Question about state residency.

[bandgeek05]

<p>I was born and raised in Maryland, however my birth father is a tax paying resident of Virginia. Because he claims me in his taxes every other year do I qualify for in-state tuition in Virginia. Or would my classificaton vary by instituton.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>You would have to check with the Virginia rules for instate tuition. My daughter had a fried who did qualify for instate tuition in both the state she lived in with her Dad and the state her Mom lived in. But I believe this varies from state to state so you would need to check with Virginia.</p>

[cartera45]

<p>bandgeek - there is a very good chance that you do qualify for in state tuition in Virginia. You need to carefully read § 23-7.4 in the Virginia Code, but a couple of relevant sections follow - </p>

<p>

To become eligible for in-state tuition, a dependent student or unemancipated minor shall establish by clear and convincing evidence that for a period of at least one year prior to the date of the alleged entitlement, the person through whom he claims eligibility was domiciled in Virginia and had abandoned any previous domicile, if such existed. If the person through whom the dependent student or unemancipated minor established such domicile and eligibility for in-state tuition abandons his Virginia domicile, the dependent student or unemancipated minor shall be entitled to such in-state tuition for one year from the date of such abandonment.

</p>

<p>and</p>

<p>

The domicile of a dependent student shall be rebuttably presumed to be the domicile of the parent or legal guardian claiming him as an exemption on federal or state income tax returns currently and for the tax year prior to the date of the alleged entitlement or providing him substantial financial support.</p>

<p>For the purposes of this section, the domicile of an unemancipated minor or a dependent student eighteen years of age or older may be either the domicile of the parent with whom he resides, the parent who claims the student as a dependent for federal and Virginia income tax purposes for the tax year prior to the date of the alleged entitlement and is currently so claiming the student, or the parent who provides the student substantial financial support.

</p>

<p>Of course, you should also check with the college to be sure about your particular circumstances.</p>

[bandgeek05]

<p>Thanks, qualifying as an in-state applicant would definitely improve my chances at some of the public schools down there ;)</p>