Whether you remain a California resident while living abroad depends on the specific context (e.g., taxes, voting, tuition) and the nature of your move [1]. Generally, California law defines "residency" based on intent and physical presence [1].
To stop being treated as a California resident for tax purposes, you generally need either (1) to qualify under a narrow temporary nonresident rule (like the 546-day foreign-employment safe harbor), or (2) to end California domicile by establishing a new domicile in another U.S. state or in a foreign country.
Establishing physical presence and intent
To meet these requirements, you must be continuously physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date (generally the first day of classes) and intend to make California your home permanently.
Answer: Yes. If you are a part-year resident, you pay tax on: All worldwide income received while you are a California resident. Income from California sources while you were a nonresident.
Importantly, U.S. citizens are always considered U.S. tax residents, even if they live in a foreign country or claim residency elsewhere.
How Many Days Can You Be in the U.S. Without Paying Taxes? The IRS considers you a U.S. resident if you were physically present in the U.S. on at least 31 days of the current year and 183 days during a three-year period. The three-year period consists of the current year and the prior two years.
Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien living outside the United States, your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you live. However, you may qualify for certain foreign earned income exclusions and/or foreign income tax credits.
How Can I Change My Residence from California?
There's no state-imposed penalty for leaving California; tax obligations end after official residency termination and address change filing. Long-distance moves from California to Texas or Arizona typically take 2–5 days; coast-to-coast delivery averages 5–9 days.
You need to file California state taxes if:
You're still considered a California resident (even while living abroad), OR. You have California-sourced income, like rental property, business income, or wages from California employers.
The tip-off may come from something you purchased and had sent to a California address or from a tax filing in which you or your employer listed a California address. Even the minimal act of holding property such as a second home in your name can trigger a residency audit.
Am I a resident? You're a resident if either apply: Present in California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose. Domiciled in California, but outside California for a temporary or transitory purpose.
To be considered a resident of California, you must have a domicile in the state. Even if you have a residence in the state, you will not qualify as a legal resident unless it is your permanent home.
As a resident, you are taxed on income from all sources. You will be presumed to be a California resident for any taxable year in which you spend more than nine months in this state.
California's “Safe Harbor Rule”
This rule allows you to remain out of the state for 546 consecutive days (about 18 months) for an employment-related reason, such as a temporary work assignment abroad or in another state. During this period, California will not consider you a resident for tax purposes.
For driver's license cases, show that you are registered to vote in another state, that you pay nonresident college tuition in California (or resident tuition somewhere else), a homeowner's property tax exemption, anything that tends to show your presence in California is temporary, or anything that shows a permanent ...
California does not have an exit tax.
However, California's aggressive residency rules mean you could face ongoing worldwide income taxation if you don't properly establish non-residency when moving abroad—which can be far worse than any one-time exit tax.
Each state sets its own guidelines for what it defines as residency. It is true that you are considered a resident of California if you are in the state longer than 183 days (they are cumulative days, by the way, not consecutive), but the applicable “days rule” is more lenient in other states.
Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Ending your California residency is much more complicated than just moving out of state. And if you fail to meet all the requirements of becoming a non-resident, you're likely to be pursued by the State of California's Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for unpaid taxes and penalties.
If you move out of California, but still have property and assets there, the FTB could find that you're still a California resident. And in this situation, the FTB could tax your worldwide income, even if it comes from out of state.
Ceasing your residency does not happen automatically:
Hence to cease your tax residency is not something that automatically occurs, your change of status from resident to non-resident must be formally done through a declaration process to SARS.
Establishing Residency
You are a California resident if you intend to live in the state for six months or more in one year. There are other rules that also help decide if you are a California resident.
Residents must pay state taxes (the highest marginal tax rate is 14.4% for 2024) on their worldwide income, while nonresidents are only taxed on income sourced from California.
In 2021, Congress lowered the threshold for reporting income on payment apps from $20,000 and 200 transactions annually to $600 for a single transaction.
What is the 90% Rule? In a nutshell, the 90% rule is simple: if 90% or more of your worldwide income is from Canadian sources in the tax year, you're eligible for non-refundable tax credits reserved for residents.