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If i am a college student, am i a resident of the state that my school is in?

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June 6, 2019
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Best answer by KrisD15

That depends.

How you file state tax returns depends on several circumstances.

(Military members have their own requirements unique to them)

Let's break it down.

First, as a student, if someone else claims you as their dependent, you are a resident of the same state as the taxpayer who claims you.

(For example, parents live in California and dependent child attends school in Wisconsin. That child/student is a resident of California and may or may not need to file both California and Wisconsin depending on income sources.)

When a student is NOT a dependent, they must determine their-

DOMICILE: Permanent legal residence/ permanent home where you intend to return to after a temporary move, such as for schooling.
PLACE OF ADOBE: Location of housing, no matter if owed or rented.

The fact that you still have a New Jersey ID is irrelevant. If you no longer have a place in New Jersey to return to, you cannot be "domiciled" in New Jersey.

If you are DOMICILED in New Jersey-

You file as a Resident of Connecticut if you lived there more than183 days. (your place of adobe)

You file as a Part-Year resident of Connecticut for the year you moved there but did not stay more than 183 days

You ALSO file as a resident of New Jersey unless:

1. You did not maintain a permanent home in New Jersey;

2. You maintained a permanent home outside New Jersey; and

3. You did not spend more than 30 days in New Jersey.

New Jersey link on Understanding Income Tax

If you do need to file both state returns, enter the Part-Year temporary state first, (Connecticut) then your Resident state (New Jersey). On the New Jersey Resident return, you will claim all your income but will also get a credit for the tax paid to Connecticut on the income earned in Connecticut.

If you were not domiciled in New Jersey (and did not earn income attributed to that state) you needn't file a New Jersey tax return.

Instructions for CT-1040 NR/PY

Non-Resident and Part-Year Resident Information Connecticut

New Jersey Tax Credit for taxes paid to another state

@rxleypxyton

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Bsch4477

Employee

Technically, your tax home is where you have roots, a drivers license and are registered to vote. But as a college student, the simplest approach is to declare your tax home in the state where you earned the income in you earned it where you go to school.

C

chaptico_td

what if you worked in 2 states as a college student? Your home and where you attend college?

Hal_Al

Employee

Q. what if you worked in 2 states as a college student? Your home and where you attend college?

A.

This is the general rule: The income is work state (WS) source income since it was earned there. Resident States (RS) tax all their resident's income, regardless of where earned. You will file a non-resident tax return for the WS and report the WS income. You will file a full year resident return for the RS, reporting all your income. The RS will give you a credit, or partial credit for any tax paid to the WS. This would apply to college students as well.

If you have a reciprocal state situation, the answer is different. See https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2895760-which-states-have-reciprocal-agreements

Filing Requirements: https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2903200-do-i-need-to-file-a-state-return

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richardeats

Good question. I am facing the same question. I went to school in Chicago (IL), did my internship in New York (where I earned income), before starting my company (CA). My home state is VA. Would love some input on this field to make sure I'm filing accurately!

Carl11_2

Employee

Your state of residence, sometimes referred to as your home state, is the state where your roots are. Attending college in a state does not come anywhere close to making you a residence of that state *FOR TAX PURPOSES*. While colleges will have their own residency requirements to determine if you pay resident tuition rates or non-resident tuition rates, it has absolutely no bearing on your home state for your taxes.

Generally, an undergraduate qualifies to be claimed as a dependent on the parent's tax return. So the student's home state is the state they lived in (usually with the parents) before starting college. Each state has their own residency requirements and definition of what constitutes a resident of that state. Attending a college in that state isn't one of them.

Generally, for federal tax purposes your home state is:

- Where you got your drivers license issued (and your resident address as shown on that license)

- Where your vehicle is registered

- Where you are registered to vote

- Where you own real property

There are many more, of which I've got a brain block on right now and can't think of them. But understand that just because you may meet college requirements to pay lower resident tuition rates, that does not in any way mean you are a resident of that state for federal tax purposes.

