A Puerto Rico decree is not federal residence

Compare this site's own chapters

The site already separates these questions on the application and residency pages. This page places those chapters next to each other so a grant packet is not reused as a residence file.

Read the chapters in that order when a filing packet, a portal confirmation, and a travel calendar are being treated as one event. The Act 60 application map keeps the Puerto Rico grant on its own track. The official-text map of the saved Act 60 sources points at the official files those claims rest on. The federal presence, tax home, and closer connection tests stay with the federal residence rule.

What a DDEC receipt records

For the Individual Resident Investor benefit only, DDEC 2026-004 uses receipt by the Incentives Portal filing-fee time stamp confirmation no later than December 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. for the pre-2027 filing treatment. Filing remains subject to DDEC evaluation. Filing does not guarantee approval. ^[2]

That timestamp is a Puerto Rico filing event. It is not a federal residence determination, a source-of-income ruling, or a statement that the later grant will issue. The Act 60 application map also keeps the December 31 cutoff inside Individual Resident Investor filings. It does not set a filing term or deadline for Export Services or another Act 60 benefit.

What federal bona fide residence still requires

Federal bona fide residence in Puerto Rico is a three-part test for the tax year: a qualifying presence route, no tax home outside Puerto Rico, and no closer connection to the United States or another country. ^{[3] [4]}

• Presence. Meet at least one federal presence route after applying the counting rules. Spending 183 days in Puerto Rico is the clearest calendar route. It does not override tax home or closer connection.
• Tax home. The regular or principal place of business cannot remain outside Puerto Rico, subject to the regulation's definitions and exceptions.
• Closer connection. Home, family, belongings, banking, voting, work, and everyday facts must point more strongly to Puerto Rico than elsewhere.

The federal presence, tax home, and closer connection tests page states those routes and the records that support them. The private day tracker can compare calendar patterns. It cannot prove tax home, closer connection, domicile, or income source.

Read the matching chapter next

For publisher context that is not a tax source, see the Hraness note on harnessing Puerto Rico. That note is personal writing from the publisher. It does not decide a grant, a DDEC receipt, or federal residence.

Sources checked

1. Código de Incentivos de Puerto Rico, Ley Núm. 60-2019, según enmendada — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto de Puerto Rico; Official compilation; ES. Source date July 16, 2026. Archived manifest id: act-60-2019-consolidated. The current official Spanish compilation is primary official source material. Current enacted law, applicable regulations, agency action, and the issued grant control the particular question; act60.me does not treat an English explanation as a substitute.
2. Informative Bulletin DDEC No. 2026-004 — Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce; Agency guidance; EN. Source date April 24, 2026. Archived manifest id: ddec-2026-004. IRI-specific bulletin interpreting Act 38-2026. It identifies receipt by the Incentives Portal filing-fee time stamp confirmation, no later than December 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m., for the pre-2027 IRI filing treatment; filing remains subject to agency evaluation and does not guarantee approval.
3. 26 C.F.R. § 1.937-1, Bona fide residency in a possession — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations; Regulation; EN.
4. Publication 570 (2025), Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Territories — Internal Revenue Service; Agency guidance; EN. Source date February 26, 2026. Archived manifest id: irs-publication-570.

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