Residency tracking insights for multi-state living.

Burden of Proof: Why "They Can’t Prove I Was There" Is Backwards

In a residency audit the state does not have to prove you were there. You have to prove you were not, in New York by clear and convincing evidence, against an assessment the law already presumes is correct. Here is where that rule is written, the narrow situations where the burden runs the other way, and why a man with 169 New York days still lost.

August 22, 2026

Residency Rules

Any Part of a Day: The Rule That Ruins Careful Plans

A lunch meeting counts. A late landing counts. In New York, arriving at 11 p.m. and leaving at 6 a.m. is two days, not one. Here is what the any-part-of-a-day rule actually says, the two narrow exceptions that exist, why Maryland and Minnesota and Utah and Ohio each count differently, and why 20 of 56 jurisdictions have never said what a day is.

August 21, 2026

Evidence

13 min read

The Travel Journal Method, and Why It Fails Under Audit

Keep a travel journal is the advice everyone gives someone changing states. New York’s own audit manual accepts a diary as proof, and then explains how auditors will test it. Here is what happened in the cases where a journal failed, what saved the ones that worked, and how states figure out you moved long before anyone asks to see your calendar.

August 20, 2026

Evidence

Can Google Location History Prove Your Residency?

Google moved Timeline off its servers and onto your phone, set the default retention to three months, and told the Supreme Court it can no longer answer geofence warrants. That changes what your location history is in a residency audit: not an independent third-party record the state can verify, but your own record, carrying its own confidence scores, that has to be corroborated by something else. Here is what states actually ask for, what Timeline is good for, and where it fails.

August 19, 2026

Day Counting

The Cinderella Rule: How Billionaires Count Midnight

New York does not count hours. It counts calendar days, and presence for any part of one spends the whole day. That is why a hedge fund founder built his entire year 2000 around leaving the city before midnight, and why his $26.7 million case came down to four days out of 366. Here is what the Tax Appeals Tribunal actually held, taken from the decision itself and from the audit manual that now cites it.

August 18, 2026

Residency Audit

What a State Residency Audit Actually Asks For, Month by Month

A residency audit does not arrive as one giant document demand. It arrives as a sequence, and every state runs roughly the same one: a short questionnaire, then a document request, then a rebuilt day count from other people’s records, then a request to extend the statute of limitations, then a position letter and a countdown measured in days. Here is that sequence in New York, California, and Connecticut, taken from the agencies’ own audit manuals.

August 16, 2026

Residency Audit

11 min read

Your Neighbor Can Trigger a Residency Audit. Here’s How That Actually Works

Yes, a neighbor can report you, and the phone numbers are published. New York takes referrals at 518-457-0578, New Jersey runs a 24-hour recorded tip line, California has a web form, and Florida property appraisers let you report a homestead exemption anonymously. Here is what a tip actually does once it arrives, what New York’s own audit guidelines say has to happen next, and why the same neighbor is also the witness who wins these cases.

August 15, 2026

Domicile

10 min read

The Case That Turned on Where a Man Kept His Dog

New York asserted $430,065 against a CEO who moved to Dallas. He kept his Manhattan apartment, kept a boat in the Hamptons, and won anyway, because he moved his elderly rescue dog. Here is what the near and dear factor actually is, the mirror-image case where a taxpayer lost with a Michigan license in his pocket, and why neither case was decided by a day count.

August 14, 2026

Audit Readiness

Establishing Nevada Residency From a Condo-Hotel: The Utility-Bill Paper Trail That Does Not Exist

Condo-hotel units like The Signature at MGM Grand bundle water, sewer, and trash into association dues and leave owners with a single NV Energy electric account. That quietly removes most of the utility evidence a California residency audit expects to see. Here is what to document instead.

August 11, 2026

Burden of Proof

How to Prove You Were in Arizona When You Rent in Both States

The question people ask is how a state could ever prove they spent six months somewhere when they rent in both places. The question runs backwards. Here is who actually carries the burden, what Arizona's nine-month presumption does and does not give you, and what evidence separates a home you occupy from a home you merely hold.

