I worked from January 1, 2006 until May 9, 2007 in the United Kingdom.

2006 tax filing was simple since I didn't have any US-based income and was a "resident" of Ohio, which doesn't tax foreign income.

2007 on the other hand is raising some questions.

I moved from London to California in May 2007 after earning roughly $20,000 in the UK in calendar year 2007. I did not earn any money from my UK job after returning to the US in May. I'm doing well with the federal taxes - filled out the 2555, and my 1040 looks correct.

The question is about my California state taxes. It seems that they want me to add my foreign earned income to the income I earned as a California resident when calculating my total taxable income. Can they really tax me for income I earned when California was not even a twinkle in my eye? To repeat, I had no association whatsoever with the state of California until May 10, 2007.

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

If you file as a part-year resident of California (Form 540NR), you can then segregate the UK income from the California-sourced income and pay taxes ONLY on the California income.