Many of federal changes associated with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will flow-through to state tax returns. However, although federal adjusted gross income is used as a starting point, a state can decide not follow (or “decouple” from) the federal law.
New York State has recently provided guidance with respect to personal income taxes on areas where the state has elected not to follow federal law. Notably, they have decided “decouple” from some of the key of the federal itemized deduction changes. For example, state and local real estate taxes paid are not subject to the $10,000 federal limit federally imposed by TJCA.
With the increased standard deduction on the federal return, you may have already concluded that you will not be itemizing. However, New York allows you to elect to itemize your deductions for New York State purposes even if you did not itemize on your federal return. Taxpayers should provide their itemized deductions in the tax preparation process in order that the most beneficial position can be determined.
A complete guide to New York State decoupling changes can be referenced below:
New York State Department of Revenue TSB-M-18(6)I