@SherM wrote:
2nd Qtr taxpayer moved to WA with apartment, DL, auto tags - with intent of living there permanently.
But then decided to move in with friends in CA, so moved back to CA, but had to continue to pay WA apartment lease until it ended. Kept DL and auto tags in WA.
He's still living in CA.
You have to determine whether your client was a statutory or domiciliary resident of CA. Domicile is a matter of fact and intent. Abandonment of a domicile must be accompanied by the physical relocation to a new state as the permanent home, supported by other concrete actions to establish social, economic, and professional ties, and a definitive plan to leave the previous state. This is a common law concept, in which multiple factors are considered collectively for convergence and no one factor is necessarily given a larger weigh or determinative. This is much more than the few actions you cited, all of which could be easily manipulated.
The fact that your client moved from place to place gives the impression that he didn't have a domicile outside of CA to which he would return. The fact that he returned to CA after just a few months in WA also calls into question whether he had actually intended to permanently relocate to WA (not to say that it's not possible - just that you'd need stronger facts to support the changes in domicile within a short span). This is especially true if your client's role, based on the terms of his employment, is physically located in CA and the terms do not provide for telecommuting on a permanent basis.
Prima facie, your client would remain a full-year resident of CA and would claim a credit for NR taxes paid to KY for services rendered in KY. Since WA doesn't have any state income tax, your client will pay CA tax in full for services rendered in WA.
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Still an AllStar
