Tax Type
Individual Income Tax
Description
U. S. Citizen Living Abroad; Is he Liable for Virginia Income Tax
Topic
Persons Subject to Tax
Date Issued
11-02-2001
November 2, 2001
Re: Request for Ruling: Individual Income Tax
Dear *****
This will reply to your letter of August 9, 2001, in which you request a ruling on two scenarios, both concerning the Virginia income tax obligations of a civilian employee.
FACTS
Your question concerns a civilian employee, a U.S. citizen, who has never lived in the United States. The employee is working at an overseas base. You have requested a ruling as to whether the employee would be subject to Virginia individual income tax if age 18 or older. You also ask if the employee would be subject to tax if he were under age 18 and his parents are domiciliary residents of Virginia.
RULING
Two classes of residents, a domiciliary resident and an actual resident, are set forth in Code of Virginia § 58.1-302 (copy enclosed). The domiciliary residence of a person means the permanent place of residence of a taxpayer, and the place to which he intends to return even though he may actually reside elsewhere. For a person to change his domiciliary residency from Virginia, that person must intend to abandon his old domicile with no intention of returning to that same domicile. Concurrently, that person must acquire a new domicile where that person is physically present with the intention to remain there permanently or indefinitely. An actual resident of Virginia means "a person who, for an aggregate of more than 183 days of the taxable year, maintained his place of abode within Virginia, whether domiciled in Virginia or not." A Virginia domiciliary resident working outside of Virginia who has not abandoned his Virginia residency continues to be subject to Virginia taxation. Additionally, a person who is not a domiciliary resident of Virginia, but who stays in Virginia for an aggregate of more than 183 days is also subject to Virginia taxation.
There is substantial legal precedent holding that the domicile of the father is, in legal contemplation, the domicile of his minor children. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 109 S.Ct. 1597 (1989). The minor's domicile will continue in effect after majority until the old domicile is abandoned and a new domicile of choice is established, the same as for any other adult.
In the case of a U.S. citizen who is a minor, the child's domicile will be that of his parents. If the parents of the child were domiciliary residents of Virginia, the child would also be a domiciliary resident of Virginia, even if the child had never lived in the United States.
In the case of a U.S. citizen who has reached the age of majority, all other facts remaining the same, the individual's domicile would remain that of his parents until sufficient actions have been taken to change domicile.
I hope this response answers your questions. If you need additional assistance regarding this matter, you may contact ***** in the department's Office of Policy and Administration, Appeals and Rulings, at *****.
Sincerely,
Danny M. Payne
Tax Commissioner
ARO/36424E
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner