Date of Residency for Spouse

[Kerry F]

Hello.  We moved to TX in 2020.  My drove a Uhaul with many belongings and arrived in TX on 8/14/2020.  Kids started school immediately.  I continued to work remotely from TX the rest of the year for my CA employer.  Husband retuned to CA to sell the house and handle his late mother's affairs, then arrived for good in TX on 10/26/2020.  He works for a Boston-based company that has an office in CA.  He continued to work remotely in the same role for that company until 11/9/2020 when they gave him a new position that was based in TX.  Can we both use 8/14/2020 as our date of residency since most of the options for establishing residency were met in August, or do we need to use a later date for him since he went back to CA for two months to wrap up affairs?  Thank you in advance for any insight you can offer.

[DanielV01]

In a manner of speaking, it doesn't matter.  California is going to tax the income earned while physically working in California.  For you, your California income is what you earned until 8/14, and his is what he earned while physically present in California until 10/26.  You can state that the move was 8/14 if you wish, but the California taxable income is still the same.  California does not tax your income earned remotely once you left the state, however.

[Kerry F]

Thank you for the prompt clarification, Daniel!  I appreciate your time!