I'm a California resident. Do I have to break my residency for income tax filing if I am going to study in RI?

Question

I am going to a University in Rhode Island, what are the residency issues for tax filing purposes if I maintain my home in California?

Answer 1

You will be considered on a "transitory absence" from home while you are away from school.

Answer 2

Temporary and transitory absence means that if you meet CA filing requirement, then you must file your tax return and report your worldwide income.

Read http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/06/work...

Answer 3

As a CA resident attending school away from home you maintain your CA residency and MUST pay CA taxes.  The ONLY way to avoid that would be to permanently move to RI.  However if you were to return to CA during semester breaks or at the end of your schooling, CA will treat your change of residence as an illegal tax dodge and will levy taxes on all wages earned while you were in RI.  

If you ARE changing your legal residence to RI, just register to vote there, get a RI driver's license and RI tags for your car, etc.  Just remember, you can NOT return to CA immediately upon graduation or if you drop out!  You'll need at least 6 to 12 months of residency in any other state upon completion of your studies to keep CA at bay on this.  The longer, the better.  And keep GOOD records to back your claim such as copies of leases you signed after you finished your studies, voter registration cards, etc. as the FTB is VERY likely to challenge your status.

Military personnel face this same issue as they maintain their legal residence (domicile) when posted outside of their home state.  Some states such as CA, VA, and MA (from personal experience) will view any intervening change of domicile as tax evasion if you return to the state at the end of your tour of duty, or in your case when you graduate.