Where to claim residence?

[chloefromdora]

I was full-time student in Massachusetts Jan-May 2016.
July 2016 I started 1 year job in CA (have rented apartment there).
I have Texas Drivers Lic (my parents moved there a year ago, so I took up residence there too).
I am filing this year as non-dependent single, with no dependents.
I know that I will need to file Mass and CA state income, but not sure where to show as "State of Residence"

[linear · Accepted solution]

Although you have a TX license, did you ever actually live in that state? Or only visit and use you parents' address as a mailing address?

While you were a student in MA, you may have been a resident of your original home state - it depends on the facts. Or you may have been considered a resident while you lived there, if you were living there essentially permanently before 2016.

It sounds like you are now a resident of CA, as you have moved there to live and work.

You will either need to file non-resident in MA and part-year resident in CA, or part-year resident in both states.

This article and the links in it will help explain the process:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900021-when-do-you-need-to-file-tax-returns-in-multiple-states

[chloefromdora]

I already know that I will need to file taxes for MA and CA.  Will it make any real difference in tax amount owed, by setting residence in one state over another?

[chloefromdora]

And if it makes any difference - My CA income has all come during my stay in CA, but I do have small MA income still, via contracting with an online tutoring service there.

[linear]

There could be some difference in total amount owed, based on where income was earned and tax rates in the two states. But you can't pick residency solely on the tax liability. You can read MA's definition here:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.mass.gov/dor/individuals/filing-and-payment-information/guide-to-personal-income-tax/resi...>

Also note that income from the online tutoring service is not MA-source income, if you were not a resident at the time and were not physically present in MA.

[chloefromdora]

But with a 1099 from a MA company, doesnt that still count as MA income?

[chloefromdora]

And so far as MA residency would have gone, I was only in MA as a full-time under-graduate college student, under 21 yrs old, and still claimed as dependent on parents' taxes. The CA job was always just of only a one-year time-frame, and there was no particular intent to stay on longer

[chloefromdora]

And I will still need to file MA, irregardless, as I also have a 1099 for income from a different job during spring semester 2016, in MA.

[linear]

The location of the company in MA does not matter. The income is not MA-source to non-residents if you were not physically present in MA while working.

[chloefromdora]

cool thank you