PA and NY tax filing concerns for student graduating college

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I recently graduated from a university in PA and have been living in PA in an off-campus apartment since the last August and will continue to live here until next August. I am about to start a full-time job in PA and was confused about the varying tax filing and residency status for both PA and NY. My parents (who live and work in NY full time and where we have a house) have claimed me as a dependent and filed taxes for me in NY while I was in school, but now that I am no longer a student, I have a few questions about where and how I can file taxes next year to the states that I have lived in, primarily:

1. Do I need to file my own taxes now that I am no longer a student?

2. What resident status would I be if I were to file for PA and/or NY taxes, and how should I file?

3. Would I be double taxed by NY and PA for being residents for both? And if so, would I be able to get a tax credit?

Thanks!

[Bsch4477]

It’s not clear what tax year you are referring to. If 2024 and you attended college as a full time student for 5 months during 2024 you are still their dependent unless you paid more than half of your support for the year. Let’s stop there pending more information from you. 

[Anonymous]

Hi, thanks for the quick response.

I am referring to the tax year 2024, however I graduated in the last week of April, would that only count as 4 months of being a full-time student? My parents do still financially support me, and will continue to do so for a while.

Thanks again for the reply!

[Bsch4477]

Since you were not a full time student and I assume that you will earn more than $5,050 you are not a dependent. If your only income is from sources in the state you are living you would file as a full time resident of that state. You don’t get to choose residency which is based on where you live. 

[Anonymous]

So in that case would I only have to file for PA taxes (as a resident) and not for NY?

I was just worried because I was checking NY state Department of Taxation and Finance's "Income tax definitions" and under it they mentioned something of "domicile", which would require me to file taxes as a resident in NY. It says that "Your New York domicile does not change until you can demonstrate that you have abandoned your New York domicile and established a new domicile outside New York State."

Would me being a dependent under my parents for as long as I can remember and having most of my ties in NY (e.g., health insurance and drivers license) mean that my domicile remained in NY despite me living in PA continuously for a year now? I have also went back home to NY to visit my parents for a month sometimes during this tax year. Here are the sources I mentioned earlier from the NY website, where it mentions domicile and something else like permanent place of abode.

Sorry for any confusion, I am new to all of this and don't want to mess up with tax stuff.

[Bsch4477]

Residency is based on the totality of the situation. If you have lived and worked in PA all year and intend to continue to do so you are a resident there. You should get a PA driver’s license and register to vote there as well.