DayLine vs TaxBird
TaxBird is one of the original residency day-tracking apps, and at the same price as DayLine it's a fair question which to choose. Here's an honest comparison — including where TaxBird is a perfectly good fit.
The short version
Both apps track your days automatically and cost $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year with a 30-day trial. The differences are in what happens with the count. DayLine keeps everything on your device (no account, no servers — Apple's privacy label reads Data Not Collected), scores your days against each state's actual statutory test rather than a single generic threshold, and builds an evidence file — attachments, PDF day log, accountant package — designed for the day someone asks you to prove it. TaxBird counts days cleanly across states, provinces, and countries and has been doing so for years.
| DayLine | TaxBird | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr · 30-day free trial | $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr · 30-day free trial |
| Automatic day tracking | Yes — battery-friendly visit monitoring | Yes — background tracking |
| Where your data lives | On your iPhone only. No servers, no account, App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected | Cloud-based. App Store privacy label (as of this writing) lists precise location, contact info, and identifiers collected and linked to identity |
| Per-state rule engine | Yes — each jurisdiction's own test: New York's 184-day line, any-part-of-day vs. midnight counting, permanent-abode logic, no-tax states flagged | Day counts with a single threshold you set per place |
| NYC & Yonkers city taxes | Separate city-level tests, counted alongside New York State | NYC counting supported |
| US territories (§937) | Puerto Rico, USVI, Guam, CNMI, American Samoa with the federal 183-day presence test built in | Country-level tracking |
| Evidence attachments | Yes — receipts, photos, and documents attached to any day | No |
| Audit-ready exports | PDF day log, CSV, full accountant package | Annual report, CSV |
| Trip planning projections | Yes — see year-end position before you book | Yes |
| Import your history | Yes — bring your record over from TaxBird or any app that exports CSV | — |
TaxBird details from its public App Store listing as of September 2026; verify current features and pricing on their site. TaxBird is a trademark of its owner; DayLine is not affiliated with it.
Why the rule engine matters
A day counter that treats every state as "183 and you're done" misses the parts auditors actually test: New York's line is 184, not 183, and only bites if you also maintain a permanent place of abode substantially all year. California has no day threshold at all. NYC and Yonkers run their own city-level tests. Puerto Rico's presence test is federal law with five alternate prongs. DayLine encodes each jurisdiction's real test — the same rules published in our free state rules library — so the number it shows you is the number that matters in that state.
Why on-device matters
A year of your location history is among the most sensitive data you can generate. DayLine processes and stores it exclusively on your iPhone: there is no DayLine server to breach, subpoena, or sell. That's a structural difference, not a policy promise.
Switching is a five-minute job
DayLine imports day-history CSVs, so your existing TaxBird record carries over and your ledger stays unbroken — which matters, because an audit looks at whole years, not app subscriptions.
Keep reading
Stop counting by hand
DayLine tracks which state you're in every day, automatically, against every rule on this site — and builds the audit-ready record that protects you. All on your iPhone. Free for 30 days.
General educational information, verified against statutes and administrative guidance at the time of writing — not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation. · All state rules · DayLine home