if someone can claim you as a dependent federally), $16,050 married filing jointly, and $11,200 head of household. If your income falls below the amount that applies to you, you likely don’t need to file.3New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. 2025 Standard Deductions
Remote Workers: The Convenience of the Employer Rule
If your employer’s office is in New York and you telecommute from another state, New York treats your work-from-home days as New York work days unless your home office qualifies as a “bona fide employer office.” That means a dedicated space the employer designates as an established work location, not simply permission to work remotely. If your home office doesn’t meet that standard, your full salary is treated as New York source income and you owe tax on it, even on days you never entered the state.4New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. TSB-M-06(5)I
If You Moved During the Year
Part-year residents file two returns: Form IT-201 for the resident portion of the year and Form IT-203 for the nonresident portion.5Legal Information Institute. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 20 154.1 The IT-203 covers only income earned during your nonresident period that is sourced to New York.
What to Gather Before You Start
- Your completed federal Form 1040. Nearly every income line on IT-203 pulls from it, and you can’t finish the state return without it.2Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-203
- W-2s, 1099s, and federal Schedules C, D, E, or F if you had business, capital gain, rental, or farm income.6Department of Taxation and Finance. Form IT-203
- Social Security numbers for you, your spouse, and any dependents.
- Day-count records. Part-year filers need the exact move date, and every filer benefits from a log of days worked in New York versus elsewhere, because income allocation depends on it.
- Records of New York additions and subtractions. Interest from other states’ municipal bonds is added back; interest from U.S. government obligations is subtracted.
Working Through the Form
The two-column layout is the core of IT-203. The Federal Amount column mirrors your federal return. The New York State Amount column captures only the portion of each income type sourced to New York. Getting the relationship between the columns right is the whole task.
Taxpayer Information
At the top, mark your residency status on the last day of the tax year: lived in New York, lived outside New York with state source income, or lived outside with no state source income. Enter your filing status, Social Security numbers, and dependents. Part-year residents also enter the date their residency changed.
Income Lines
Enter the full federal amount first on each line, then the New York portion. Wages are straightforward when your W-2 shows a state allocation. Business income, partnership distributions, and S corporation income take more work, because you have to determine what share ties to New York activity. The instructions include specific allocation methods for each income type, and part-year residents with pass-through income follow a proration method that splits income between the resident and nonresident periods.2Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-203
New York Adjustments
After transferring federal figures, adjust for items New York treats differently. Common additions: interest on other states’ municipal bonds, which is federally tax-free but taxable in New York. Common subtractions: interest on U.S. government obligations and certain pension income. These produce your New York adjusted gross income on line 31.
The Allocation Percentage
Here the dual-column design earns its keep. You first compute tax on your full income as if all of it were taxable, then multiply by an allocation percentage: the ratio of New York income to total federal income. The result is what New York actually collects. The method taxes only New York income, but at the rate that reflects your overall earnings, so nonresidents don’t artificially benefit from lower brackets.
New York’s rates run from 4% on the first several thousand dollars of taxable income up to 10.9% on income above $25 million; most filers land between 4% and 6.85%. Errors in the allocation percentage are among the most common triggers for automated correction notices, so verify that the New York amount on each income line reflects only state-sourced income.
New York City, Yonkers, and MCTMT
IT-203 also handles local taxes for some filers. Part-year New York City residents owe city income tax for the portion of the year they lived in the city, calculated on Form IT-360.1 and carried to line 51 of IT-203.6Department of Taxation and Finance. Form IT-203 Nonresidents who work in the city but live elsewhere owe no city income tax. The city taxes residents only.
Yonkers is different. It imposes a 0.5% nonresident earnings tax on wages earned in Yonkers even if you live somewhere else. If that applies, complete Form Y-203 and carry the amount to your IT-203.7New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form Y-203 Part-year Yonkers residents may need both IT-360.1 and Y-203.
Self-employed individuals earning above a threshold within the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District may owe the MCTMT. The calculation uses the same business allocation rules as personal income tax, and the amount is reported on IT-203. Form IT-203-A (Business Allocation Schedule) and the IT-203 instructions cover how to determine whether you’re over the threshold.8New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. MCTMT – Self-Employed
Credit for Taxes Paid to Another State
Part-year residents who paid income tax to another state during their New York resident period can claim a credit on Form IT-112-R to avoid double taxation. The credit applies only to income both sourced to and taxed by the other jurisdiction while you were a New York resident. If you paid tax to more than one state or locality, file a separate IT-112-R for each.9New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-112-R
Nonresidents don’t use IT-112-R. If your home state taxes the same income New York taxes, claim the credit on your home state’s return, not on IT-203.
Filing the Return
Electronic Filing
New York requires you to e-file if you prepare your return using tax software that supports electronic filing and you have broadband access. If you fill out blank forms downloaded from the Department by hand, you’re exempt from the mandate.10New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. E-File Requirement for Individual Taxpayers Depending on your income, you may qualify for free e-filing through the state’s Free File program; check the Department’s site for the current year’s eligibility and participating software.11New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Form IT-203 E-File Options State law bars software companies from charging extra for e-filing; the cost must be built into the base price.
Mailing a Paper Return
Paper filers use one of two addresses depending on whether payment is enclosed:
- No payment: State Processing Center, PO Box 61000, Albany, NY 12261-0001
- With payment: State Processing Center, PO Box 15555, Albany, NY 12212-5555
Include Form IT-201-V with any check or money order, filled in completely with your Social Security number, tax year, and exact payment amount so the state credits your account correctly.12New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-201-V A return sent to the wrong P.O. Box is still valid but will process more slowly.13New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Mailing Address (Personal Income Tax Returns)
Checking on Your Refund
Use the “Check Your Refund” tool on the Department’s website. E-filed returns become trackable about 72 hours after submission; paper returns take roughly four weeks to appear. Simple returns move faster, and returns claiming credits that see heavy fraud attempts go through additional review.14New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Check Your Refund Status Online
Deadlines, Extensions, and Penalties
Form IT-203 for tax year 2025 is due April 15, 2026. Form IT-370 gets you an automatic six-month extension to October 15, 2026. An extension buys time to file, not time to pay. You must estimate your tax and pay it by April 15 to avoid interest and penalties.
If you expect to owe $300 or more in New York State tax after withholding and credits, make quarterly estimated payments on Form IT-2105. For calendar-year filers in 2026, quarterly due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, 2027.15New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Who Must Make Estimated Tax Payments? The same $300 threshold applies separately for New York City and Yonkers taxes.
Filing after April 15 without an extension triggers a penalty of 5% of unpaid tax per month or partial month, capped at 25%. Interest accrues on unpaid tax from the original due date whether or not you filed an extension. The underpayment of estimated tax penalty is set at the federal short-term rate plus 5.5 percentage points, with a 7.5% floor.16New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Interest and Penalties If you can’t pay in full, pay as much as possible by the deadline: the late-filing penalty is calculated on the unpaid balance.