My home is in Michigan, then joined a job agency that put me in Chicago for a 2 year work assignment. Is this a temporary move, or do I file for Chicago part-residency?

[yoshikirishima]

Hello, I read up a lot about part-residency, nonresidency, and reciprocal agreements.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/state-taxes/multiple-states-where-to-file/L0y8SIqJ3

I have a home in Michigan, it is my family's permanent residence, and where I lived. I then joined a job agency, and got a work assignment placing me in Illinois for 2 years. My older brother still lives in our home, but my parents are also working in Illinois on a 3 year job contract, but will return to Michigan when it's done.

I did not intend to move to Illinois, but intend to work here for 2 years then return to my home in Michigan to look for a new job. I still use the bank accounts that I opened in Michigan, and still have active Michigan State ID, Michigan Driver's License, the car I drove is also still registered to Michigan, and I am paying rent at an apartment here in Chicago, etc.

But since the job assignment is over 1 year long, should I consider myself to have moved to Illinois, and thus file for part-residency for Illinois? I will probably get a dentist here soon, and maybe register to vote here if I do not decide to mail in vote to Michigan to try to be able to "prove" my move to IL is temporary.

Or should I file non-resident for Illinois since I did not intend to move here "permanently", even though the job assignment is over 1 year?

Thanks in advance!

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

If you don't have a spouse and/or children living in MI, you are now an  IL resident, for tax purposes. Although state residency can be a "gray area", the general rule is a job change, expected to last more than a year, makes you a resident, unless you have immediate family (spouse & dependents) in a home in the other state.

[yoshikirishima]

Thank you for the input! Since I'm in independent now, I guess it doesn't make sense to count my parents as immediate family.

[Zbucklyo]

You should look at information from the Illinois Department of Revenue to determine how they define residency, and proceed from there.

[yoshikirishima]

@Zbucklyo Thank, you, I actually went to check their website.

Here it says "You are an Illinois resident if you were domiciled in Illinois for the entire year."

I was not in IL for the whole year, but it doesn't say "if and only if you were domiciled".

So I looked for more and I found the following:

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/individuals/filingrequirements/Pages/default.aspx">https://www2.illino...>

An Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, or Wisconsin resident who worked in Illinois, must file an Illinois tax return if:
1) you received income in Illinois from sources other than wages, salaries, tips, and commissions,
2) you want a refund of any Illinois Income Tax withheld.

If you received wages, salaries, tips, and commissions from Illinois employers, you are not required to pay Illinois Income Tax on this income.


So it sounds like if my 2 year job assignment still counts me as a Michigan resident, then my employer may have been fine to charge my W2 tax under Michigan instead of Illinois?

[Zbucklyo]

It sounds like you should file as a part-year resident of each state.

[Hal_Al]

Yes. The year you moved, you file as a part year resident of each state. If you were in IL all of 2018, you file as a resident of IL, only.

[yoshikirishima]

Thanks, both of you!!