Vermont Tax Residence: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

Vermont treats you as a resident for income tax for the part of the taxable year in which you are domiciled in Vermont, or in which you maintain a permanent place of abode in the state while also being present in Vermont for more than 183 days of that taxable year. The 184th day of presence crosses the line. A resident is taxed by Vermont on all income. A nonresident is taxed only on income earned in Vermont. The Vermont Department of Taxes applies the rule.

Limit: More than 183 days present in Vermont (the 184th day crosses the line)
Period: The taxable year, for most people 1 January to 31 December
A day counts when: The law gives no definition, the careful count is any part of a day
Second condition: A permanent place of abode (a permanent home) in Vermont
Law: 32 V.S.A. section 5811(11)(A)(ii)
Run by: Vermont Department of Taxes

Who it applies to

People domiciled in New York, Massachusetts or Connecticut who own a year-round house in Vermont and spend long seasons there.
People who moved their domicile to New Hampshire or Florida and kept a Vermont home.
Remote workers who came to a Vermont house for a long stay and did not leave.
Retired people who divide the year between Vermont and a warmer state.

The rule

Vermont's definition is in 32 V.S.A. section 5811(11)(A). A person qualifies for residency for that portion of the taxable year during which (i) the person is domiciled in Vermont, or (ii) the person maintains a permanent place of abode in Vermont, if the person both maintains a permanent place of abode and is present in the state for more than an aggregate of 183 days of that taxable year. An aggregate means all the days are added together.

The Department of Taxes explains the second part in plain words: you maintain a permanent home in Vermont and you are present in Vermont for more than 183 days of the taxable year. The statute says present, and neither the statute nor the Department's public guidance defines how a part of a day is counted or what makes a home permanent. A careful count treats any day on which you were in Vermont as a day of presence.

The wording for that portion of the taxable year matters. Vermont residency under part (ii) is tied to the time you maintain the abode. The same section defines a part-year resident as a person who qualifies for residency during only part of the year, and a resident as a person who qualifies for all of it.

Domicile is the other way to be a resident. The Department's regulation defines it as the place where you have a true, fixed, permanent home and to which you intend to return when you are away. It says you can have several places of abode in a year and only one domicile. The Department looks at your homes, where you spend your time, where the things most important to you are kept, your active business ties and your family connections. A person who claims a change of domicile must prove it with clear and convincing evidence.

Why it exists

Vermont has many second homes owned by people whose main homes are in other states. Vermont taxes residents on all income and nonresidents only on Vermont income, so the line between the two matters. The abode and presence test gives the state a factual way to treat a person as a resident when they keep a permanent home in Vermont and are there for more than half the year, without a dispute about where they intend to live for ever.

Counting the days

You count the days of the taxable year on which you were present in Vermont. The law does not define a part day, so the careful way is to count every day on which you were in the state at any time.

Note the dates in the year when you maintained a permanent home in Vermont.
Mark each day from 1 January to 31 December on which you were present in Vermont.
Include arrival and departure days, to stay on the safe side.
Add all the days of the taxable year together.
If the total is 184 or more and you maintained a permanent home, you qualify for residency for the part of the year you maintained it.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts every calendar day on which your phone was in Vermont at any time, from 1 January to 31 December, against a limit of 183 days. Because Vermont does not define a day of presence, this is the careful reading, and it includes days when you only drove through the state. Countr cannot see whether you maintain a permanent place of abode or for which months, so add this tracker only if you keep a home in Vermont.

Track Vermont Tax Residence on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

A long stay at the house in Stowe

Kate is domiciled in Boston and owns a house in Stowe that she keeps all year. In 2026 she is in Vermont for the ski season from 1 January to 31 March, which is 90 days, and again from 20 June to 21 September, which is 11 days in June, 31 in July, 31 in August and 21 in September, a total of 94. Together that is 184 days. With the house and more than 183 days present, she qualifies as a Vermont resident for 2026.

Under the line with the same house

The next year Kate leaves on 20 September and makes no other visits, so her total is 183 days. That is not more than 183. She keeps the house and stays a nonresident. Vermont taxes only her income from Vermont, such as rent if she lets the house.

A house bought in the middle of the year

Raj is domiciled in New Jersey. He buys a house in Burlington on 1 June 2026 and is present in Vermont on 190 days of 2026, 20 of them before he bought it. He is present for more than 183 days of the taxable year, and he maintains a permanent place of abode from 1 June. The statute gives residency for the portion of the year during which he maintains the abode, so his position is one of part-year residency from June, and the Department would look at the facts.

Exceptions

A person who meets the test for only part of the taxable year is a part-year resident under section 5811(10), not a resident for the whole year.
Under the domicile regulation, leaving Vermont for rest or holiday, or to complete a particular job or contract with the intention to return, does not change a Vermont domicile.
A person in transit between an old domicile and a new one stays domiciled in the old one until the new one is established.
Full-time active duty military pay earned outside Vermont is taken out of a Vermont resident's taxable income, according to the Department.

Common misconceptions

“A second home in Vermont cannot make me a resident if my driving licence is from another state.”: A licence is evidence about domicile. The second test does not need domicile. A permanent home in Vermont and more than 183 days of presence are enough.
“Vermont counts six months, so leaving at the end of June keeps me safe.”: The law counts days, not months, and it adds all stays together. 1 January to 30 June is 181 days in a normal year, and any later visit adds to that.
“Only owners can have a permanent place of abode.”: The statute speaks of maintaining a permanent place of abode. It does not ask for ownership, so a home you lease and keep can meet the words.
“If I am not a resident, Vermont cannot tax me at all.”: Nonresidents are taxed on income earned in Vermont, such as wages for work done in the state or rent from a Vermont property.

Questions and answers

Is the Vermont limit 183 days or six months?

It is 183 days. The statute says present in the state for more than an aggregate of 183 days of the taxable year, so the 184th day is the one that matters.

Does Vermont count a part of a day as a day present?

The statute and the Department's public guidance do not say. Other north-eastern states with the same kind of rule count any part of a day, so a careful count does the same.

Do I need both the home and the days?

Yes. The statute says both. Days without a permanent place of abode do not make a person domiciled elsewhere a resident, and a permanent home with 183 days or fewer does not either.

Can I be a part-year resident under the day test?

Yes. Vermont gives residency for the portion of the taxable year during which you maintain the permanent place of abode, and it defines a part-year resident as someone who qualifies for only part of the year.

How does Vermont decide my domicile if I have two homes?

It weighs facts that are hard to change for tax reasons: the homes you have and how you use them, where you spend time, where the possessions you care most about are, your active business ties and where your close family lives.

Does renting out my Vermont house change the count?

Days are counted on your own presence, so letting the house does not add days. Rent from a Vermont property is Vermont income, which Vermont taxes even when you are a nonresident.

Sources

Other rules for United States

Arizona Tax Residence 273 days in each calendar year
California Tax — Visitors 181 days in each calendar year
California Tax Residence 273 days in each calendar year
Connecticut Tax — 30 Days or Fewer 30 days in each calendar year
Connecticut Tax Residence 183 days in each calendar year
Delaware Tax Residence 183 days in each calendar year
Hawaii Tax Residence 200 days in each calendar year
Idaho Tax Residence 270 days in each calendar year

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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.