@gardenway wrote:
That makes sense.
Here are some additional indices that may help:
1. Purchasing home in Seattle
2. Registering to vote in Seattle
3. Voting in Seattle
4. Receiving bills in Seattle
5. Making the Utah home a secondary residence, and paying non -residenc property tax on the utah home
6. moving all vehicles in Utah into my wife's name
7. Deeding Utah home to my wife (not sure if this last one is ncessary, as I think the first 6 will take care of it.)
There's no one right answer, it's a combination of all the facts and circumstances. If you search the internet for "domicile" and "state income tax" you will find a variety of legal articles and opinions that discuss the issue in more detail. If I was an Utah tax auditor, I might ask if you have truly abandoned Utah as your home. Why do you visit Utah up to 182 days a year? Is your marriage healthy or are you separated pending divorce? If your Seattle job fired you, where would you go? Are #5-7 evidence that you are abandoning Utah as a place to live, or are those just strategic moves to avoid Utah tax? Only you can answer, and perhaps speak to a Utah tax professional.
Then, assuming you can show a Washington domicile, you also need to determine the date you abandoned Utah, because this affects your Utah filing status. See here for more,
https://incometax.utah.gov/instructions/married-couples
