Question

California State Tax and Absentee Ballot Voting

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 9, 2021
1 reply
0 views

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question. You are a lifesaver!

I have been living in a foreign country for several years and make all of my money in the foreign country. However, I wanted to vote this year and registered in the state of California because that's where my parents lived at the time (they have since moved to Nevada in January of 2021). Now I'm starting to get letters from the state of California asking if I still live at the California address, and they send me e-mails about filing taxes.

Do I need to file California state taxes if all I did was vote and have never lived or made money there?

I am also taking an early distribution plus earnings from my Roth IRA account (I am under 59.5 years old and am paying the 10% penalty). However, it looks like my brokerage wants to know what state I live in for tax reasons. Would I need to file California state taxes in this situation?

Thank you so so so so much!!

J

JeffreyR77

Please clarify if you file Federal tax returns every year.

Your worldwide income is subject to reporting and tax by the US regardless of where you are living.

California will consider you a resident as you have registered to vote there. Voting is a right of a resident.

Until you demonstrate to California that you have established residence elsewhere in the US, California will treat you as a resident for tax purposes, and yes will tax your IRA distribution.