Filing taxes in Tx, residency in CA?
Anyone with advice would be greatly appreciated!! My husband is in the USAF and we are originally residents of California. I moved to his duty station in Texas with him in Jan of 06 but never changed my residency from CA. We have since purchased a home in TX, I work here, and I've registered my vehicle here. I've had extra money withheld on my federal taxes every month in anticipation of owing taxes to CA (no state income tax in TX). Is anyone aware of an exemption or form I could submit in order to not have to file/pay to CA for taxes this year??
Public Comments
- YOU have NOT been a CA resident since Jan 2006. There is NO form necessary. Physically leaving the state is all you need to do. As for your husbands taxes, talk to the base's equivalent of an HR department. They answer this type of question all the time.
- Your husband's domicile will not change unless he goes to the Accounting and Finance Office on base and changes it. The domicile of active duty military does NOT change when stationed outside of their home state. He will continue to pay CA state taxes as long as his domicile is in CA. Your domicile is not protected by the Soldier's and Sailor's Civil Relief Act, as amended. However it is the policy of the State of CA to treat you as a CA domciliary unless you take active measures to change your domicile. While purchasing a home and registering a car in another state will generally show intent, this isn't the case for military dependents UNLESS you also register to vote in your new state of domicile. Be very careful with changing your domicile, however. Should you return to CA when his term of service expires, CA will treat the change of domicile as a tax dodge and WILL levy taxes on all of the income you earned while he was stationed out of state. CA, VA and MA are notorious for this, from personal experience. If you settle in another state after he leaves military service then CA will have no claim against you. However if you return to CA very shortly after he separates from the service, even if that's by retirement in 20 years, CA will come after you for the back taxes. If you made your home in another state for 6 months to a year after he separates you'd be in a much better position to claim that the motivation in changing your domicile was not merely to avoid CA taxes. If you don't file a CA return this year, or if you file one that does not include the income that you earned in TX, expect the FTB to challenge the return and attempt to levy additional taxes. It will be up to you to prove that you have changed your legal domicile. From personal experience a "true copy" of your TX voter registration card will stop them from attempting to levy additional taxes but if you are not registered to vote in TX right now they may still levy for tax year 2007 and you very well may have to pay.
