Am I a New York Resident? Or a Georgia Resident?

[ipodtouch]

I'm currently filling out my taxes, and getting worried/confused.

I applied to medical schools as a NY resident. My "real home" is there, my driver's license, my family, all of my major paper works including my AMCAS are addressed to my NY address, I go there for every extended break I can get.

But I'm currently working in GA for the past 15 months (will be over in a month) on a short-term research employment. I lived here, payed GA taxes, etc for the past 2011.


I will be filling my tax forms out as a GA resident, while my parents will be filling their taxes as NY residents.


1.) I want to apply to medical school as a NY resident this year if I don't get in this year.
2.) If I get in this year, I want to be able to pay the NY instate tuition.

Will filling my taxes as a GA resident affect these?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[sector9]

I'm currently filling out my taxes, and getting worried/confused.

I applied to medical schools as a NY resident. My "real home" is there, my driver's license, my family, all of my major paper works including my AMCAS are addressed to my NY address, I go there for every extended break I can get.

But I'm currently working in GA for the past 15 months (will be over in a month) on a short-term research employment. I lived here, payed GA taxes, etc for the past 2011.


I will be filling my tax forms out as a GA resident, while my parents will be filling their taxes as NY residents.


1.) I want to apply to medical school as a NY resident this year if I don't get in this year.
2.) If I get in this year, I want to be able to pay the NY instate tuition.

Will filling my taxes as a GA resident affect these?

You should probably be filing GA taxes as a nonresident and NY taxes as a resident if you want to continue claiming NY residency for med school apps.

 

[capn jazz]

things that go towards proving NY state residency
-voter reg
-drivers license
-fed and state taxes
-whether you are a dependent on your parents NY state taxes
-utilities bills in your name ot a NY address
-rent checks in your name to a NY address
-bank statements in your name to a NY address
-diploma from a NY HS within 5 years of matriculation

for the 12 month period leading up to matriculation.
some SUNYs wil require varying amounts of the above proofs, check with each school.

 

[edmadison]

You are definitely a resident of Georgia. You change your "domicile" any time you go to another state with the intent to remain there indefinitely. Don't think of indefinitely as forever. It essentially means other than a brief visit. I joke that if you aren't living out of a suitcase, you have changed your domicile. Fifteen months is clearly long enough to meet this standard. You can't really rely on the other factors: you should have changed your driver's license and your tags when you moved. You could actually get a ticket for this if you get caught (unlikely). Your parents should certainly NOT be claiming you on their income taxes as a dependent because you don't meet the IRS definition of a dependent for several reasons.

In short: You work in GA, you live in GA, you are not a full-time student, therefore you are a Georgian. Thats the bad news.

The good news is that schools tend to be a little more liberal with the definition -- especially with someone who has solid ties to the state. The school determines whether or not you are a resident for tuition/admission purposes and they may cut you a break. The only real way to know is to contact them. I have heard several stories through SDN of schools saying a student was in-state when the weight of the argument was against them.

Good luck

 

[IMSingular]

It's unfortunate that some students could be in a limbo. Ironic that you can be a citizen of US but resident nowhere. If Dick Cheney could arrange to be the resident of Montana at last moment med students should be able to choose their last domicile state as resident state if they cannot qualify for the state they have just moved.

 

[capn jazz]

It's unfortunate that some students could be in a limbo. Ironic that you can be a citizen of US but resident nowhere. If Dick Cheney could arrange to be the resident of Montana at last moment med students should be able to choose their last domicile state as resident state if they cannot qualify for the state they have just moved.

yea, i'm a citizen but a resident of nowhere it seems -_-

 

[wasabid]

I'm currently filling out my taxes, and getting worried/confused.

I applied to medical schools as a NY resident. My "real home" is there, my driver's license, my family, all of my major paper works including my AMCAS are addressed to my NY address, I go there for every extended break I can get.

But I'm currently working in GA for the past 15 months (will be over in a month) on a short-term research employment. I lived here, payed GA taxes, etc for the past 2011.


I will be filling my tax forms out as a GA resident, while my parents will be filling their taxes as NY residents.


1.) I want to apply to medical school as a NY resident this year if I don't get in this year.
2.) If I get in this year, I want to be able to pay the NY instate tuition.

Will filling my taxes as a GA resident affect these?

This is a link to SUNY's policy toward residency status. I would think that many other schools in New York have a similar policy:

http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=402

It might be best to contact the school in question and ask their opinion, though. Then you'll have a more definitive answer.

 

[octupus]

I would contact the school to check. You might end up in the same situation as me.. meaning if list NY as your residence on your AMCAS, you might be considered a NY applicant but not qualify for in-state tuition.

