How to Determine State of Residency for Tax Purposes

Determining state of residency

If you work or live in more than one state during the tax year, you may have to determine your state residency for income tax purposes. Working and receiving pay in any state usually means you are obligated to pay taxes to that state on the income you earn there. But some states don't require you to pay taxes on income below a certain level, and some states have no personal income taxes at all.

Instructions

1. Consider the factors that determine state residency. Residency is defined as the location of your main home. It's where you go when you come back from vacation or from a temporary job or business trip. It's where you hold a valid driver's license, where your mail is sent, where your immediate family lives, where you enroll your children in school and where you register to vote. The preponderance of connections to a place determines your state of residency.

2. You might have to prove your residency to avoid taxation on the same income in multiple states. If there are enough factors to let you claim residency in more than one state, try to build enough evidence to be considered a resident in the state that will give you the best tax advantage. Additional evidence includes car registration, purchase of property and payment of property taxes, establishing a bank account and joining a local church or a civic or business organization.

3. Active military personnel fall under special federal guidelines for residency. In most cases, the state in which you join the military is considered your state of residency. Other states cannot tax military pay in this case. However, if you or an immediate family member takes an outside job while stationed in another state, those earnings can be taxable to that state.

4. Check a state's individual requirements if you will be working for an extended period there. Some states assume you are a permanent resident if you spend six months or more there. See the Resource section for a state-by-state guide to residency requirements. If you don't intend a move to be permanent, avoid compiling the evidence outlined in steps 2 and 3 in that state.

5. Keep up the appearance that you are a resident of your home state while working out of state. Vote by absentee ballot, if necessary. Keep your home state car registration and driver's license current, maintain your household, and, if you buy property in another state, don't apply for a homeowner's exemption there. Finally, when the temporary job ends, move back to your home state promptly.

6. Pay nonresident state taxes if they are required on income earned in another state, but check the tax code of your home state. In many cases you can deduct the taxes you pay to another state from the tax liability in your home state. Check the resource section for state tax rules.

References

• TurboTax: State-By-State Filing Requirements