As a non-resident, do I need to pay New York State income tax on visits to New York City for business?

For example, I am a non-resident that works for a company that is not based in New York, but I do occasionally visit New York City for meetings. Can NYS tax the portion of my non-resident income simply because I conducted business in the state for a few hours?

Public Comments

1. If you call the NY tax authorities, of course they will say yes. If the W-2 your company sent you does not show tax withheld for NY state, shows tax withheld for the state you live in (assuming your state of residence has income tax), and your primary work location is an office your company owns or leases in the state of your residence, then you are completely in the clear. If you are a telecommuter, then as soon as NY state finds out about you, it will come after you. See the link in my source list. IMHO the mistake the telecommuter made in the NY court case was to "do the right thing" and file a NY state return for to pay taxes for the time he spent in NY state. The NY tax department decided it was owed 100%. So if I were you, unless your W-2 shows you as being taxed in NY, I'd be quiet.