How to buy a second apartment in NYC without paying resident tax?

[sleepydragon]

For the NYC real estate gurus here, wondering if any of you have some advice on this?

 

I would like to buy an apt in NYC for my parents to live in. Unfortunately they are too poor to afford it and couldn’t get a mortgage, so I have to buy it.

The problem is I live in CT but work in NYC. Apparently New York State has this stupid law saying if you “have access to” an apt in New York AND if you enter the boarder by more than 180 days per year, then you have to pay resident taxes (NY state and NYC city taxes). Even if you don’t sleep in NYC for a single night, you will get audited and will go a significant length to proof it (for example, show a GPS tracked location logs etc..)

 

So my question is how I can buy a second apt in NYC, which I hope to use it occasionally myself (as guest to my parents), without being seen as a resident?

 

 

Thanks!

 

[Gregmal]

For the NYC real estate gurus here, wondering if any of you have some advice on this?

 

I would like to buy an apt in NYC for my parents to live in. Unfortunately they are too poor to afford it and couldn’t get a mortgage, so I have to buy it.

The problem is I live in CT but work in NYC. Apparently New York State has this stupid law saying if you “have access to” an apt in New York AND if you enter the boarder by more than 180 days per year, then you have to pay resident taxes (NY state and NYC city taxes). Even if you don’t sleep in NYC for a single night, you will get audited and will go a significant length to proof it (for example, show a GPS tracked location logs etc..)

 

So my question is how I can buy a second apt in NYC, which I hope to use it occasionally myself (as guest to my parents), without being seen as a resident?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Cant you buy it and then sell it to an LLC owned by your parents? A lot depends on how you are financing it.

[LC]

If you rent it to your folks, does NYC consider you “having access” to the apartment?

[sleepydragon]

If you rent it to your folks, does NYC consider you “having access” to the apartment?

 

 

Maybe not, but I will need to register it with local govt as a rental and be ready to show tax returns and rent checks. Since it’s rented to my parents, it may attract suspicious that I am trying to get around the rules.

 

One way I am thinking is just to gift the money to my parents and they buy it. But I would much prefer to own it since I paid for it

 

[John Hjorth]

... I would like to buy an apt in NYC for my parents to live in. Unfortunately they are too poor to afford it and couldn’t get a mortgage, so I have to buy it. ...

 

I just want to say that you are a good person, sleepydragon.

[LC]

You could own it through some type of trust which would limit your access.

[arbcon]

I would seek advice before doing this. The famous"access" case was a family in New Canaan who had a very small home in the Hamptons for his wife's parents and who worked in New York. Even though the Hampton home was 120 miles away they were deemed to have access. I think it cost them 500,000.

Be extremely careful here.

 

[lnofeisone]

I would seek advice before doing this. The famous"access" case was a family in New Canaan who had a very small home in the Hamptons for his wife's parents and who worked in New York. Even though the Hampton home was 120 miles away they were deemed to have access. I think it cost them 500,000.

Be extremely careful here.

 

I'd second this. NYS (and many other states) are stepping up their examination practices (audit) to close Corona-related revenue shortfalls. Here is an example (https://esd.ny.gov/doing-business-ny/requests-proposals/2020-mwbe-personal-net-worth-study-and-workforce-diversity). Cross-border activities have always been a priority for states but only in recent years have the capabilities (tighter integration with IRS data, cross-state data sharing, technology, etc.) improved enough to really make a difference. You'll need to be really buttoned up should someone stumble on you (or this thread).