Do I have to pay Maryland state taxes if I traveled abroad for over 6.25 months & never...?

I traveled abroad for 6 months & 7 days in 2006 and then never had a permanent address for the balance of the year as I was traveling across the U.S. I only used a Maryland address for a mailing address with a family member while I was abroad, and as a mailing address for my Federal tax return. Now Maryland wants money from 2006 investment income. I never worked in MD, I never earned income in MD, and I never lived in MD. I was visiting upon my return to the U.S. and was there for only 2 weeks. I did purchase a car in MD to drive back west across the country, but my driver's license was California, and I was registered to vote in Oregon. Complicated, but these were all family addresses who helped handle my affairs while I was out of the country. Any thoughts or tax input is greatly appreciated.

Public Comments

1. Here's the problem with domiciles. You have to establish a new one before the old one will admit you don't live there any more. http://individuals.marylandtaxes.com/incometax/status.asp You used a Maryland address on your federal return. You gave that address out to people. You didn't live anywhere else, so of course the default is that you are a Maryland resident and owe them taxes. Even the state's web site says if you abandon your residency you should have filed a form 502 as a part-year resident so they'd "know." However, since you failed to establish a new residency, I doubt they'd accept the fact that you lived out of your car once you got back to the states and that you want them to trust you that all of your investment income was received after this "move."
2. You filed your federal return with a Maryland address, and you purchased a vehicle in Maryland. So you may have a hard time convincing the Maryland Board of Revenue that you were not required to file a Maryland tax return. Since they were notified of your federal return, the state assumes your domicile is Maryland. What state did you file? If none, then you need to file your state return(s) for some state(s). Travelling for most of the year does not exempt you from state taxes. Many have tried this argument, and lost.
3. Normally, if you are a resident of a state and you stay away from the state is considered temporary or transient, you must pay state income tax. Read about taxes for states: http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/06/working-in-two-or-more-states.html