American Samoa 183-Day Rule: Statutory Residency Checker

American Samoa's actual test

American Samoa uses the same federal IRC section 937 bona fide residency test that applies to all five territories: the presence test, the tax home test, and the closer connection test, all of which must be met for the same tax year. This federal test determines whether someone's American Samoa-source income is exempt from U.S. tax; American Samoa's own independent tax code separately determines what is owed to the territory itself.

Any part of a day

Any part of a day physically present in American Samoa counts as a full presence day, and a day spent in both American Samoa and the mainland U.S. counts toward American Samoa. Publication 570 includes an American Samoa-specific example involving a fishing-vessel worker: days spent on a vessel predominantly used in local and international waters do not count as a tax home outside the territory, a rule of particular relevance to American Samoa's tuna-fleet economy.

Methodology and sources

The threshold, presumption, and rule text shown here come directly from American Samoa's researched dossier, reviewed against 7 primary sources including American Samoa Government Tax Office. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.

183-Day Rule Checker

Check your day count against American Samoa's actual rule.

Jurisdiction

Entry method

Days spent in American Samoa this tax year

Clear

183 days below the 183-day threshold

Days counted

0

0 days is comfortably under the 183-day statutory threshold. The day-count test alone would not make you a statutory resident here at this pace, though domicile and other facts-and-circumstances tests can still apply independently.

American Samoa's actual test

American Samoa uses the same federal IRC section 937 bona fide residency test that applies to all five territories: the presence test, the tax home test, and the closer connection test, all of which must be met for the same tax year. This federal test determines whether someone's American Samoa-source income is exempt from U.S. tax; American Samoa's own independent tax code separately determines what is owed to the territory itself.

Any part of a day

Any part of a day physically present in American Samoa counts as a full presence day, and a day spent in both American Samoa and the mainland U.S. counts toward American Samoa. Publication 570 includes an American Samoa-specific example involving a fishing-vessel worker: days spent on a vessel predominantly used in local and international waters do not count as a tax home outside the territory, a rule of particular relevance to American Samoa's tuna-fleet economy.

General information based on published dossier research, not tax or legal advice. Consult a qualified advisor before relying on a day count for a filing position.

American Samoa Day-Count FAQ

Do I pay U.S. federal income tax on income I earn in American Samoa?+

If you're a bona fide American Samoa resident under the federal presence, tax home, and closer connection tests, your American Samoa-source income is generally exempt from U.S. federal tax. You do need to report worldwide income on your American Samoa return, and if you have non-American Samoa-source income above the filing threshold, you'll still need to file a U.S. return excluding the American Samoa income using Form 4563.

How many days do I need to be in American Samoa to count as a bona fide resident?+

183 days in the tax year is the cleanest path under the federal presence test, but there are four alternatives, including 549 days across the current and two prior years with at least 60 days each year. Meeting a presence prong alone is not enough; you also need to pass the tax home test and the closer connection test, which for American Samoa often weighs matai title, extended-family (aiga) ties, and lease-based home arrangements rather than conventional homeownership.

I work on a fishing vessel based in American Samoa but spend most of my time at sea. Does that hurt my residency claim?+

Not necessarily. Publication 570 includes a fishing-vessel-specific example: if the vessel is predominantly used in local and international waters rather than the territorial waters of the U.S., another territory, or a foreign country, time spent working at sea does not by itself create a tax home outside American Samoa. This matters directly for American Samoa's tuna-fleet workforce.

Read the full American Samoa residency guide

Day count is one part of the picture. The full guide covers domicile, exit audit risk, the establishment checklist, tax profile, and special situations for American Samoa.

Open the American Samoa residency guide