so helping out with doing my D’s taxes this year as my wife and D’s accountant retired.
So D has a slightly weird situation. She officially changed her driver’s license to California last summer (circa June 2018), previous license was Colorado, but she hasn’t even stepped foot in Colorado since summer 2017. She only comes here in California for a couple of weeks in the summer and during Christmas time. Anyhow, she goes to school in Massachusetts (Northeastern) where she worked also all of last year, and also did a co-op in New York city last summer.
So, what states is she supposed to file her state taxes? Last year the accountant only filed 2017 state taxes in Colorado even though she didn’t work anywhere. So not sure what states I should be filing for her. Each state filing, Turbo Tax is charging $45 so obviously I’d like to minimize that cost if possible.
Also, another question, we didn’t claim her for taxes for 2018 since she’s pretty much on her own for the last 2 years (her tuition is mostly covered by scholarships and the remaining tuition and apartment is covered by her. Does her independence in any way help with any merit aid for law school? She’s graduating in December and thinking about applying to law school at UC-Berkeley.
If she didn’t earn anything in Colorado, she doesn’t have to file.
If she considers herself a California resident (why?), then I think she has to file but she’d get a credit for any income earned in another state IF she pays taxes in that state(s).
Her independence doesn’t help with MERIT aid.
@twoinanddone thanks! I really don’t know why went through the hassle of switching licenses either, even though she does have her own room here in our house lol. She has a totally independent mind, so it’s hard to say, but my educated guess is that she was looking ahead to apply to law school here and thought she could get in-state rates.
Why would she pay for Turbo Tax? Is her income too high for the free file edition? I assume she may have to file for CA, MA and NY. She really needs to think carefully about CA residency and what the in-state tuition rules are, has she taken any other steps like registering to vote at your address?
One of my kids worked in a bunch of states one year.
He filed as a resident in the state of residence which was our home state (that was his permanent address, driver’s license, etc…). He had to file as a non-resident in three additional states.
And you and she are no longer Colorado residents, right? That being the case, she had a certain number of days to change her drivers license to the state that is her permanent residency (and is listed on the car insurance).
So…I’m not a tax expert…
But it sounds like she will file her federal taxes using your address as her permanent address, CA taxes as a resident, and MA and NY taxes as a non-resident.
BTW…there are a LOT of college students who only visit their permanent residence for the time listed like you have.
@BelknapPoint ?
I agree with the above posts. If she considers herself a California resident and has backed that up with various actions, generally she would file a state non-resident tax return in other states where she had earned income. She would then file a California state tax return, which probably provides some kind of credit for taxes paid to other jurisdictions. Every state with income taxes has its own rules, so that’s why I say “generally” and “probably.” She will need to read the tax rules for her state of residency and every other state where she had earned income.
Agreed, but from my own experience, I’ll confirm that if she has MA and NY income, she will have to file MA and NY non-resident tax returns.
Thanks for the responses. Just wanted to check and see if she needed to file for Colorado since technically she was a resident there as well until June 2018. The main action she has taken for CA residency was to get her drivers license in California in June. Her mom had moved to California right after she went off to school but her grandmother was still living in the CO house which is why she wasn’t in any hurry to change addresses right away.
As a FL resident who worked in MA and NY last year, I filed in MA and NY. For co-op generally you always file wherever you work and then as mentioned check your home state of residence to see if you have to.
So basically she was part-time resident of Colorado, part-time resident of California for 2018. She paid OOS Tuition for MA with scholarship monies and never declared any residency status, she worked in New York during summer.
For Federal she will file as independent because 50% of her support is paid for by herself.
My take is File state for Colorado, California, New York (NR), Massachusetts (NR).
A part-year Colorado resident is required to file a Colorado income tax return if they:
are required to file a federal income tax return, and
had taxable income during that part of the year they were a Colorado resident, or had taxable Colorado source income when they were not a Colorado resident.
California taxes all income you received while a California resident.
As for Residency requirements - California has some pretty strict requirements so read them carefully. Even changing a drivers license in Texas doesn’t mean anything as far as residency is concerned - it’s one of many things you need to do.
Would she have to file for Colorado when she has not set foot in that state, much less earned income in it? Just having a driver’s license for a state does not make you a resident there. If you work in a state, you usually have to file taxes.
^ yes the above is the main question! Wondering if she has to file a Colorado state tax?
I see no reason to file in Colorado. If she had worked in CO, lived in CO in 2018, that’s a different story. THat she had a driver’s license there isn’t an issue. My son kept his CO drivers license for years after leaving the state. Until it expired.
She has to decide where she was a resident. If she wants to be a resident of California to establish it for education purposes, she can but good luck getting that instate tuition.
It appears she had no ties to Colorado except a driver’s license that probably had an address on it where she no longer lived. She can easily claim that she no longer lived as a resident of the state.
How much money did she make? Was she required to file a federal return or did she just do it to get a refund?
If she made under $33k (I think that’s the max) she can file Turbo Tax freedom edition and get the federal and one state free.
I’ve not heard about states checking up on driver licenses for state filing. It’s if you have income reported to the state, like if you work there that brings the inquiries. It’s a whole other thing about being considered a state resident for in state tuition. Colleges have their own rules about that and how they check up and enforce it. Some states require a year residency in a state.
Not even sure she has to file a return for CA if she doesn’t consider that her domicile, unless she is establishing that for in state for educations purposes. If she is, she should check with the programs and colleges and find out what their requirements are to be considered in state for both consideration for admissions and for tuition purposes. I’ve found that this can be all over the map. Different among schools, programs even within the same state.
she’s under the $33K and she does want her nice refund!
It just seems very resource wasteful to have to spend $45 x 4 states to do state tax returns. Booooooooo…
If she does the free addition, they’ll prepare the extra state ones and you can pay through them. I don’t think they are $45, but maybe $30?
If she lived in Mass with an apt and other evidence of residence (voter?) she could declare it as her state of residence,but if she could really get California in state tuition, it might be worth the $45 to be a California resident.
Well, she HAS to file for MA and NY according to the rules there. As a college student, either CA or MA are her domiciles. I don’t see CA in the picture unless she is claiming it as her domicile.
This might help a bit with regard to Massachusetts rules:
https://www.mass.gov/technical-information-release/tir-95-7-change-in-the-definition-of-resident-for-massachusetts
There are two examples: one for living in dorm on campus (non-resident) and one for living off-campus (resident).
Example. Frank is a student at a university in Massachusetts. He lives in an off-campus apartment near the university with three other individuals. All four roommates share living expenses, including expenses for utilities, phone and cable television service. Frank lives in the apartment for more than 183 days in 1995. Since Frank is present in Massachusetts for more than 183 days and is maintaining a permanent place of abode, Frank is considered a resident of Massachusetts for 1995, even if his domicile is elsewhere and he intends to leave Massachusetts upon his future graduation.
@comptrchmom hmmm thanks. Yep she’s been living in off campus housing since Fall 2017. What a pain.