tax question, Florida resident working in VA (Arlington: rent, car registration)

[chazzy1864]

Hello, not sure how unique, odd or common this question is. Did a search and found one similar, but with the states reversed.

I own a house (non-investment property) in Florida, that I claim as my permanent place of residence. No, it isn't my parents or anything. I have a friend living there (I guess a roommate) but he doesn't pay rent. There is nothing profitable or investment about it.

I am also registered to vote, car, drivers license, etc in Florida.

My company is in Arlington, VA. Generally I am a traveling employee. I'm currently in Germany, I've been to Iraq before, worked in California, Wisconsin, etc. You get the idea.

My company sent me a blank VA-4 Form about taxes for the state of VA. I did some searching and saw that there is a nonresident state tax return form. Would I be filling that out with my W-2 each year? Or is there anything that keeps me from paying some of the high state taxes VA has?


Thanks for any help and info that can be provided.
-Chaz

[z28lt1]

As a disclaimer, I'm not an accountant or certified tax preparer.

From what I understand from having done this before, If you are legitimately claiming residency in FL, you would fill out the non resident tax form and should be pay taxes to VA only on the days that you work in VA, not in the days you are elsewhere. The non resident form will help you calculate what you pay, but you'll need to track the days you work in state and out.

[RamblingMan]

You really need to talk to a tax professional about your specific situation.

There's too much money at stake to rely on advice on an internet forum. I was a Virginia resident for many years, and the Commonwealth of Virginia has a (justified) reputation for being very aggressive in chasing people it believes owe it taxes.

I'm not an accountant or legal professional either, but my understanding is that the Commonwealth's taxman isn't going to much care about the house you own in Florida or your voter registration and driver's license. What he is going to focus on are your ties to Virginia. Do you own or rent a residence in Virginia? How many days of the year do you spend in Virginia and how many do you spend in Florida? If Virginia feels that you are a resident, being outside the state does not exempt you from taxes.

Do yourself a favor and talk to a qualified professional.

[CAVA1990]

Why pay for advice you can get for free? Call the VA Department of Taxation and ask. I'm pretty sure they get this question frequently. It's probably also explained on their website:

Who Must File -- Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Taxation

[chazzy1864]

Gotcha. Thank you all for your replies.

This hadn't been an issue until today. Figured I'd scour what I could, tonight and deal with more in the coming days.

Really appreciate it all.

[slduvall]

As other posted.. I too am not a tax expert. But I am a resident of FL, voting, home ownership, car registration etc. BUT I work in VA, therefore I pay VA taxes, which you will owe for time "worked" in VA.

I had an exemption - a new law which allows military spouses to claim the military spouses home of record for tax purposes. But I had to provide a ton of proof to make that claim. VA is a very tough state and in your case -complicated. And since the passage of the new law for military spouses in 2009 - I daresay they are losing money - so more inclined to collect from those that owe.

The VA tax website is actually pretty good..if that can be said about a tax site.