In our modern economy, some workers may feel that they practically live at the office. This sentiment pervades our culture sufficiently that one of these workers felt it necessary to get a ruling that he did not actually live in his office (even though he slept there three nights a week). In a recent advisory opinion, TSB-A-18(3)I (Aug. 29, 2018) (the opinion), the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) ruled that a taxpayer’s office was not a “permanent place of abode,” and, therefore, the taxpayer was not a resident of New York for income tax purposes.
Home Away From Home
In the opinion, taxpayer (whose domicile was in Washington, D.C.) worked at an investment management firm on Long Island. Taxpayer oversaw the firm’s securities and commodities trading activities, which included investments that traded during “European and Asian trading hours.” Seemingly, because of both the distance from his domicile and the necessity of working during certain overnight hours, taxpayer typically slept on a Murphy bed in his 330-square-foot office on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night each week. (A Murphy bed is a bed that is built and folds into a wall. In old TV and movie comedies, Murphy beds were used as props, either by falling down and knocking out one of the characters or by folding up and trapping someone in the wall. Taxpayer maintained some work clothes and toiletries in his office.
