New York Blitzes $100,000 Earners With Remote-Worker Tax Audits

New York tax authorities are targeting individuals earning as little as $100,000 a year who claim to have left the state during the Covid-19 pandemic, part of an unprecedented effort to recoup lost income-tax revenue.

Thousands of notices from the New York Tax and Finance Department have landed in taxpayers’ mailboxes since the filing season ended in May. It usually takes $1 million a year in income to trigger heightened scrutiny, but many people earning far less are receiving letters asking them to verify residency status and personal income allocation to determine whether they owe more to the state than claimed on their 2020 earnings.