question on taxes for part time residents (car insurance, where to live)

[vicki333]

hi. i also posted this quesiton to the other state that's involved. I've been a long time resident of another state (Arizona), but last couple of years i have been spending more and more time back in philly (lived her for 10 years before). I have a residence here now as well. this It would benefit me greatly on taxes to declare that I was a part year resident of arizona for the first half of year (true) and pennsylvania for second half of year (also true) - i'd save about 1000 dollars!Q uestions: if I declared as a part time resident on tax form for part time residents of pennsylvania , would I be able to do the exact same thing next year on the tax forms ?(i.e. part time resident again)-or can you just use that form once? (e.g. arizona insturctions say part year resident is someone whbo has no intents of returning - not true- and I don't know what PA instructions say). Also, would switching out to PA for half the year "officially" on taxes mean that I have to swithc my liscence, registration, and car insurance to PA? I'd rather not do that, in part becasue I plan to go back to AZ for part of the year. also have to think about consequences for helath insurance. Would like to know if others have done this- there must be other part time PA residents. thanks much.

[FrankInPhilly]

Originally Posted by vicki333

hi. i also posted this quesiton to the other state that's involved. I've been a long time resident of another state (Arizona), but last couple of years i have been spending more and more time back in philly (lived her for 10 years before). I have a residence here now as well. this It would benefit me greatly on taxes to declare that I was a part year resident of arizona for the first half of year (true) and pennsylvania for second half of year (also true) - i'd save about 1000 dollars!Q uestions: if I declared as a part time resident on tax form for part time residents of pennsylvania , would I be able to do the exact same thing next year on the tax forms ?(i.e. part time resident again)-or can you just use that form once? (e.g. arizona insturctions say part year resident is someone whbo has no intents of returning - not true- and I don't know what PA instructions say). Also, would switching out to PA for half the year "officially" on taxes mean that I have to swithc my liscence, registration, and car insurance to PA? I'd rather not do that, in part becasue I plan to go back to AZ for part of the year. also have to think about consequences for helath insurance. Would like to know if others have done this- there must be other part time PA residents. thanks much.

First, congratulations on being even a part-time resident of a state without snow
As for your questions ... any time I see scenarios like this (those with financial/legal impact, posed in a forum that isn't dedicated to taxes and accounting) I always recommend biting the bullet and paying for an hour of a CPA's time. He/she will tell you exactly what you need to know, and you won't get what would likely be conflicting advice from strangers - forums like this are good for opinions about where to live, why the 76ers are underachieving, etc., but when a question is both complex and has potential legal/fin'al consequences, you're better off with a pro (and you may even come out ahead in the long run). Even if the advice isn't what you want to hear, you'll at least have the comfort of knowing what to do and how to do it.