No Significant Connection: The Fifth Way to Pass the Presence Test

Four of the five ways to pass the presence test come down to counting days. The fifth does not. Under 26 CFR 1.937-1, you can pass the presence test by showing you had no significant connection to the United States during the tax year, and no day count enters into it at all. That matters most to a frequent US business traveler who cannot control how many days a client or a conference keeps them off island, and who has already run out of room on the count-based options. This guide covers what significant connection means, the three factors that create it, and how this test differs from the separate closer connection test that every bona fide resident still has to pass.

What are the five ways to pass the presence test?

The presence test is the first of three tests for bona fide residency in Puerto Rico. A resident also has to pass the tax home test and the closer connection test, each independent of the presence test itself. Publication 570 and 26 CFR 1.937-1 list five separate ways to satisfy the presence test, and meeting any one of them is enough:

1. At least 183 days of presence in Puerto Rico during the tax year.
2. At least 549 days over the current tax year and the two preceding tax years, with at least 60 days in each of those years.
3. No more than 90 days of presence in the United States during the tax year.
4. More days present in Puerto Rico than in the United States, with US-source earned income of $3,000 or less.
5. No significant connection to the United States during the tax year.

The first four all turn on a number. The fifth does not. That is what sets it apart.

Where the no significant connection test fits

This test exists for the person whose day count will not cooperate: a consultant on a rotating US assignment, an executive with a fixed quarterly board schedule, anyone whose job puts them over 90 US days in a year they cannot fully control. If that person has no permanent home, no voter registration, and no spouse or minor child based in the United States, the presence test is satisfied regardless of exactly how many days landed where.

What counts as a permanent home in the United States?

A permanent home is an accommodation, a house, an apartment, or a furnished room, that you or your spouse own or rent and that stays continuously available to you. A hotel room does not meet that bar, and neither does an occasional guest stay. The home has to function as a real residence, not a stopover.

The rental property exception

Owning US rental property does not automatically create a permanent home. Under the exception at 1.937-1(c)(5)(ii)(B), which borrows the personal use test from section 280A(d), a rental property only counts against you if your own personal use of it exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10 percent of the days it is rented at a fair rental price during the year. An investor who owns a mainland rental and never personally stays there keeps that property outside the significant connection analysis, even with their name on the deed.

Does voter registration alone break this test?

Yes. Current registration to vote in any political subdivision of the United States is, on its own, a significant connection. There is no balancing against the other two factors, and no exception for a registration left over from before the move. The regulation treats an active registration as decisive by itself, so anyone relying on this path should confirm they are actually deregistered, not just no longer voting.

What about a spouse or minor child in the United States?

A spouse, or a child under 18 as defined in section 152(f)(1), whose principal place of abode is in the United States is also a significant connection. This factor looks at where the family member actually lives day to day. It does not look at citizenship, immigration status, or where they happen to be registered for anything else.

Custody and school exceptions

The regulation carves out specified exceptions for a child in a custodial arrangement and for a child away at school. Where a family's facts sit close to either exception, the details matter enough that they are worth confirming with an advisor before relying on this factor, rather than assuming the exception applies.

How is this different from the closer connection test?

The closer connection test is a separate, third requirement for bona fide residency, independent of the presence test and evaluated under section 7701(b)(3)(B)(ii) principles. The no significant connection test borrows those same underlying principles, but only to decide whether the presence test itself is satisfied. Passing the presence test this way does not substitute for the closer connection test. A bona fide resident still has to separately show no closer connection to the United States or a foreign country than to Puerto Rico, using the full facts and circumstances that test considers.

Who does the no significant connection test actually help?

The clearest fit is the traveling professional who spends more than 90 days a year in the United States for work but keeps no US home, no US voter registration, and no US-based spouse or minor child. For that person, the day count on the other four presence tests is simply the wrong question. One83 still matters here: an automatic day ledger built from your calendar documents exactly where you were, which supports the tax home and closer connection tests you still have to pass, even in a year when the presence test itself did not require counting a single day. For a related edge case in the day-counting rules, see qualified medical treatment days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the no significant connection test require counting days in Puerto Rico?

No. It is the one presence test alternative under 26 CFR 1.937-1 that does not depend on a day count. You satisfy it by having none of the three significant connection factors during the tax year, regardless of how many days you spent where.

What exactly counts as a permanent home in the United States?

An accommodation such as a house, apartment, or furnished room that you or your spouse own or rent and that stays continuously available to you, not just for occasional stays. A hotel room or a short visit with relatives does not count.

Can I own a US rental property and still pass this test?

Yes, if you do not personally use it as a residence. Under the rule borrowed from section 280A(d), a rental property only counts as your permanent home if your personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10 percent of the days it is rented at a fair rental price in that year.

Does keeping my US voter registration disqualify me?

Yes. Current registration to vote in any US political subdivision is, on its own, a significant connection under the regulation, independent of the other two factors.

Is the no significant connection test the same as the closer connection test?

No. The closer connection test is a separate, third requirement for bona fide residency. The no significant connection test borrows the same underlying principles, from section 7701(b)(3)(B)(ii), but applies them only to satisfy the presence test.

The bottom line

The no significant connection test is the only presence test path that skips the day count entirely. No permanent home, no voter registration, no US-based spouse or minor child, and the test is satisfied whatever the calendar says. It is narrow by design, and it settles only one of the three tests for bona fide residency. The tax home test and the closer connection test still stand on their own, and a documented, dated record of where you actually were remains the foundation for both.

One83 is a tracking tool, not tax advice. Consult a licensed tax professional about your situation.