State Tax Talks with Joe Tantillo

Joe is joined by Hodgson Russ partners Liz Pascal and Chris Doyle to discuss the nuts and bolts of the pass-through entity tax. The panel begins its discussion with an overview of what exactly a pass-through entity tax is, and how it’s tied to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The panel also discusses some of the basics of making the PTET election, including who can make the election and when the deadline is in New York State.

In part two of our pass-through entity tax discussion, Joe, Liz, and Chris discuss the nuts and bolts of calculating PTET income for partnerships and S-corporations. The panel also discusses the complexities surrounding the credit and the addback of taxes paid at the individual level in New York. The panel also dives into some of the nuances of the New York City pass-through entity tax as well as some frequently asked questions that arise in the world of PTET.

Changing your domicile can be a challenge. Changing your domicile to a foreign country is an even bigger challenge. Joe is joined by Tim Noonan and Diana Mathis for an in-depth discussion of the rules governing changes of residency out of New York to a foreign country. The panel also discusses the 548-Day Rule safe harbor within the New York tax law, which allows people to escape taxation as a resident if they spend enough time abroad and meet other requirements.

In this episode of State Tax Talks, Joe brings in California tax professional and Hodgson Russ Partner, Daniel Kelly for a nuts and bolts overview of California’s rules on changing your residency for tax purposes. The two start at the top with a discussion on California’s law surrounding domicile as well as a few safe harbor provisions included in the California tax law. California, much like New York, utilizes a complex analysis for making a determination as to whether someone has successfully abandoned their California residency. Dan and Joe look to peel back the layers of the primary test for our listeners.

Joe and Dan continue their discussion on California’s tax residency rules, and they delve into the complexity and ambiguity of California’s temporary/transitory purpose test. They highlight the unique rules associated with the test, and they discuss how California leans on the objective factors in its “closest connections test” when the temporary/transitory analysis doesn’t result in a firm domicile determination.

Joe is joined by Mark Klein and Andrew Wright to discuss some of the most common errors in the world of tax residency. The panel discussed misconceptions related to changing your residency, such as misunderstanding surrounding the six months and a day test and failing to move near and dear items to your new home. These common mistakes can derail and otherwise carefully planned move for taxpayers who are not careful.

Joe, Mark Klein, and Andrew Wright continue their discussion about common tax residency errors, and the panel delves into topics that frequently create unnecessary difficulty in New York State audits. Everything from “country club advice” to errors in the tax return, this episode is a must listen for anyone considering making a move out of state.

Joe is joined by Hodgson Russ Partners Joseph Endres & Craig Reilly to discuss the nuances of selling software in the modern era. The evolution of software as a service (“SaaS”) has complicated the multistate tax rules for those selling and buying SaaS. The panel breaks down some of the high-level issues that SaaS vendors face when navigating their tax obligations across the U.S.

Joe, Craig Reilly, and Joseph Endres continue their conversation on common sales tax issues faced by software vendors, including the intricate web of multistate rules on taxability and sourcing. The panel also dives in to the question of defining the primary function of a service and how the primary function analysis weighs more heavily on vendors of software, given how many states tax (or don’t tax) sales of SaaS.

In the final part of our trilogy on taxing sales of software, Joe, Craig Reilly, and Joseph Endres dig into the details of how New York audits companies that sell software. The panel breaks down common audit areas, good record keeping, and use tax concerns. The panel concludes by analyzing software as a service and the taxation of digital products in the Metaverse Era.