Do I need to file state taxes if I reside in a foreign country?

[spaneasy55]

My father lives in and is a resident of Colombia, South America. The last time he lived permanently in the states was in 2011 in Illinois, but he has filed state returns due to having a rental home and other financial assets in the US (both of which are no longer applicable). He is no longer earning foreign income that needs to be reported, just a pension from the state of Illinois. My mother is a citizen of and has lived in Colombia since 2011 and now receives a monthly social security check. They have a couple of US bank accounts (less than $10,000 at any given time) and credit cards. Do they need to file a state tax return?

[LinaJ2020]

It really depends. 

First of all, ask this question: 

• Are you a resident?  Do you have the intention to return to Illinois?  See here: https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/questionsandanswers/Pages/369.aspx

If you are a resident and required to file a federal tax return, you would need to file an IL state return.

If you are a non-resident, you must file Form IL-1040 and Schedule NR if:

-you earned enough taxable income from Illinois sources to have a tax liability ( i.e., your Illinois base income from Schedule NR, Step 5, Line 46, is greater than your Illinois exemption allowance on Schedule NR, Step 5, Line 50), or

-you want a refund of any Illinois Income Tax withheld in error. You must attach a letter of explanation from your employer.

Since you still receive a pension from the state, without knowing the amounts, my advice to you is to go through the state section in the TurboTax program to confirm and verify your requirements and possibly a state refund or tax due.  Just follow prompts and the program will guide you through.  

• After sign into your account, select Pick up where you left off
• To your left, complete section My Info
• To your left, select State
• On-screen, Statue of your state returns, under Illinois, select Start

Also see link here: https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/individuals/filingrequirements/Pages/default.aspx