CA state tax tax calculation question: based in CA but live in WA.

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
February 26, 2024
2 replies
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I know that I need to pay CA tax as nonresident in this case but I am not clear about how much income is considered as CA taxable. Here is my tax situation. I got a CA-based job last year, but I am still living in WA right now. I commuted to CA every several days/weeks for work and worked at home or in the WA office. I am wondering how I should calculate my CA state tax? Do I have to use the numbers in my W2 or should I calculate the portion of days that I worked in CA over the total working days last year? What about the sign-on bonus? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

MonikaK1

Under the circumstances you described, you would file a California state return and pay California income tax on all of your California-sourced income, based on your W-2 and other tax information forms, but not your Washington income; you won't need to make a calculation.

After making all of the entries needed to complete your Federal return, add a California state return in TurboTax and complete the California interview. TurboTax will include only the California income on your California return.

As a nonresident of California, all of your California-sourced income is taxable. If you lived in a state that has a state income tax, you would normally be taxed on all of your income by your resident state and you would receive a credit on your resident return for taxes paid to California. Since you live in a state (WA) that doesn't have an income tax, you would just file a California return and report California income.

See this California Franchise Tax Board webpage for more information.

A nonresident is a person who is not a resident of California.

Generally, nonresidents are:

Simply passing through
Here for a brief rest or vacation
Here for a short period of time to complete:
- A job
- A transaction
- Contract work

As a nonresident, you pay tax on your taxable income from California sources.

Sourced income includes, but is not limited to:

Services performed in California
Rent from real property located in California
The sale or transfer of real California property
Income from a California business, trade or profession

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10and1Author

Thanks for your help, MonikaK1! My question is I am not very clear whether the paycheck from the CA job that I got while I stayed in WA is also considered as CA Sourced income. Seems that you suggested that all of this income is CA-source no matter where you live.

TomD8

Employee

@10and1 --

You may want to read "Income Taxable by California" on pages 6-7 of this CA tax publication:

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2023/2023-1031-publication.pdf

**Answers are correct to the best of my ability but do not constitute tax or legal advice.

10and1Author

Thanks for your help @TomD8 . Example 1 on Page 6 is the same as my case. I am wondering, in this case, should I consider that all of the income is CA taxable or do I need to do some calculation? Let's say I have 40K income last year and I stayed in CA half of year for work. In this case, should I consider 40K as my CA income or 20K as my CA income?