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Ohio residency: bright-line test, contact periods, and the 213-day rule

Ohio uses a bright-line residency test built on 'contact periods' rather than days. What a contact period is, how the test works, and how Ohio differs.

8 min read

Ohio's residency test is unusual: it counts 'contact periods' rather than days. A contact period is any portion of two consecutive days where you're in Ohio overnight. The state uses this to make residency clearer than a pure day-count test.

Ohio's bright-line residency test

Under Ohio Revised Code § 5747.24, you can establish irrebuttable non-residency if you:

  • Have fewer than 213 contact periods with Ohio during the tax year (since 2018; the prior threshold was 182).
  • File a declaration of non-Ohio domicile (form IT NRS).
Note:

A 'contact period' is a portion of two consecutive days during which you were in Ohio overnight. Spending Wednesday and Thursday in Ohio = 1 contact period. Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning (with Thursday elsewhere) = 0 contact periods.

Ohio's domicile test (when bright-line doesn't apply)

If you can't satisfy the bright-line test (i.e., you have 213+ contact periods OR didn't file the declaration), the Ohio Department of Taxation falls back to a facts-and-circumstances domicile test. Standard factors apply: home, family, ties.

Leaving Ohio: the playbook

  • Establish new-state domicile.
  • File form IT NRS declaring non-Ohio domicile (annual filing).
  • Keep contact periods below 213.
  • Track every Ohio overnight stay.
  • Sever Ohio home if possible.

Track Ohio contact periods

Tax Days tracks Ohio days. The exported data lets your accountant compute contact periods for the IT NRS declaration. For a quick sanity check first, set 213 as your threshold and total your Ohio days: your contact periods can never exceed your raw Ohio day count, so a day total comfortably under 213 means the bright-line test is not the thing to worry about.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is a 'contact period' in Ohio residency law?

A contact period is a portion of two consecutive days during which you were in Ohio overnight. For example, spending Wednesday and Thursday in Ohio is one contact period, while spending Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning there with Thursday elsewhere is zero contact periods.

How many contact periods can I have in Ohio and still be a non-resident?

Under Ohio's bright-line test in Ohio Revised Code section 5747.24, you can generally establish irrebuttable non-residency if you have fewer than 213 contact periods with Ohio during the tax year and file the required declaration. The 213 threshold has applied since 2018; the prior threshold was 182.

What is Ohio form IT NRS?

Form IT NRS is the declaration of non-Ohio domicile, and it is an annual filing. Filing it while keeping your contact periods below 213 is generally what lets you rely on Ohio's bright-line non-residency test.

What happens if I don't qualify for Ohio's bright-line test?

If you have 213 or more contact periods, or you did not file the declaration, the Ohio Department of Taxation typically falls back to a facts-and-circumstances domicile test. That analysis looks at standard factors like your home, family, and other ties to the state.

Does Ohio count days the same way as other states?

No. Ohio counts contact periods, which are based on being in the state overnight across two consecutive days, rather than counting individual days of presence the way a typical 183-day statutory test does. This makes tracking overnight stays, not just visits, the key habit for Ohio.

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