[JSD16]

I was a GA resident all my life. I recently graduated from a GA university and have never been employed. I was offered a job in the State of WA in July. I signed a lease on July 22nd on an apartment, registered my vehicle in WA, obtained a WA drivers licence, etc. I signed my employment contract on July 27th and received my first paycheck in August. I am now being told since I was a GA resident for a portion of the year that I will owe GA income taxes on my earnings, even though I live and work in WA (they do not have state income withholding taxes in WA) Can this be true?

[ebaines]

You do not owe GA any income tax, assuming that you had no income prior to moving out of state. But even so - you must still file a GA part-year return. Per the instructions for GA Form IT-511: " Part Year Residents. If you are a legal resident of Georgia for only a portion of the tax year and are required to file a federal tax return, you are required to file a Georgia tax return."

When you complete the part-year return (including Schedule 3) you will indeed report all your income for the year, and calculate a preliminary tax based on that income. But then you multiply the tax figure by a percentage that represents the portion of your full year income that is Georgia source. In your case that percentage is 0%, so your final tax amount is $0. But even though it's $0, you still have to file the return. Details are on page 17 of IT-511 instructions:
https://etax.dor.ga.gov/inctax/2011_...ons_TY2011.pdf