Tax residency rule, United States

California Tax — Visitors

Summary

California has a rule that protects seasonal visitors. If your permanent home in law is in another state or country, you keep a permanent home there, you are in California for no more than six months of the tax year in total, and you do nothing in California except what a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest does, California considers you to be here for a temporary purpose. You are then not a resident and are taxed only on California income. The law gives no number of days, so Countr uses 181. The Franchise Tax Board decides.

Limit
Six months in total. Countr counts this as 181 days
Period
The tax year, for most people 1 January to 31 December
A day counts when
Not defined in the rule. Countr counts any part of a day
Other conditions
Domicile and permanent home elsewhere, visitor activity only
Law
California Code of Regulations, title 18, section 17014(b)
Run by
California Franchise Tax Board (FTB)

Who it applies to

The rule

California's law taxes as a resident every individual who is in the state for other than a temporary or transitory purpose. This is in section 17014 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The hard question is always whether a stay is temporary. For one group, the Franchise Tax Board's regulation answers the question in advance.

Regulation 17014(b) says that an individual whose presence in California does not exceed an aggregate of six months within the taxable year, who is domiciled outside the state and who maintains a permanent abode at the place of his or her domicile, will be considered as being in the state for temporary or transitory purposes, provided the individual does not engage in any activity or conduct within the state other than that of a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest. Domicile is your true, fixed, permanent home.

There are four conditions, and all are needed: six months or less in the year, a domicile outside California, a permanent home kept at that domicile, and no activity in California beyond that of a visitor. The regulation is generous on one point. It says that a person may be a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest even though he or she owns or maintains an abode in California, has a bank account there for paying personal expenses, or joins local social clubs.

The regulation gives an example of a couple domiciled in Minnesota who spend each winter in California, from November to the middle of March, and keep their closer ties to Minnesota. They are not residents. It also gives the opposite case: a man who claimed a Nevada domicile but kept his California estate and his social and business ties, and spent six or seven months of each year in California, is a resident.

This page covers the lower of California's two time rules. The upper one, a presumption of residence after more than nine months, is tracked in Countr as California Tax Residence. Between six and nine months there is no fixed answer, and the closest connection test decides.

Why it exists

California's main test, the purpose of a stay, is uncertain, and uncertainty is bad for the many people who come every winter and spend money in the state. The six-month rule gives real visitors a clear promise: stay within the time, keep your home elsewhere, act only as a visitor, and California will not claim you as a resident. The conditions stop people who in fact work or run a business in California from using the rule.

Counting the days

You add together all your time in California during the tax year. The total must not exceed six months. Because the regulation gives no number of days, a careful count uses the shortest six calendar months.

  1. Take the tax year. For most people this is 1 January to 31 December. A winter stay crosses two tax years, so count each year alone.
  2. Mark every calendar day on which you were in California, including arrival and departure days.
  3. Add the days of all visits in that year.
  4. Compare with 181 days, which is February to July in a normal year. At 181 days or fewer you are within six months on any reading.
  5. Check the other three conditions: a domicile outside California, a permanent home kept there, and only visitor activity in California.
  6. Keep proof: travel records, and papers that show your home state ties, such as your home, licence and voter registration.
How Countr counts it. Countr counts every calendar day on which your phone records you in California, from 1 January to 31 December. Any part of a day counts as a full day. Six months is counted as 181 days, the shortest six calendar months, so the warning comes early, never late. Countr starts to warn you 14 days before the limit. Countr cannot tell a day when you only passed through from a day when you stayed, so it counts both. The app checks only the time condition. It cannot see where your domicile is, whether you keep a permanent home there, or whether you work or run a business in California, and each of these can remove the protection even with few days.

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Examples

Winters in Palm Springs

June and Bill are retired and domiciled in Spokane, Washington, where they own their house. They own a flat in Palm Springs and belong to a golf club there. In 2026 they are in California from 1 January to 15 April, 105 days, and from 1 November to 31 December, 61 days. Their total is 166 days, within six months. They keep their permanent home in Washington and do nothing in California but live as seasonal visitors. California considers their stay temporary, and they are nonresidents.

The same winter, with consulting work

Their neighbour Ray has the same dates and the same 166 days, and his home is also in Washington. But while he is in Palm Springs, Ray works three days a week as a paid consultant for a California company. This is activity other than that of a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest, so the six-month rule does not cover him. His status depends on the general test of purpose and closest connection, and his pay for work done in California is California income in any case.

A stay of 190 days

Eva is domiciled in Alberta, Canada, and keeps her house there. In 2026 her winter and autumn stays in San Diego add up to 190 days, which is more than six months on any reading. She loses the protection of the regulation. This does not make her a resident automatically, and she is far from the nine-month presumption. The Franchise Tax Board would compare her ties to California and to Alberta, and Eva has no fixed rule to rely on.

Exceptions

Common misconceptions

“Anyone who stays under six months in California is a nonresident.”
Only if the other conditions are met too: a domicile and a permanent home outside California, and no activity beyond that of a visitor. A person who moves to California for an indefinite job is a resident from the first day.
“If I buy a holiday home in California, I become a resident.”
The regulation says a person may be a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest even though he or she owns or maintains an abode in California.
“Six months means 183 days.”
The regulation says 'an aggregate of six months' and gives no number of days. Six calendar months have between 181 and 184 days. Staying at 181 or fewer is safe on any reading.
“One day over six months makes me a California resident.”
It removes the fixed protection, but nothing more. Above six months your status is decided by the purpose of your stay and your closest connection, and the presumption of residence begins only above nine months.

Questions and answers

My winter stay runs from November to March. How is it counted?

By tax year, not by stay. November and December belong to one year, and January to March to the next. In each year you add all your California days, including any summer or autumn visits, and compare the total with six months.

Can I work remotely for my employer at home while I winter in California?

The regulation protects only activity as a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest. Working while you are in the state is something more, and wages for work done in California are generally California income. Ask the FTB or a tax professional before you rely on the six-month rule.

Does the day I arrive in California count?

The regulation does not define how part days are counted. A careful count includes arrival and departure days, and Countr counts any part of a day as a day.

I am from Canada. Does the California visitor rule apply to me?

Yes. The regulation speaks of a person domiciled outside the state, and that includes other countries. Note that the federal Substantial Presence Test is a separate count with its own rules, and passing or failing it does not decide your California status.

Do I need to file anything to use the six-month rule?

There is no special form for the rule. If you have income from California sources, you file a nonresident return. The regulation says a person who may be a resident and believes he or she is not should file a return with a signed statement that explains why.

Does my spouse's time in California count with mine?

No. Each person counts his or her own days. One spouse can stay within six months while the other does not, but the FTB also looks at where the family lives when it compares connections.

Sources

Read more: The 183-day rule: what it means and what it does not.

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.