State tax filing
It depends. When you moved back to California did you intend to make CA your permanent home? If yes, then whether you changed your driver's license/registration or not, would not have mattered. You would have become a CA resident, and because you were there for about three months, your residency status for CA would be part-year resident. Here are the requirements for CA residency obtained from the CA Franchise Tax Board website:
Am I a resident?
You’re a resident if either apply:
- Present in California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose
- Domiciled in California, but outside California for a temporary or transitory purpose
There are more factors for determining residency. Visit Guidelines for Determining Resident Status (FTB Publication 1031) for more details.
Given your income, you may not need to file a CA tax return. Here are the tax filing requirements for CA for Married Filing Jointly or Separately:
CA Gross Income Filing Requirements:
CA Adjusted Gross Income Filing Requirments:
CA is also a community property state, so you may need to include your spouse's income when deciding whether you need to file a CA return.
Community property
California is a community property state. If one spouse is a resident of California and the other is not, you may be required to report income earned outside of California.
Visit Guidelines for Determining Resident Status (FTB Publication 1031) for more information.
Here is the link to the CA website from which all of the above information was obtained:
