<p>Hey so I was looking up a way for me to qualify for instate tuition for Georgia because my mom has been living in Atlanta for a year and a half, but I live in CA.
I found this: </p>
<p>"A dependent student shall be classified as "in-state" for tuition purposes if either i) the dependent student's parent has established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for at least twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term and the student has graduated from a Georgia high school or ii) the dependent student's parent has established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for at least twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term and the parent claimed the student as a dependent on the parent's most recent federal income tax return."</p>
<p>I think I qualify for the latter (if I don't by what I said above please say so), but I'm really curious, do any of you know how this works? I know that I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and it has to be considered by some committee but I'm totally in the dark about this. Can anyone explain the procedure, stuff about the paperwork, or the residency committee? any information is greatly appreciated. thanks</p>
<p>I assume you live in CA with your father, and your parents are divorced? If so, does your mother claim you as a dependent on her taxes, or does your father? If you don't know, you need to ask.</p>
<p>oh no I should've probably explained it a bit further. My parents are NOT divorced, my mom just decided to work with her boss who moved to Atlanta back in '05. (She really wanted to move to work with them and both of my parents will be reunited next year when I go to Tech and they live in Marietta/anywhere near Buckhead). My father lives in CA with me, but she lives in Atlanta and has had a "domicile" for more than 1 year. But yes I am a dependent of them.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about the residence but I think that it might be the CA one. I'll check though. and my mom does not have a GA driver's license, but she has been paying property taxes/other taxes to the state of Georgia.</p>
<p>I wish I could edit that... I thought about it some more, and I think all that really matters is her driver's license. If she has a GA driver's license, and she has been paying GA state tax and has proof of residency, I don't see how that can deny that she is a GA citizen. Therefore, as her dependent, you should get in-state tuition.</p>
<p>Most states (including GA) determine residency based on driver's licenses. If you keep your CA driver's license and work in GA while at Tech, you're considered a resident of CA working in GA and pay taxes to both states.</p>
<p>Edit: I just saw your post. With a CA driver's license, there's a good case by the Institute that she is a CA resident with temporary residence in GA. You can always try.</p>
<p>
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It's a lot more complicated than just your driver's license. Talk to the registrar's office.
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<p>Surprisingly, it's often not. When a person has residence in two different states, the states will often use the person's registered address (which is the driver's license address) to determine the person's primary residence. If her car is registered in CA and she's registered to vote in CA, all of those further solidify the CA residency. Plus, it sounds like she also filed CA tax returns (probably joint filing with her husband). </p>
<p>The only way to get around that, as far as I know, is to show that she spent 183 days in GA and not CA. Though that could get complicated because two spouses are generally required to have the same state of residence, and her husband presumably spend 183 days in CA. </p>
<p>I'm not going to say whether you qualify or don't qualify, because I don't really know how they'll handle it. I can say that you have an up hill fight, in my opinion. If I were you, I'd try to register as in-state. If they question you, provide your mother's GA-500 returns, show proof of her residency (utility bills, lease, mortgage, etc.), and show proof that she resided in the state for 183 days (probably using her W2 or other work documents showing that she worked in GA). That might be enough.</p>
<p>right right, that's where the paperwork stuff comes in I believe. So I just talked to my dad and he said that for the taxes being done for this past year (2008), my mom is listed as living in Atlanta for the last year, which fits the statement in the OP. My question is, can I use that as my proof instead of the license? and if not, if she got a license now, could that help my cause for this year or would it be towards next year's tuition?</p>
<p>GSW Fan, Why not call the GT registrar's office and get some real advice? How can you trust a random chat board for something that will cost or save you tens of thousands of dollars?</p>
<p>I did, I'm just curious if anyone knows the procedure this is done and what I should expect to do. Like do I have to be referenced to a lot of people, go in front of a committee, etc. that's all I'm asking I'm not asking for my chance, etc. Just what I should expect in this kind of situation.</p>
<p>so the guy at Tech emailed me back today and said he wants to see a Georgia Income Tax form (have it, but my dad's still doing it for 2008) and her Georgia license. Not the latter isn't a problem, but she got it in February, but it does have the Atlanta address on it. will this be an issue? or will it be ok b/c the form will say she's lived in GA over a year? I just want to know what I should be expecting.</p>
<p>If they want you to prove residency, I think you're going to run into the issues in Post #8. If they just want you to prove "domicile", then it's much easier. </p>
<p>I don't know how GT works on these issues, but I'll give you some experience from when I went through the process in another state (applied for reclassification as in-state after the first year - GA doesn't allow that)...</p>
<p>I showed up with 1) state tax returns, 2) copy of W2's showing I worked in the state for 12+ months, 3) copy of two apartment leases showing I had lived in the state for 12+ months, 4) driver's license. In your case, throw in federal income taxes showing you listed as a dependent, and that should be plenty to prove domicile in GA. If you're really paranoid, you could include 12 months of power bills to show that she used electricity (as was thus actually there) or have CC bills (showing she bought stuff in GA). Those are probably over-kill, though.</p>
<p>If they want you to prove residency, you'll need to ask them what they specifically want as proof. They may simply check whether she filed her GA income taxes as a full-year resident or as a non-resident.</p>
<p>yeah the guy just told me "If your mom is a Georgia resident and claims you on her state and federal taxes, I will need a copy of her 2008 Georgia income taxes (page 1 and 2) and a copy of her Georgia driver's license." so yeah I'm not sure which one that fits into, but the taxes being done are being done in Georgia. But I have no idea how this works lol</p>
<p>My friend's parents are divorced with her Dad living in GA. The only reason she got in-state was because her Dad got her a savings account a long time ago in the state of GA... weird.</p>