Here my situation:
- I lived in Michigan from Aug 2001 until Sep 2006, being a graduate student
- Started working in New Jersey in Oct of 2006, first on OPT, then on E1 visa

I have file my federal taxes non-resident for 2002-2005, and as a resident for 2006

I have been renting an (off campus) apartment in Michigan and then New Jersey all that time, but I have never claimed a homestead credit.

Now my question, can I amend and claim a homestead credit for Michigan and New Jersey? And yes, how much work would that be and how many years can I amend?

Btw, I filed taxes in Michigan in 2002-2005 as a non-resident (I think that was a mistake though).

Thanks!
-- Sascha

Sascha:

As a college student from out-of-state, Michigan will consider you to be a non-resident, so you DID file correctly as non-resident.

That being the case, you probably CANNOT claim the homestead credit, which is intended for Michigan RESIDENTS.

You MAY be able to claim it for New Jersey, though, because the E1 is a work visa.

Thanks for the quick answer.

What if all the time in 2006 I lived in New Jersey I was still on OPT? I just switched to E1 this month (Apr 2007).

The residency issue confuses me. Seems that residency is a completely different topic on federal and state levels for tax purposes. And if I lived in a state for almost every day of the year and paid taxes there, why cannot file as a resident of that state?

Because COLLEGE STUDENTS are not considered to be permanent residents under most state laws as a special exception.

If you were on OPT for all of 2006, then you can file as a non-resident for NJ as well, because OPT is considered part of your college.

Thanks again for your competent answer.

Since I filed my federal tax 2006 as resident, I filed as part-year resident for MI (01-09/2006) and NJ (10-12/2006). Is that a problem that I should correct? Does it really make a difference whether I file resident or non-resident in the state? As far as I can tell, the only difference is checking a different box on the corresponding 1040 state form, the bottom line remains the same.

Probably makes NO difference in the amount of taxes paid, so I would not worry about it.

Thank you very much! :-) Your help is invaluable.

Glad to help!