retired inThailand

[ballin]

Hello.  I'm retired in Thailand and own property in Nevada and California.  I have a Nevada drivers license as well as I vote in Nevada.  There is no house in Nevada due to a fire some time ago, but there is a big barn.  Am I able to still claim that Nevada is my residence even though I live in Thailand?  I put the Thailand address on my income tax form.  

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Thank you for participating.

Based on the facts that you have mentioned, you do not qualify to claim residency in Nevada. You have to be physically present to be able to claim residency in Nevada.

Residency Requirements in Nevada 

California is one of the states that has stricter requirements for filing the state return while living abroad.  In the absence of all details I cannot determine if you need to file California return as a resident. Please see the attached article for more information.

How to file state tax for US expat using TurboTax? 

[ballin]

Thank you for your answer.  I'm still unclear which state I would put down on my Income tax form.  I own property in Thailand as well as 2 cars.  As I mentioned before my DL is in Nevada, I vote in Nevada, as well as a bank in Nevada.  My income comes from UCLA and is deposited in the UCLA Credit Union and I transfer money to Thailand as needed.  For years I have listed NV as my primary residence on my Tax return.  What do people do if they didn't own any property and live full time abroad? 

[SundayInSalem]

If you are a permanent resident of Thailand, use ‘Foreign or U.S. Possession’ as your state of residence in TurboTax. It’s the last option in dropdown menu for Tell us the state(s) you lived in. 

U.S. citizens and resident aliens are taxed on worldwide income. You can claim a credit for tax paid to Thailand on any double taxed income.

You didn’t say what type of income you receive from UCLA. If it is some type of compensation for services then you will file a nonresident California income tax return and report any California-source income. 

In Other state income, answer Yes to Did you make money in any other states? Select California in the dropdown menu and TurboTax will create a nonresident California return in State. 

[ballin]

Thank you.  The income is on form 1099-R and is my pension as I worked at UCLA for 30 years. 

I do not make any money here in Thailand as my sole income is from my pension.  Does that do anything different?  Thank you again

[SundayInSalem · Accepted solution]

California does not impose tax on retirement income received by a nonresident after 31 December  1995 so you would not have to file a California income tax return if that's your only income from CA.

See page 5 of Publication 1005.