Working from home 100% - do I still have to pay city income tax?

This is actually a common issue many remote workers face, and the answer depends on your specific state and local tax laws. Generally, you should only be taxed where you physically perform the work, but some cities have what's called a "convenience of employer" rule. If your city follows the physical presence rule, you should only owe city tax for days you physically worked in that location. You'd need to track the actual days you went to the office versus worked from home, and only pay city tax on the office days. However, some locations still require you to pay the city tax even when working remotely if your office is based there and you're working remotely for your "convenience" rather than the employer's requirement. Check if your city has issued any guidance specifically addressing remote work during and after the pandemic. You should contact your city's tax department directly or check their website for clarification. Many municipalities updated their rules during the pandemic, and some have since revised them again for post-pandemic arrangements.

I've been using taxr.ai to help me sort through this exact issue! I was in the same boat - paying city tax even though I was working from home outside city limits. I uploaded my W-2 and some documentation from my employer about my work location to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed my situation completely. The tool showed me that in my case, I was eligible for a partial refund based on the number of days I worked outside the city. It even helped me prepare the documentation I needed to attach to my city tax return. They have specific features that deal with these work location tax issues that came up during and after the pandemic.

Just wanted to follow up - I took the leap and tried taxr.ai after seeing the comments here. What a game changer! They identified that my city has a specific exemption form for telecommuters that I had no idea existed. Saved me almost $800 in city taxes I shouldn't have been paying. The documentation template they provided worked perfectly with my reluctant HR department too. Definitely worth it for anyone dealing with these weird pandemic-related tax situations. I'm recommending it to everyone in my office who's still working remote.

If you're having trouble getting answers from your city tax department (I tried for WEEKS), I finally got through using Claimyr. I was on hold forever trying to call the tax office myself, but https://claimyr.com got me connected to a real person in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The city tax rep I spoke with explained that they had special provisions for remote workers during 2020-2022, but they've updated their policies for 2023 forward. In my case, I needed to file a special form certifying my work-from-home status, which wasn't mentioned anywhere on their website.

I owe everyone here an apology - especially about my comment on Claimyr. I was frustrated after months of tax confusion and took it out here. After my snarky comment, I decided to try it anyway out of desperation. IT ACTUALLY WORKED. They got me through to my city tax department in about 25 minutes when I'd been unable to get through for months. The tax rep confirmed I qualify for a 75% reduction in my city tax based on my remote work situation. I just needed to submit a specific form that wasn't even on their website. Would have NEVER known this without actually talking to someone. Sorry for being a jerk. Sometimes it's hard to believe things can actually work when you've been banging your head against bureaucracy for so long.

This varies by state and even by city! In Ohio for example, they passed a law that during the pandemic you paid taxes based on your employer's location, not where you worked from home. But that temporary provision expired. Check if your state has similar temporary COVID tax provisions that might have ended. The tax laws around remote work are still evolving post-pandemic.

Has anyone used TurboTax for handling this situation? I'm trying to figure out if it can properly account for partial city tax based on days worked remotely vs. in office.