Choose New York's itemizing election by State plus City tax and require federal itemizing only before 2018

changelog.d/ny-itemized-election-federal-gate.fixed.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Choose New York's itemized-or-standard deduction election by comparing New York State plus New York City income tax, so filers who pay college tuition keep the standard deduction and tuition credit when that costs less, and require federal itemizing for the New York itemized deduction only before 2018.

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/ny/tax/income/deductions/itemized/federal_itemization_required.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+description: New York allows the New York itemized deduction only to filers who itemize on their federal return, if this is true.
+values:
+  2017-01-01: true
+  2018-01-01: false
+metadata:
+  unit: bool
+  period: year
+  label: New York itemized deduction requires federal itemization
+  reference:
+    - title: L.2018 ch. 59, Part JJ, sections 3 and 7 (S.7509-C), which amend section 615(a) for taxable years from 2018 (supports both values)
+      href: https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2017/S7509C#page=42
+    - title: N.Y. Tax Law 615(a), current text (supports the 2018 value)
+      href: https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/TAX615
+    - title: 2017 Form IT-201 instructions, line 34 (supports the 2017 value)
+      href: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/2017/inc/it201i_2017.pdf#page=20
+    - title: 2018 Form IT-196 instructions, New for 2018
+      href: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/2018/inc/it196i_2018.pdf#page=1
+    - title: 2025 Form IT-201 instructions, line 34
+      href: https://www.tax.ny.gov/forms/html-instructions/2025/it/it201i-2025.htm#step-5

policyengine_us/tests/code_health/test_non_refundable_credit_downstream_consumers.py

@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@
     "ny_household_credit": {
         "reforms/states/ny/wftc/ny_working_families_tax_credit.py",
         "variables/gov/states/ny/tax/income/credits/ny_eitc.py",
+        # ny_itemizes compares the applied credit across its two branches:
+        # ny_eitc subtracts the applied credit, so the New York EITC can
+        # differ between the choices only where the applied credit does.
+        "variables/gov/states/ny/tax/income/taxable_income/deductions/itemized/ny_itemizes.py",
     },
     "oh_eitc": {
         "reforms/states/oh/eitc/oh_refundable_eitc_reform.py",