CA Taxes

[firehawkocean]

Okay everyone,

So since my wife and I enjoyed our vacation to Austin last month, we are going to rent our place in CA and rent for 6 months to a year to see how we like TX.

The question is: We are planning on moving Feb. 1st! How do we make sure that CA won't consider us residents if we are renting in TX and moving a month after the 1st of 2013? Will CA only expect partial taxes for the month that we are here?

Thanks

[MonkeyMama]

1 - Don't ask for tax advice on an online forum. You get what you pay for. (Is okay for generic stuff, but this is a complex tax situation).

2 - California takes a very broad view of residency. It is likely you will be considered a resident for the full year 2013. This is also good to know so that if you do decide to leave the state on a more permanent basis, you will want to sever a lot of ties with California (real estate, banking relationships, business, etc.). The reason is so many people "pretend" to leave the state to avoid taxes. Some of California's stances have been challenged in the courts, but many of them have not yet (I am sure they will be challenged over time).

Off the top of my head, it depends how many days you are physically in the state, how many days you are employed out of state, etc. Just because you are considered a resident does not mean all your income is taxed. It gets complex - I do not have the answers off the top of my head.

[MonkeyMama]

P.S. The Form 540NR instructions may be a good place for you to start to get an idea about your situation. This is the tax form for part-year residents and non-residents.

www.ftb.ca.gov - where the forms are.