August 13, 2026

Part-Year Residency

My Lifestyle Is More Ambiguous: Residency When You Split the Year

Most residency guidance assumes a clean move. If you split the year between two states, the question is not whether your life is tidy enough to qualify. It is which of two separate tests you are being measured against, and what part-year versus nonresident filing actually looks like in New York, Minnesota, and Illinois.

August 12, 2026

Cost of Audit

What Does It Cost to Defend a Residency Audit?

No state publishes what it costs to fight a residency audit. Working from practitioner fee schedules, published audit statistics, and our own 56-jurisdiction research, here is what the defense bill actually looks like and what drives it.

August 11, 2026

State Rules

Only 32 of 56 US Jurisdictions Use the 183-Day Rule. Here Is What the Other 24 Do

We researched residency rules for all 50 states, Washington DC, and the 5 US territories across 538 cited sources. Only 32 use a 183-day threshold, 7 set a different number, and 17 have no bright-line day count at all. Here is how to read the comparison.

August 10, 2026

Audit Readiness

7 min read

California Residency Audits Reach Your Vet Records. Here Is Why That Matters Beyond Billionaires

Ahead of a November ballot measure on a billionaire wealth tax, the Franchise Tax Board is preparing to test who actually left California before January 1, 2026. The evidence it examines, down to where your pets see a veterinarian, applies to far more than billionaires.

August 10, 2026

Business Sale

Residency Planning Before Selling Your Business

Planning a business sale? Learn how residency timing, move milestones, evidence references, advisor review, and AuditIQ Reconstruction planning can support a clearer residency record.

August 7, 2026

Migration Planning

Keeping Two Homes: How to Change Residency Without Cutting Every Tie

You can own homes in two states and still change your domicile. State guidance treats the retained home as a comparison, not a disqualifier. Here is what California and New York actually examine, and where a second home creates a separate statutory residency problem.

August 5, 2026

Part-Year Residency

Part-Year Residency Guide: How to Organize a Mid-Year Move

Learn how to organize movement, evidence, state rules, planning milestones, and advisor review when residency changes during a tax year.

August 5, 2026

Audit Readiness

New York Residency Audit Guide: Why 184 Days and an Apartment Can Create Exposure

Learn why New York statutory residency can involve both day counts and permanent-place-of-abode facts, including NYC exposure, partial-day counting, and retained residence risk.

August 4, 2026

Moving Strategy

10 min read

The First 90 Days After Moving: 30 Steps to Strengthen Your New State Residency

Moving to a new state? Learn the most important residency steps to take during your first 90 days to strengthen your domicile, reduce audit risk, and build a stronger residency record.

August 3, 2026

Athletes & Entertainers

7 min read

Sam Darnold Won the Super Bowl and Still Lost Money to California

Sam Darnold’s Super Bowl bonus was $178,000. Reporting puts his California tax bill on just 8 duty days above that. Here’s how the "jock tax" works, and why a story like this helped inspire ResidencyIQ.

July 9, 2026

Migration Planning

6 min read

What the Billionaire Exodus to Florida Actually Requires

Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Mark Zuckerberg have all reportedly bought Florida real estate amid a proposed California wealth tax. A mansion purchase and a defensible residency change are not the same thing.

July 9, 2026

Reconstruction

7 min read

Take a Lot of Photos? You May Have Saved Part of Your Residency Timeline

Phone photos may contain timestamp and location metadata that can help support a reconstructed residency timeline when reviewed alongside travel, calendar, statement, and evidence records.

June 28, 2026

Moving Strategy

Moving Over July 4 Weekend? Start Tracking Your Residency Now, Even Mid-Year

If you are moving to a target state during the July 4 holiday period, starting residency tracking mid-year can still help organize movement, evidence, and advisor-ready records.

June 28, 2026

Residency Rules

What Counts as a Day for State Tax Residency? Why the 183-Day Rule Is Not Enough

Learn why the 183-day rule is only part of state tax residency and how days, nights, domicile evidence, and advisor-ready records can affect residency exposure.

June 26, 2026

Audit Readiness