State of residency ambiguity

[littleblue888]

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Hi everyone,

I've been getting conflicting info about what state is my legal residence. For context, I was born in CA and am a US citizen, but lived in China for 12 years before undergrad. During this time, my parents continued to file taxes for foreign income under a CA home address.

After moving to GA for college in 2020, I've had a GA license since 2022 and am registered to vote here, but I am still listed as a dependent on my parents' CA tax returns. However, I also work in GA and have filed my own taxes here.

Am I just a cut and dry GA resident? An advisor has told me since I'm a dependent on my parents' tax return, that I'm still a CA resident, but others have told me it's whatever state I'm registered to vote in.

 

[LizzyM]

I do think that being a dependent makes you a California resident. That said, you could work a year after graduation, gain economic independence and then apply as a Georgia resident if you think that would give you an advantage over being from Cali.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Websites for Georgia schools will help tease this out. They look consistent to the Mercer page (which generally only considers Georgia residents)

Admissions Process | Mercer School of Medicine

medicine.mercer.edu

 

[Breadman10]

You can always call admissions and ask for their two cents

 

[Dral]

but others have told me it's whatever state I'm registered to vote in.

Certainly not true in my experience. You're allowed to register to vote in a state where you are attending college, but typically attending a school opposed to not being in school (full time work/taxes) is not enough to gain residency status.

Voting as a college student | Vote.gov

Find out where and how to register and vote in national, state, and local elections as a college student.

vote.gov