I would call up each school in both GA and NY and check with them the documents you need to present and to clarify whether you will be considered in-state for both application and tuition purposes (2 different things)

 

[Ebola4Breakfast]

I'm currently filling out my taxes, and getting worried/confused.

I applied to medical schools as a NY resident. My "real home" is there, my driver's license, my family, all of my major paper works including my AMCAS are addressed to my NY address, I go there for every extended break I can get.

But I'm currently working in GA for the past 15 months (will be over in a month) on a short-term research employment. I lived here, payed GA taxes, etc for the past 2011.


I will be filling my tax forms out as a GA resident, while my parents will be filling their taxes as NY residents.


1.) I want to apply to medical school as a NY resident this year if I don't get in this year.
2.) If I get in this year, I want to be able to pay the NY instate tuition.

Will filling my taxes as a GA resident affect these?

Definitely be careful with this situation. It's tricky. It is absolutely possible to be a resident of no state. Get the definition of a state resident clarified from each school you intend to apply to as each school can have a different definition of a state resident. Moving does not automatically confer residency. One school told me that I retained state residency X for 12 months after graduation despite moving to a new state. You can really do yourself some harm by incorrectly selecting state residency. Some schools have deadlines by which you must declare state residency. After that, you're out of luck.

I'm not an expert, but it looks a whole lot like you're a Georgia resident. You live, work, and pay taxes in the state of Georgia. Driver's licenses et al don't do a whole lot for you. I was denied GA state residency despite having a GA state license, GA voter registration, bills addressed in GA, and my permanent address being in GA (my parents' house). My job was in a different state, and I paid taxes in a different state. Thus, I was not a GA resident. Georgia is fairly strict in making students prove state residency as one GA med school accepts only GA residents (Mercer U) and another GA med school accepts at least 95% GA residents (Medical College of GA). Thankfully for me this was settled only a few days into the application cycle because I submitted early and MCG released its secondary apps quickly. I was able to change my AMCAS state residency to the appropriate state (which later got challenged, but that's another story). Talk to your NY schools before you do anything.

 

[hellocubed]

I am confused. I read from here a few months ago that Med Schools look at your Parent's Taxes (whether or not you file your own) in order to establish financial aid?

Would this not allow him to receive instate-tuition because his parents have been in NY forever?

 

[exquisitemelody]

I got stuck in a weird situation because I live in Georgia, but my parents live in cali. The first year I applied, I listed GA as my home state, but MCG classified me as OOS because my parents claimed me on their cali tax forms. Even though I've lived in Georgia half my life and everything else I have is GA (driver's license, voter registration, car registration, etc), they still classified me as OOS because my parents claimed me. Seeing as you've lived in GA over a year and are paying GA taxes as a Georgia resident, you are definitely a GA resident, at least MCG will classify you as one. I don't know the policies in NY, but since you filed taxes as a Georgia resident, I'm pretty sure you'll probably be classified as a Georgia resident, but you should check with the schools.

I don't know how taxes work, but if there's a way to file taxes as a NY resident even though you worked in GA, do that or else you run the risk of being a GA resident.

I am confused. I read from here a few months ago that Med Schools look at your Parent's Taxes (whether or not you file your own) in order to establish financial aid?

Would this not allow him to receive instate-tuition because his parents have been in NY forever?

I'm pretty sure classification for tuition and financial aid are separate.

 

[sirdude]

Residency requirements vary per state. Your priority is to check with your school and find out what your state's requirements are. You having grown up in NY may be your saving grace because you can live in one state and work in another.

 

[mvenus929]

I am confused. I read from here a few months ago that Med Schools look at your Parent's Taxes (whether or not you file your own) in order to establish financial aid?

Yes. Often they do.

Would this not allow him to receive instate-tuition because his parents have been in NY forever?

*Generally* no. Once you're of a certain age or no longer in school (i.e. paying taxes on your own, not being claimed on your parents' taxes), it really doesn't matter what residency your parents hold.

Then again, things can get a little dicey. For instance, we moved from Colorado to South Carolina when I was in high school. I got a South Carolina driver's license, but my mom retained Colorado residency (military status allows you to do that). When I wanted to go back to Colorado for undergrad, I had to appeal to get in state status because on paper, *I* looked like an out of state student.

I didn't want to change over my license, because I would've needed to get a new one at 21, so I kept my SC license (stupid decision on my part). That put me in jeopardy for getting in-state status at Colorado's medical school. I would've been considered an out of state student at SC's med schools as well, though they had a policy where you could switch everything over and claim SC residency after a year.

Moral of the story: It's going to vary hugely from school to school and state to state.

However, if you're paying taxes to one state government, in general you're considered a resident of that state, and you should've changed your driver's license over accordingly. You can file taxes as a non-resident, but I believe you have to have a compelling reason for doing so (i.e. you live in NC but work in SC, or you're in the military).