Tax Type
Individual Income Tax
Description
Credit for taxes paid to New York properly calculated
Topic
Credits
Date Issued
08-21-1995
August 21, 1995
Re: § 58.1-1821 Application: Individual Income Tax
Dear *************:
This will reply to your letter of June 6, 1995, in which you request the department to consider additional information regarding its ruling concerning your clients, ***********( the "Taxpayers"). See Public Document ("P.D.") 95-108 (5/9/95), copy attached. In this ruling, the department denied your request for permission to use an alternative method to compute the Taxpayers' credit for income tax paid to New York for taxable year 1990.
FACTS
The Taxpayers' credit for income tax paid to New York was adjusted in accordance with the method described in P.D. 95-96. You state this method does not properly take into account the Taxpayers' income from U.S. obligations ("exempt income"). You recommend a modification to the department's computation that you believe more properly accounts for exempt income. In addition, you request the department supply you with a detailed computation of the Taxpayers' credit. Also, you request guidance on how the 1990 Form 760 instructions are applicable to this computation, as you believe these instructions were inadequate.
DETERMINATION
The New York nonresident tax formula requires a nonresident to first compute both New York taxable income and income tax as if they are a resident. The resident tax is converted to a nonresident tax by applying a fraction (the "New York nonresident allocation percentage"), the numerator of which is the gross income from New York sources, and the denominator of which is the gross income from all sources.
Code of Virginia § 58.1-332(A) limits the amount of credit Virginia will allow for income tax paid to another state. The credit will be the lesser of the amount of tax actually paid to the other state (the "tentative credit"), or the amount of Virginia income tax that would have been imposed on the taxpayer if the income earned or derived in the other state had been earned or derived in Virginia (the "limitation"). In order to compute the limitation, a taxpayer must determine the amount of income subject to tax by the other state.
P.D. 95-96 describes the department's method to determine the amount of income on which the New York nonresident tax is based. This ruling requires that the New York nonresident allocation percentage, (which is used to convert the resident tax to the nonresident tax), be applied to the New York taxable income calculated as a resident in order to determine the New York nonresident taxable income. The department considers the result to be the income on which the New York nonresident tax is based for the purposes of calculating the Virginia credit limitation.
You believe the department's method does not give proper regard to a taxpayer's exempt income. You recommend that a taxpayer's exempt income be subtracted from the denominator of the New York nonresident allocation percentage, and the resulting percentage be applied to the New York resident taxable income in order to determine the amount on which the New York tax is based.
The department believes that the New York nonresident calculation has two elements; the amount of income subject to tax, and the incremental rate at which such income is taxed. We believe our method fairly and equitably determines the amount of a nonresident's income which is subject to tax in New York.
The department believes that your methodology would omit an important element of the New York nonresident tax formula. A subtraction for exempt income is permitted in determining New York taxable income. However, this subtraction is not considered in the New York nonresident allocation percentage. Consequently, exempt income affects the amount of a nonresident's New York tax. By way of comparison, the Virginia nonresident tax formula functions in much the same manner. Therefore, the department cannot conclude that your method accurately portrays the amount of income subject to tax when a New York nonresident has exempt income.
You have requested the department provide you with a detailed computation of the Taxpayer's credit. Attached you will find the requested computation. In addition, you request guidance on how the instructions in the 1990 Form 760 booklet were applicable to this computation. You believe the instructions for 1990 were inadequate to properly compute the New York credit.
The 1990 instructions for computing the credit provide in part;
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- Line 47. Enter taxable income on another state's return. The amount to be entered is the taxable income on which the tax computation was based. (Emphasis added.)
- Line 47. Enter taxable income on another state's return. The amount to be entered is the taxable income on which the tax computation was based. (Emphasis added.)
The department is unable to conclude that it was reasonable for the Taxpayers to believe the method in which they computed their credit conformed to the 1990 Form 760 instructions. Accordingly, we find that our May 9, 1995, ruling is appropriate, and is therefore upheld. Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact*******.
Sincerely,
Danny M. Payne
Tax Commissioner
OTP/9805L
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner