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State Income Tax

Foreign National Tax Guide

State Income Tax Information

If you have taxable income on your federal return, or state income taxes were withheld from your income, you will have to file a return with the state in which you earned the income. All but seven states in the United States impose income taxes on individuals similar the federal income tax (but with lower rates). The states that do not impose an income tax on individuals are: 1) Alaska (you actually get paid for living there), 2) Florida, 3) Nevada, 4) South Dakota, 5) Texas, 6) Washington, and 7) Wyoming. 

States are independent from one another in their taxing authority, and all state tax forms differ in some respects. State income tax forms usually start with federal taxable income, or federal adjusted gross income, and require a few adjustments. The states are not bound to honor federal tax treaties, but most do. Those that do not (that I am aware of) are: 1) Alabama, 2) Arkansas, 3) California, 4) Connecticut, 5) Hawaii, 6) Kansas, 7) Kentucky, 8) Louisiana, 9) Maryland, 10) Mississippi, 11) New Jersey, 12) North Dakota, and 13) Pennsylvania. If you live or work in one of these states, you will owe state income tax even though your income is exempt from federal income tax by a treaty. 

If you worked in more than one state, you will probably have to file a part-year return with each state. Just about all the states have Web pages from which you can download the necessary forms. If you worked in Minnesota, you will find tax forms at the Minnesota Department of Revenue Web site. Links to all state revenue department home pages can be found at the U.S. Treasury's State Links page. Another directory of state tax information is at taxsites.com.

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Copyright © 2008 Gary W. Carter
gwc@gwcartercpa.com

 
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