Should my out-of-state college student daughter file a state tax return in the state where she is attending college, California, in order to get a refund of state taxes?

[dwwhqeelock]

I'm doing taxes for my daughter, who is going to school out of state and earned money in that state. 

I am in Oklahoma and my daughter lists our home as her permanent address. She is going to school in California. She earned money in CA and had CA state income tax deducted from her wages. She has no income from Oklahoma.

Should she file a CA tax return to get her refund from CA?

Should she also file an Oklahoma tax return, because that’s her permanent residence, even though she has no Oklahoma income?

[StacyC · Accepted solution]

Assuming that she is single and that you are claiming her as a dependent on your tax return, she needs to file a California tax return if she made more than $4,236 (the California standard deduction) in 2017. Even if she made less than that she will likely get a refund of all the withholding by filing, in which case it would be worth filing the California tax return. She will file in California as a nonresident. She will also be required to file an Oklahoma return if her income is over $6,350. When she files an Oklahoma return as a resident they will give her credit for any taxes she paid to California, so she will likely not owe anything to Oklahoma (this is called the other state tax credit)

Sources: 

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individhttps://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/fileRtn/uals/fileRtn/

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2017-California-Tax-Rates-and-Exemptions.shtml#ifr

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/faq/net/902.shtml

https://www.ok.gov/tax/documents/511Pkt-17.pdf (page 4)