<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I was born in Florida, but moved abroad after 1 year. My parents are not Americans and I'm actually a dual citizen.</p>
<p>I'll be going to Pennsylvania for college and wondering if I should file taxes as a PA non resident, or as a Pennsylvania resident.</p>
<p>Also, can someone explain the difference between legal resident and domicile, and how it impacts my tax filing?</p>
<p>Yes, for instate tuition purposes, it is very possible to not be a resident of any particular State. If you and your parents live overseas, you are not a resident of the US or of any US State.</p>
<p>If you are under 24, residency for instate tuition purposes is generally based on the State your parents reside in. If you are 24 or over, it is based on the State you live in. The normal rule is that your parents (or you if you are 24 or over) must be currently living in that State and have actually lived there for the past 1 or 2 years (depending on the State). You and/or your parents filing taxes in Pennsylvania will not qualify you for instate tuition. You are not residents.</p>
<p>Actually, my problem has nothing to with out of state or instate tuition. I’m just confused about what taxes I have to file, since I’m attending a private university in Pennsylvania. Is there a difference between being a resident for tuition purposes, and being a resident for taxing purposes? </p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>There is a difference, but you would need to check with Pennsylvania rules for their taxes. Some States require non residents to file in the state if they have any income in that State. Others do not. (We live in a State that requires non residents to file. My daughter worked one summer in a State that did not require her to file there as she was a non resident). I don’t know Pennsylvania’s rule.</p>
<p>Do you expect to have much in the way of income? There is usually a minimum level of income you have to have before you are required to file taxes.</p>
<p>Yea, I’ll be making enough to pay taxes. So this whole legal residency/domicile thing has been confusing me, especially since I really never have lived in the USA.</p>
<p>Any other ideas, guys?</p>
<p>Consult a tax professional not strangers on the Internet.</p>
<p>Iron Maiden is right. You can start by looking at the state website and see who has to file. My understanding, and this is just an off the cuff statement from having kids who went to college in PA, that even non residents have to file, but you can offset what you owe there from other states, if you had another state. You don’t, so you would if things are as I remember. It was just a flat 3% or so rate back then too. But YOU have to research this and not on some forum message board.</p>
<p>Consulting a professional was part of the plan. However, I’m not in America yet and thus don’t have the means to do so. </p>
<p>That’s why I’m asking here… I’m a bit paranoid and want to sleep better at night.</p>
<p>I’ve been doing research for at least a month and it’s still very confusing.</p>
<p>Any more advice is appreciated.</p>
<p>For your federal taxes, it won’t matter where you reside. For state tax purposes, your first year you can probably file as a non-resident or part year resident. After that you will most likely be a resident for state tax purposes, because you will be present in the state for more than half the year, and don’t have another state to claim as your residence. You will need to read the instructions that come with the PA tax forms, or consult with a local tax preparer. Even then, most tax preparers may not be well versed with how to handle your situation - in most cases an OOS student has another state to call home.</p>
<p>To answer the title to your thread, yes, it is possible. I came from an ex pat family, and we had no state affilation. I paid state taxes when I worked and met the threshholds in the state where i went to college. A warning, in that state being a part time resident just meant reducing your exemption accordingly. You still applied the same % to income either way, so a part timer paid MORE than full timer.</p>
<p>Check out this brochure from the Pennsylvannia Department of Revenue. <a href=“http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/629012/rev-611_pdf[/url]”>http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/629012/rev-611_pdf</a></p>
<p>It states that college students living in dorms, Greek houses, or off campus rentals would not have a permanent abode, and therefore not be considered residents.</p>
<p>Since I have no residency or domicile, does that mean I will file and pay taxes as a non-resident, or pay no taxes at all?</p>
<p>Does opening a bank account make me a resident automatically?</p>
<p>You will be taxed as a non-resident. </p>
<p>Opening a bank account does not make you a resident. A college student has no permanent abode in the state. A person without a permanent abode cannot be a resident.</p>
<p>Even if I’m a college student in Pennsylvania for FOUR YEARS, I will be a non-resident unless I establish residency myself through forms and whatnot?</p>
<p>Sorry for asking too many questions :P</p>
<p>Look at the section “How do dependents determine domicile?” (halfway down the second column on the second page). College students are considered to have the same domicile as their parents.</p>
<p>Yea, I read that. </p>
<p>But my parents don’t live in America and are not Americans. They live thousands of miles away. So is their location my domicile, even though I’ll be registering as an independent taxpayer?</p>
<p>Since your situation is somewhat complicated by the fact that you don’t have residency in any state, you really should consult a tax professional. Also consult a professional in your country of residence, as it may collect taxes based on income earned abroad.</p>
<p>I know it is all pretty confusing, but please don’t lose sleep over the matter. Yes, paying your taxes properly is important, but there will be plenty of assistance available to you once you arrive in your college town.</p>
<p>Whether you PAY taxes or not…as a non-resident of PA, will largely depend on your actual income. My kids both worked in their OOS college locations and had to file taxes as a non-resident in their college states. But neither ended up paying a penny…their state withholding was refunded to them because their salaries were not high enough to require a tax payment.</p>
<p>A tax professional will NOT help in determining residency for college. Each college publishes residency requirements based on state law. Here is Penn State’s: [Residency</a> Information: Penn State University Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/costs-aid/residency/]Residency”>Residency Information - Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>OP, you’ll have to check for your specific college.</p>
<p>I’m assuming that’s what all this is leading to…</p>