My son is a full time student in SC, had a summer internship in CA & made 25K. Based on the program he’s going to get a refund from CA & pay in SC. Doesn’t seem right.

[skikeowee]

He had 1400 withheld in CA but calculated tax is 552 so he’s getting a refund.  In SC it appears that all 25K is taxable and the tax is 1172.  He’s getting a credit of the 552 paid in the other state and he now owes the difference to SC.  It seems really strange that he’s paying more to SC than to CA.  Am I doing something wrong or not considering something?  

[AnnetteB]

If he is filing as a resident of SC, that is probably correct.

As a SC resident, all income earned will be taxed regardless of where it was earned.  Since the income was made in CA, there was probably no SC income tax withheld from that income.  So unless he has another source of SC withholdings, the only 'payment' toward the income tax is the credit for the taxes paid on the CA return.