US State Residency Question

[Jvanka]

To be considered a state resident usually you need to live in state for a period of a year. This will give you benefits and responsibilities towards your state. Like applying for student institutions (if you are resident of the state college will charge tuition different than out of state student and of course your state taxes, benefits, etc etc. Probably there are exceptions but generally this is the case.

Are you trying to apply for a state benefit or something like that?

 

[gouchobob]

Lee more tax questions? The answer is that in most cases if you leave a particular state to live in Argentina you wouldn't be expected to continuing paying taxes in that state, California is an exception, they expect you to continue paying. The rationale is that you will eventually return so you are really still a resident. A brief review of this is in the following link:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Tax-Law-Questions-932/2011/1/CA-taxes-ExPat-1.htm

What you need to do is break all your ties with California. If you have a friend or family member in another state have all your bank statements, other mail go to that address. Also lose the drivers license and get one in the new state(where you don't have to pay taxes). There might be a little paperwork involved but not much. In the new state you would probably have to show some proof of residency to get a drivers license but you can probably work around that.

 

[igor]

To be considered a state resident usually you need to live in state for a period of a year.

That is to receive some state benefits. If California still considers you to be a state resident, they can insist that you should pay California taxes. It comes down to definition of nexus for a particular state. Find it out and see how it applies to your situation.

If you are not a resident here and if you can not successfully claim that you are a resident of some other US state, then it is quite imaginable that for tax purposes you are still a resident of California with expired driver license who just spends a lot of time outside.

 

[gouchobob]

Here another link with some more information.

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam5/expat_tax_2.html

 

[Ries]

You are a resident of California if you live there.
If you have lived in BsAs for the last 4 years, you dont live in California.

However- IF you have income from California, you may need to file and pay taxes on that- ie. real estate income, some kinds of dividends or distributions, or some kind of salary.

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/fileRtn/index.shtml

Do you still own property there?

If you dont live there, dont own any property there, and get your income elsewhere, you are not a resident, and should not have to file.

If its complicated, pay for an hour of consultation with a California CPA. Skype works just fine from Argentina...

 

[MizzMarr]

In addition to changing your bank address, register to vote in another State and get your license there. NV tends to be a good state for business and no personal income tax. Unfortunately, you need to be somewhere in person to get the dl. Good luck!

 

[starlucia]

I earned income in California in 2010, and filed my state taxes as a nonresident. Whether I could file as a "nonresident" or a "part-year resident" was basically determined by the number of days I was physically present (90) and the fact that I showed no intention to establish longer-term ties to the state (no property ownership, no utility bills, no voter registration or valid state ID, no vehicle registration.)

If you must be a resident of another state, Florida's a good one. No state income tax and the easiest to reach from BsAs. If you have a friend or relative in FL that would be willing to let you use their address, you could start receiving mail and register to vote. Then next time you fly to Miami on vacay, make a stop at the DMV and apply for a state identification card.