"living" in multiple states

[Stasigh]

I wonder if anyone has insight that would help us.

DH & I have lived all over the place this year: Jan-May in PA, Jun-Sept in Europe, Sept-Nov with DH's Parents in Ohio, and Nov-Dec back in PA.
Our permanent address is with my in-laws in Ohio. We did not have any income in Ohio.

The question is do we need to file Ohio state taxes? I don't want to pay more than needed but i definitely do not want any government agencies mad at us.

[bob]

I had a split state year a few years ago, when I used my tax software, I thought I remember it asking me about it and giving % or months in each state or something...

[KrozFan]

You'll need to file non-resident forms for any state where you earned an income but don't call that your home (like PA for example). Then for Ohio, since you only lived there a part of the year you may be looking at a part time resident form (something like that, I'm not positive about the name). I'm not sure how it will work with europe. Did you earn any money overe there. If so you might want to seriously consider paying a tax professional to take a look at your taxes.

[TheWealthSquad]

If your permanent residences is in Ohio then you need to file a resident tax return for Ohio. The other states you lived and worked in will be filed as non-resident. Your time in Europe will also need to be filed on your Federal tax return.

Many states give a credit for taxes paid to other states so you don't get double taxed on them. The problem can be when you work in a state such as TN that does not have a state tax and live in Ohio which does. You then pay Ohio state tax on income earned in TN since you get no credit for taxes paid.

Living and working in multiple states is always challenging. I would suggest getting a good professional to take a look at what you filed. If nothing else get them to do a review of it. Many will do that for free. They will only charge you if you need to have it fixed.

If you plan to continue traveling and working in multiple states every year, I would suggest you get a permanent residence in a state without an income tax. There is a reason that many military personal live in TX ;)

I realize this is kinda late to answer your question :) but hope it helps for next year.

[Stasigh]

Thanks, this will be a great help for next year.

[4jacks]

If your permanent residences is in Ohio then you need to file a resident tax return for Ohio. The other states you lived and worked in will be filed as non-resident. Your time in Europe will also need to be filed on your Federal tax return.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say I disagree.

You only need to file an income tax return in states from which you have earned an income.
I've often lived in one state and worked in others, however I have not lived in multiple states. But there is a cap, where if you earn less than X amount, you do not have to file a return. Perhaps that is only for federal, and it varies from state to state. Definitely check into it.

[TheWealthSquad]

@4jacks

I hope you don't live in Ohio :) Seriously though paying taxes in the state that is your residence is a very normal thing. I am not sure about every state (I only specifically checked about 20 of them during this tax year) but I do know Ohio. http://tax.ohio.gov/documents/forms/...structions.pdf check out page 7. Who must file an Ohio Tax return. Every Ohio resident is required. The initial poster stated his permanent residence was in Ohio.

Federal taxes are similar. The US does not care where you make the money, you have to file global earnings on your Federal tax return.

If you live in one state and work in another, you are required to file in both in every case that I know of. One you are a resident of and the other you are a nonresident. Most of them provide a tax credit so you don't get charged twice but you will pay the higher rate.

For example someone living in NC and working in SC. SC has a lower state income tax than NC. When you file your taxes you file both NC and SC. NC Resident and SC Nonresident. On the NC Resident you take a claim for taxes paid to another state (SC). Unfortunately it will be lower than the amount you owe NC so you will typically owe NC.

I would be very careful not filing taxes in your resident state. With the recent drop in tax revenue I would expect that states will be much more aggressive in collecting unfiled tax returns. The penalty for failure to file and late payments can be very extreme.

[4jacks]

Perhaps I misread the orginal post.

I assume they lived in Ohio, and during the time they lived in Ohio, they had absolutely no income. If you live in one state, and earn income from another state, then yes, you have to file taxes in both states. I lived in Maryland and worked in Delaware for a number of years.

If however you lived in Ohio and had no income from any source, I still believe you do not have to file an Ohio state Return. If you look on page 7 of the stated document:

http://tax.ohio.gov/documents/forms/...structions.pdf

It states:
You do not have to file an Ohio return if . . .
? your exemption amount (line 4) is the same as or more than
your Ohio adjusted gross income (line 3).

Which of course, if your income is Zero. It is impossible for your exemption to be less, and you do not have to file.

Federal taxes are similar. The US does not care where you make the money, you have to file global earnings on your Federal tax return.

What I meant by mentioning the federal tax, is that if you earn Less than X amount of money, for the year, you do not have to file. Which I checked on a few sources, and It seems to be $400. I really did think it was a more impressive number. lol

But the same is kinda true for the state. Ohio residents don't have to file if they earn less then X amount. According to that document, X amount is equal to thier exemption amount.

[downhome]

Both of the members above have given you good advice. But remember that tax compliance falls almost exclusively on the taxpayer. What I mean is that most people do not get examined, just like most of the fish swimming in the stream do not get eaten by a bear. You have to ask yourself, do I want to run the risk? For me, the answer is absolutely not. I'd rather be conservative and file more returns and pay a little more tax to ensure no compliance problems. I've met several people who live on the opposite end of the spectrum. I agree with the other members that getting a professional to review your return is worth the money. I assure you the advice you'll pay for if something goes wrong will be much more expensive.

Good luck.

[Stasigh]

We did it again this year and I'm still not clear on where we "reside"...
Maybe I can be more clear on our situation.

We are missionaries in Europe. From January to April we lived (and I worked) in PA while we were home on a furlough. We then returned to Europe. We both received salary through our mission agency headquarters in Colorado from April-December.
During this whole time our "permanent address" was with my in-laws in Ohio. We never actually lived or earned income in Ohio in 2009 though. I don't maintain a residence there, It's just where my mail goes so my MIL can read it and make sure it's nothing important/time sensitive.

Tax law is as far as I can tell not designed with nomads like us in mind. (We have been married 2 and a half years and moved 5 times.) There has to be a reasonable solution for us, I just can not figure out what it is! How do you get a tax professional to look at your taxes when you are in Europe? Any ideas on someone to contact?

[TheWealthSquad]

From a federal standpoint, you owe taxes on any income earned as an American citizen. You were not outside the US long enough to qualify for the Foreign Earned Income exclusion.

As far as Ohio state law, you are considered a non resident since you lived outside of Ohio all year. You would file a PA tax return for the income you earning while living in Pa. If you stay in Europe for 335 days out of 365 you can retroactively file for the Foreign Earned income exclusion and amend 2009 taxes.

Have you asked your missionary support group if they have an accountant or tax preparer that you can talk too?

It is a very interesting dilemna about the 9 months you were in Europe. Since you aren't in a state, you would argue that you don't have to file a state tax return for it.

You can PM if you want me to take a closer look at your taxes. No charge for an initial look to see if I can help.

[clarksoneil]

If you are living in multiple states it could be better if you are aware about tax preparer mississauga. There's nothing wrong if you can look at it.