Most abode-plus-days tests read “more than 183 days”, which makes 183 safe. Maryland’s reads “183 days or more” (Tax-General 10-101), and Utah’s reads the same way (Utah Code 59-10-103). In those two states the safe maximum is 182, and a person who plans around the usual 183 lands one day over.
Each person is a Florida resident who keeps a Maryland home, tax year 2025, counting the arrival and departure day.
| Maryland stays | MD days | Against the 182-day limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May to 28 October | 181 | 1 day of room |
| 1 May to 29 October | 182 | No room left |
| 1 June to 30 November | 183 | Over by 1 |
The third row is a tidy six-month stay that most people would call safe. It is 183 days, which is exactly the number that trips Maryland’s wording. A 1 May to 31 October summer is 184, over by 2. Counting nights only, the same 1 June to 30 November stay is 182, so the departure day decides which side of the line you are on.
The commonly published statutory test makes you a Maryland resident for tax if you keep a place of abode there for more than six months and are physically present for 183 days or more. So the most you can spend and stay under the line is 182 days. Domicile is a separate test: if Maryland is your permanent home, days do not matter. Check the Comptroller's own guidance.
Most states with an abode-plus-days test say residents are those who spend more than 183 days, so 183 is safe. Maryland's wording is 183 days or more, so the 183rd day is the one that crosses. Utah's statute reads the same way. The counter stores both as a limit of 182 and flags 183 as over.
The counter defaults to counting any part of a day, so both the arrival day and the departure day count. If you count nights only, a 1 May to 29 October stay is 181 days instead of 182. Plan on the conservative reading unless the state says otherwise.
Not by itself. The abode has to be one you keep for more than six months, and you also have to be present for 183 days or more. Fewer days means the statutory test does not apply, although domicile can still make you a resident. The counter only does the day arithmetic.