As an example, lets say your parents' are in Illinois and that's where you grew up/attended high school, and after graduating HS you when to Wisconsin to attend college. If you claim WI as your resident state, then your parent's can not claim you as a dependent and your parents can not claim "ANY" of the education credits. Additionally, you can't qualify for any of the education credits either. So it would be a lose-lose for everyone.

In a nutshell, for the 4 years you are in college your home state is where your parents live, and your parents will claim you as their dependent for all four years.

Hal_Al

Employee

Simple answer: no. But, as the other replies indicate, it depends on the details. For most college students, who are still dependents of their parents, their home state is where there parents live. This is true even if you live off campus, at school.

Even if you are not a dependent, you are considered to still be a resident of the state you came from until you do something to change that.

You may also need to look at any state specific rules. New York, in particular, says that undergrads are not residents but graduate students and J scholars are!

But, if you earned income in the state where the school is, you may have to file a non-resident state tax return and pay income tax to that state, You still have to file a home state return, but your home state will give you a credit for what you pay the non-resident state. Some states have reciprocal agreements**, in which case you file only a home state return.

** List of reciprocal states: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/state-taxes/help/which-states-have-reciprocal-agreements/00/25576

A

Anonymous

What about a grad student where you are not dependent on anyone?

i have a house in NC, but will be going to Grad school in CA. I will be keeping the house.

CatinaT1

If you are just in CA for school and will be returning to NC, your absence is still considered temporary and you will remain a NC resident. If you work while in CA, you will file a non-resident CA return as well as a NC return.

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O

Overtaxedstudent

Slightly different scenario - my parents pay my college tuition, but I pay for everything else with money I earn myself through various jobs and internships. Based on income, I’m required to file my own tax return. My parents live in NY State, but none of my income is from NY State (various states other than NY). As ID, I have a learner’s permit from where my parents live, but I don’t have a car and don’t drive. My mailing address is my frat house in MA. My parents don’t qualify for any education credits etc. For 2021, I’m living in MA for about 8 month, in WA for 3 months, and only about 4 weeks with my parents in NY. Question - (1) are my parents required to claim me as dependent, or can I take the deduction myself? (2) Can I file as a MA resident? (3) If the answer to (2) is no, then what else would it take to be able to file in MA?

Hal_Al

Employee

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on him self.

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf

@Overtaxedstudent; to answer your questions, you first need to determine if your qualify as your parent's QC dependent. Most students do. If that is your case:

Q. Are my parents required to claim me as dependent?

A. No. They are not required to. But they can and will get a $500 other dependent credit if they do. But, since they can claim you, you may not claim yourself. In TurboTax, you indicate that somebody else can claim you as a dependent, at the personal information section. TT will check that box on form 1040.

Q. Can I take the deduction myself?

A. No. If you can be a dependent, you cannot claim yourself. Actually there is no longer (since 2017) a dependent/taxpayer exemption (deduction). You may, however, claim a non-refundable tuition credit; even though your parents paid it, as long as they forego claiming the dependent credit.

Q. Can I file as a MA resident?

A. No. Since you are a student, who can be a dependent, you are considered a resident of your parent's state.

Q. If the answer to (2) is no, then what else would it take to be able to file in MA?

A. You must file a MA non-resident return, because you have MA source income. WA does not have an income tax. You must also file a NY resident return and pay tax on both your MA & WA income. NY will give you a credit (or partial credit) for tax paid to MA.

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Overtaxedstudent

This is really helpful! Thank you very much!

Sadly, this does not get me at all out of paying insanely high NY State and City taxes, despite rarely ever being there and not earning any income there 😰

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bb698

Hi! So I am from Florida which is my permanent residence where I live with my parents. I started a remote job in February (job is based PA but I was hired full time remote). I am a graduate student in New York City and moved to NYC for school in March. I got an apartment in NYC for the duration of the graduate program and will be moving back to Florida at the end of the program. My boss though is claiming she needs my W2 to be for NYC. As a student wouldn't Florida be where I file since I am a student and dependent still?

