You must address three tests
For U.S. citizens and resident aliens, IRS guidance generally requires the presence test, no tax home outside Puerto Rico, and no closer connection to the United States or a foreign country than to Puerto Rico. Meeting the day count addresses one part of that framework.
| Test | Question to answer | Useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Presence | Which permitted presence test do I satisfy? | Travel log, flights and evidence for any special treatment of days. |
| Tax home | Where is my principal place of business or regular employment? | Actual duties, work locations, contracts and business records. |
| Closer connection | Where are my more significant personal and economic connections? | Household, homes, personal belongings and ordinary daily-life records. |
A Puerto Rico lease, licence or decree can be relevant evidence. None substitutes for checking the whole set of requirements.
Official reference: IRS Publication 570: residence, income sources and filings.
Understand the day test you are relying on
At least 183 Puerto Rico days in the tax year is one presence-test route for U.S. citizens and resident aliens. IRS guidance lists alternatives, including at least 549 territory days over the current and preceding two years, with at least 60 days in each, or no more than 90 U.S. days in the current year. Other alternatives have further conditions.
Do not choose an alternative just because the headline number fits. Check its full conditions and the day-counting rules. The IRS generally counts presence at any time during a day and has rules for travel, medical treatment and certain disasters. A midnight-only log can miss relevant facts.
Official reference: IRS Publication 570: residence, income sources and filings.
Test the work and family facts separately
Record both helpful and inconvenient facts. Explain why a family member is elsewhere, what home access remains available and where you actually perform your role. Ask which facts would change the conclusion if travel or business arrangements shift.
Official reference: IRS Publication 570: residence, income sources and filings.
A mid-year move needs its own analysis
The IRS move-year exception for the tax-home and closer-connection tests has conditions beyond taking a flight. It requires no bona fide residence in the territory during the prior three tax years; no tax home outside, or closer connection elsewhere, during any of the final 183 days of the move year; and bona fide residence in each of the following three tax years. The presence test must still be addressed.
If relying on this exception, a later move can affect the earlier year’s position. Ask how a proposed July or autumn move interacts with the rule before committing to a transaction. Do not automatically label income after the arrival date exempt.
Official reference: IRS Publication 570: residence, income sources and filings.
Act 60 eligibility has a separate residence-history test
The IRS presence, tax-home and closer-connection tests do not establish eligibility for a resident-investor decree. Act 60 retains a historical Puerto Rico residence exclusion covering 17 January 2006 to 17 January 2012. For applications after 31 December 2026, the amended definition also requires at least six years of nonresidence before moving.
Record your full residence history, application receipt date, physical move and decree grant/effective dates separately. An application date can determine the investor framework; it does not establish the date you became a bona fide resident for federal purposes. The home-purchase deadline is generally measured from obtaining the decree, which is another date again.
Use the 2026 versus 2027 investor comparison and continuing-obligations checklist alongside this federal residence log.
Official sources: OGP: enacted Act 38-2026 (Spanish PDF); OGP: current Act 60, revised 16 July 2026 (Spanish PDF); IRS Publication 570: residence, income sources and filings.
Keep the reporting and evidence together
Form 8898 can be required when worldwide gross income exceeds US$75,000 and a person begins or ends bona fide residence under the form’s conditions. The instructions require it by the Form 1040 due date, including extensions, and explain separate submission rather than attachment to the return. Use the current instructions for submission options.
Official reference: IRS: Form 8898 instructions.
Your next step is an evidence log covering dates, countries visited, actual work locations, homes available and household changes. Keep the adviser’s conclusion alongside the test applied, supporting records and future facts to revisit.
General preparation information. Examples are hypothetical. Official requirements, your facts and any applicable decree control the result; obtain qualified advice for personal immigration, tax and filing decisions.
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