Free Tool
Google Timeline Day Counter
If you use Google Maps, your phone has been quietly recording where you have been for years. Save a copy of it, drop it in below, and see how many days you spent in each state, checked against that state’s actual tax threshold. It is read on your own device and never uploaded. Takes about two minutes, and we show you exactly how to find the file.
39 of 56 jurisdictions run a bright-line day-count test this tool checks your days against, with the cited rule text for each.
Your data never leaves your device
People already treat Google Timeline as their own informal proof of where they were. This tool reads that export the way a spreadsheet would: locally, in your browser, with nothing uploaded. That is why it works with no login and no file size sent anywhere.
Methodology and sources
Locations in your export are matched to a state or territory using point-in-polygon geometry against a simplified US Census Bureau cartographic boundary set, bundled with the page. A day counts as present in a state if any point that day resolves inside its boundary, matching the "any part of a day" convention most day-count states use.
Every statutory threshold shown against your day counts comes from that state’s researched dossier, sourced from the state revenue agency, statutes, or professional firm guidance, each with a recorded source.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Boundaries are simplified for performance, so days very close to a state line may resolve imprecisely. Google Timeline data was not designed as legal evidence.
First, get your file
Your phone has already been keeping this record.
If you use Google Maps, your phone has quietly saved where you have been, going back years. It is called your Timeline, only you can see it, and Google lets you save a copy of it. That copy is what this tool reads.
- 1Open the Google Maps app.
- 2Tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- 3Tap Settings, then Location & privacy.
- 4Scroll down and tap Export Timeline data.
- 5Tap Save to Files, pick a place you will remember, then tap Save.
You are looking for a file named something like location-history.json
Easiest way to finish: open this page on the same phone, tap the box below, and pick that file. Nothing gets uploaded, so doing it on your phone is just as private as doing it on a computer.
Prefer a bigger screen? Email the file to yourself, or save it to iCloud Drive or Google Drive, then open this page on your computer.
Do not see an Export option? Your Timeline may be turned off, in which case there is nothing saved to export. You can turn it on in the same settings screen, though it only records from that point forward.
Everything below runs in your browser. Your Timeline file is read, parsed, and analyzed locally: it is never uploaded, transmitted, or stored on any ResidencyIQ server.
Tap here to choose your Timeline file
Or drag it in. Usually named location-history.json or Timeline.json. Older Google Takeout files named Records.json work too.
General information based on published dossier research, not tax or legal advice. State boundaries used here are simplified for performance; days very close to a border may resolve imprecisely.
Built from the same 56 dossiers as the migration matrix
The thresholds this tool checks your day counts against match the rule cited in ResidencyIQ’s full state guides and the 183-Day Rule Checker.
Browse all 56 jurisdiction guidesGoogle Timeline Day Counter FAQ
Does my Google Timeline data leave my browser?+
No. This tool reads the file you drop or select, parses it, and matches each location to a state entirely inside your browser’s own JavaScript. ResidencyIQ’s servers never receive the file, and nothing about its contents is transmitted, logged, or stored anywhere. You can turn off your internet connection after the page loads and the tool keeps working, because it never needed a network request to begin with.
What is Google Timeline, and do I have it?+
If you use Google Maps on your phone, Timeline is the private record it keeps of places you have been. Only you can see it. Most people have it switched on without ever having looked at it, and it often goes back years. If it was switched off, there is nothing saved to look at, and turning it on now only records from today forward.
How do I get the file off my phone?+
The step-by-step instructions are at the top of this page, with separate steps for iPhone and Android. The short version: on iPhone it is in the Google Maps app under your profile picture, and on Android it is in your phone Settings under Location. Both end with an Export Timeline data button that saves a file. The simplest way to finish is to open this page on that same phone and pick the file, since nothing is uploaded either way.
What kind of file should I be looking for?+
On iPhone it is usually named location-history.json, and on Android usually Timeline.json. If you saved your data years ago through Google Takeout instead, that older file is named Records.json and works here too. If you pick the wrong file, the tool tells you rather than failing silently.
How does the tool decide what counts as a day in a state?+
Any part of a calendar day with a resolved location inside a state counts as a full day there, the same "any part of a day" convention that most state statutory residency day-count tests use. A single day can count toward more than one state if your Timeline data actually shows you crossing a state line that day.
Is this accurate enough to use in an audit?+
No, and it should not be treated that way. This is an informational estimate: the state boundaries used here are simplified for browser performance, Google Timeline data itself was never designed as legal evidence, and location accuracy varies by device and signal. Treat the results as a starting point for understanding your exposure, not as proof you could hand to a state tax agency.
What happens with a very large export file?+
Files above roughly 300 MB are rejected immediately with a clear message, before anything is read. Within that limit, exports with an unusually large number of location points are analyzed using an evenly spaced sample rather than every single point, so the tool stays fast and does not run your browser out of memory. The results page tells you when this sampling happened.
A day count is a starting point, not a record
This tool tells you what your existing Google data suggests. ResidencyIQ builds the fingerprinted, timestamped, advisor-reviewable record that a day count alone cannot be.
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