Thanks!

X

xmasbaby0

Employee

Replies are in other thread:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/college-education/discussion/student-question-about-residency-and-taxes/01/2337713

And....FL has no state income tax, so you do not file a state return for FL.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

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rxleypxyton

I currently attend graduate school in CT and work at my university as well (including summers) however i still have my NJ ID but have CT health insurance. Would i still need to file for both states or just CT

KrisD15Answer

That depends.

How you file state tax returns depends on several circumstances.

(Military members have their own requirements unique to them)

Let's break it down.

First, as a student, if someone else claims you as their dependent, you are a resident of the same state as the taxpayer who claims you.

(For example, parents live in California and dependent child attends school in Wisconsin. That child/student is a resident of California and may or may not need to file both California and Wisconsin depending on income sources.)

When a student is NOT a dependent, they must determine their-

DOMICILE: Permanent legal residence/ permanent home where you intend to return to after a temporary move, such as for schooling.
PLACE OF ADOBE: Location of housing, no matter if owed or rented.

The fact that you still have a New Jersey ID is irrelevant. If you no longer have a place in New Jersey to return to, you cannot be "domiciled" in New Jersey.

If you are DOMICILED in New Jersey-

You file as a Resident of Connecticut if you lived there more than183 days. (your place of adobe)

You file as a Part-Year resident of Connecticut for the year you moved there but did not stay more than 183 days

You ALSO file as a resident of New Jersey unless:

1. You did not maintain a permanent home in New Jersey;

2. You maintained a permanent home outside New Jersey; and

3. You did not spend more than 30 days in New Jersey.

New Jersey link on Understanding Income Tax

If you do need to file both state returns, enter the Part-Year temporary state first, (Connecticut) then your Resident state (New Jersey). On the New Jersey Resident return, you will claim all your income but will also get a credit for the tax paid to Connecticut on the income earned in Connecticut.

If you were not domiciled in New Jersey (and did not earn income attributed to that state) you needn't file a New Jersey tax return.

Instructions for CT-1040 NR/PY

Non-Resident and Part-Year Resident Information Connecticut

New Jersey Tax Credit for taxes paid to another state

@rxleypxyton

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

K

kholtmeier1

What if I go to college, earn income, rent a townhouse, and am registered to vote in Minnesota, but my drivers license is in my "home state" of Illinois? Am I able to solely file taxes in Minnesota?

Hal_Al

Employee

Q. What if I go to college, earn income, rent a townhouse, and am registered to vote in Minnesota, but my drivers license is in my "home state" of Illinois? Am I able to solely file taxes in Minnesota?

A. It depends on more info.

If you still have an abode in IL, you still have to file two state tax returns. If you are still a dependent of your parents, in IL, you still have to file two state tax returns.

College students, away at school, are still residents of their original state until they establish a permanent residency somewhere else. Registering to vote isn't enough.

K

kholtmeier1

I have rented the same apartment in Minnesota for the last 3 years (though am moving this summer) and am no longer claimed as a dependent by my parents who reside in Illinois. Other than my parents house, I have no other abode in Illinois, though my drivers license lists the Illinois address.

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Nemelysia97

Different question related to this:

If I live in one state, but I attend online classes for a school that is located in a different state, then what state am I attending classes? The question of: "Tell us the state where *name* attended classes"

So am I technically attending classes in the state I live, or the state that the school is located? The only reason I ask is because right above this it has me fill out the address information for the school, so my first thought was well obviously I'm attending classes in FL where the school is located. But then if that's the case, why ask the question? So am I attending classes in the state I live, which is OK, or am I attending classes in FL?

I'm sorry I know this might be a dumb question