Log in

View Full Version : Georgia taxes


jamesbatt
Nov 29, 2010, 06:27 PM
I lived and worked in Florida 2008 tax year,moved to Georgia in oct ,nov,dec 2008didnt work in Georgia that tax year am I responsible for paying Georgia state taxes?state of Georgia is asking me to pay state taxes?

ebaines
Nov 30, 2010, 06:58 AM
For 2008 you should have filed a part year income tax return with GA if you had any income during the three months you lived in state. So even if you still had a job in FL during those months, as a GA resident you owe GA taxes on your wages. And if you had unearned income during those months (interest, dividends, capital gains, etc) you would pay GA taxes on that income as well.

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 08:48 AM
So even if I didn't work in gorgia at all I still owe Georgia state tax for 2008?and I only resided in Georgia for 3 months oct,nov,dec?all my earnings for 2008 was from Florida?

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 08:51 AM
Or are you saying I should only be responsible for any earnings for the three months I resided in Georgia?

ebaines
Nov 30, 2010, 09:17 AM
Residents of GA have to pay GA income tax on all the income they may receive while a resident of GA. So yes - once you moved to GA if you commuted to work in FL you would owe GA income tax on your wages. If you worked in a state that had an income tax (like, say, SC) while living in GA you would actually have to file both a non-resident return with the state where you work and a resident return for GA. But since you work in FL where there is no state income tax you don't have that complication.

And to be clear - for 2008 you owe income tax only on your income earned while you were a resident of GA, so that's your income from October - December. And assuming you continued to live in GA for all 2009 you should have filed a full-year resident income tax return with GA for that year.

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 01:53 PM
I lived and worked in Florida moved to Georgia in oct nov dec of 2008 and did not work at all in these 3 months in any state,my residence was miami Florida jan through oct of 2008 my employment was from Florida I no longer worked when I moved to Georgia

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 01:59 PM
Question is do I have to pay Georgia state taxes for my earnings in Florida when I was a Florida resident and never worked in the state of Georgia for that tax year was a Georgia resident foe not even 3 whole months?

ebaines
Nov 30, 2010, 02:03 PM
If you had no income while living in GA from October - December 2008, then you owe no GA income tax for 2008. Perhaps the problem is that your W2 for 2008 was sent to your GA address, and since you didn't file with GA for that year the tax authorities have no way of knowing when you moved into sate and how much (if any) tax you should have paid. So they assume the worst. Follow the directions on the letter they sent you for appealing - you may just find that a quick phoine call and/or a letter with supporting evidence of when you moved into state will clear this up for you.

ebaines
Nov 30, 2010, 02:06 PM
You asked:

"question is do i have to pay georgia state taxes for my earnings in florida when i was a florida resident and never worked in the state of georgia for that tax year was a georgia resident foe not even 3 whole months?"

No, since you have clarified that you had no income during any of the time you were a GA resident - see my previous post.

By the way - it's best to ask follow-up questions using the "Answer This Question" box as oppsoed to leaving a comment.

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 02:15 PM
I filed with hr block in Georgia yet I'm trying to prove my case with them now I sent in proper documents of such is there any helpful tips I should include in fighting my case since I can't afford a attorney to help me?to he state of Georgia?

ebaines
Nov 30, 2010, 02:39 PM
You do not need an attorney for this. In your response describe and document as best you can the fact that (a) you moved to GA in October (include a copy of your rental agreement, or home purchase contract, to support this), and (b) that all your income came to you prior to the move (inlcude a copy of a pay stub from September 2008 - it would show your year-to-date earnings and hence document that all your wages for the year were earned before you moved). Include a copy of your federal return so that they can see that you had no other income to report for that year.

As I have investigated GA's tax rules I have found that they do require all part-year residents who file a federal income tax return to also file with GA - even if you had no income in GA. See page 16 & 17 of GA pub IT511, here:
https://etax.dor.ga.gov/inctax/2009_forms/TSD_Form_IT511_Instructions_2009.pdf
So my suggestion is to offer in the letter to file a 2008 return - on schedule 3 it would show $0 GA income, and hence would result in $0 GA tax owed.

By the way, if H&R Block did your 2008 taxes they were the ones who made the mistake here - they should know what the filing requirements in GA are for part-year residents. You should go after them to help you through this.

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 02:43 PM
I filed in Georgia at hr block ?I'm in process of filing a appeal now do you have any tips for me since I can't afford a attorney right now to help me fight the state of grorgia in his matter?

jamesbatt
Nov 30, 2010, 02:46 PM
Thanks so much..