Medical professionals are trained to help those in need, so it was no surprise that countless nurses and doctors answered the call to drop everything and go to New York City to assist with the sudden increase in patients during the coronavirus pandemic. While working within New York State, these workers are subject to income tax on the wages earned.

New York State Tax Law, Section 601(e) imposes personal income tax on New York sourced income for a nonresident individual. If the individual works 14 days or less during the calendar year they may be relieved of paying New York income tax on those wages. There are, of course, other criteria and exceptions to this.
In early May, Governor Cuomo confirmed that New York State plans to assess state income tax to the health care workers who came to New York State to help treat coronavirus patients. If they worked in New York State for over 14 days, they will be expected to pay income tax to the state.

According to the Governor, the state is not in a position to provide any subsidies due to the current $13 billion deficit. The state plans to tax these individuals’ wages as usual with no exemptions or waivers. Governor Cuomo suggested a deal in which he will consider waiving the income tax as long as New York receives more federal assistance.

This puts these healthcare workers in an unfavorable situation. If this were to happen again, would they make the same choice knowing the financial ramifications of their decision?

If you have questions about your state and local tax (SALT) requirements, contact our team today!

Reference: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickgleason/2020/05/08/andrew-cuomo-confirms-new-york-will-tax-out-of-state-volunteer-health-workers-congress-can-stop-this/#1753d4b95f12 
https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/income/m12_5i.pdf