Residency Question for Out of State Grad Student

zta1989 — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 04:57:27 GMT

My non-dependent daughter is a permanent resident of Tennessee (votes in TN, car registered in TN, and TN driver's license). She earned income and had state withholding in Virginia as a grad assistant, where she is getting her masters. She lived in an off-campus apartment in Virginia for 148 days last year.

From what I am reading on the Virginia Department of Taxation's website, she doesn't meet the "Resident" definition because she was not, "A person who lives in Virginia, or maintains a place of abode here, for more than 183 days during the year, or who is a legal (domiciliary) resident of the Commonwealth, is considered a Virginia resident for income tax purposes."

It also doesn't seem to us that she would meet the "Part-Year Resident" definition, as she does not intend to become a resident of Virginia and is there for school until the spring of 2027.

Part-Year Resident -- A person who moves into Virginia during the year with the intent of becoming a resident, or a person who moves out of Virginia during the year to become a resident of another state, is a part-year resident for income tax purposes.

Nonresident -- A person who is not a resident or part-year resident, but who receives taxable income from Virginia sources is a nonresident for income tax purposes.

Are we correct in our interpretation that she would file Virginia taxes as a non-resident for 2025, and that we would not need to indicate that she lived in another state in 2025 when completing her persona info screen?

In looking at the statute, I assume that for 2026, we would indicate that she was an "actual resident" of Virginia for the entire year because she would maintain a place of abode for 183+ days of the year?

Re: Residency Question for Out of State Grad Student

Vanessa A — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 14:26:11 GMT

Yes. That is correct. If she was present for 148 days in VA for the purpose of grad school, and had no intention of becoming a resident, she would not meet the residency or part year residency test and would simply file as a Non-Resident.

Yes, for 2026, since she will be present for more than 183 days she would be considered an "actual resident" for tax purposes for the entire year. This means all of her income would be taxable to VA.

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Residency Question for Out of State Grad Student

Re: Residency Question for Out of State Grad Student