Residency Issues and Definitions

Domicile

"Domicile" is your permanent home where you return after being absent, even if you're gone for many years. It is where you have chosen to live permanently, not for a special or temporary purpose.

Once established, a domicile continues until all of the following three conditions are met:

Intending to abandon the former domicile;
Physically living in a new domicile; and
Intending to stay in the new domicile permanently.

See Tax Commission rules R865-9I-2 and R884-24P-52 for more information.

Utah Resident

You are a Utah resident if you:

Lived in Utah for the entire year, even if temporarily outside of Utah for an extended length of time (years in certain situations);
Lived in Utah for any length of time during the taxable year, but only for that time; or
Maintain a permanent home in Utah, even if you lived outside Utah, and spent a total of 183 or more days of the taxable year in Utah. This does not apply to military personnel or their spouses who are in Utah on military assignment (see Tax Commission Rule R865-9I-2) unless they are Utah residents.

You must pay tax on income received while living in Utah, regardless of that income's source.

Utah Residents Working in Other States

If you earned income from other states, you must pay Utah taxes on that income as well as your Utah earned income. You are still considered a resident even if you work in another state therefore must file resident income tax returns in Utah on all income, regardless of source. See Utah Resident above.

You may receive a credit for the amount of tax paid to other states if you are a resident (or part-year resident) taxed by Utah and another state. Click here for more information.

Utah residents earning income in a state without income tax must pay tax to Utah for that income. No credit is allowed because no tax is paid to the other state.

Example

A tenured college professor is a Utah resident and teaches summer sessions at a Nevada university. The professor's annual income is:

$25,000 – Summer stipend from Nevada university
$70,000 – Salary from a Utah college
$95,000 – Total Income

The professor would file a Utah tax return (form TC-40) and pay Utah tax on the full $95,000 because Nevada does not have a state income tax.

Similarly, a Nevada resident earning income from Utah must pay Utah tax on 100 percent of the Utah earnings because Nevada does not have an income tax.

Utah Residents Working Out of State for Extended Periods

Utah residents who work out of state (or out of the country) for extended periods but leave their families in Utah, may have to pay Utah income tax on all income earned here or out of state.

Once established, a domicile continues until all of the following three elements are met:

Intending to leave the former domicile;
Actually living in a new domicile; and
Intending to stay in the new domicile permanently.