Your state of residence, sometimes referred to as your home state, is the state where your roots are. Attending college in a state does not come anywhere close to making you a residence of that state *FOR TAX PURPOSES*. While colleges will have their own residency requirements to determine if you pay resident tuition rates or non-resident tuition rates, it has absolutely no bearing on your home state for your taxes.
Generally, an undergraduate qualifies to be claimed as a dependent on the parent's tax return. So the student's home state is the state they lived in (usually with the parents) before starting college. Each state has their own residency requirements and definition of what constitutes a resident of that state. Attending a college in that state isn't one of them.
Generally, for federal tax purposes your home state is:
- Where you got your drivers license issued (and your resident address as shown on that license)
- Where your vehicle is registered
- Where you are registered to vote
- Where you own real property
There are many more, of which I've got a brain block on right now and can't think of them. But understand that just because you may meet college requirements to pay lower resident tuition rates, that does not in any way mean you are a resident of that state for federal tax purposes.
As an example, lets say your parents' are in Illinois and that's where you grew up/attended high school, and after graduating HS you when to Wisconsin to attend college. If you claim WI as your resident state, then your parent's can not claim you as a dependent and your parents can not claim "ANY" of the education credits. Additionally, you can't qualify for any of the education credits either. So it would be a lose-lose for everyone.
In a nutshell, for the 4 years you are in college your home state is where your parents live, and your parents will claim you as their dependent for all four years.
