How do I "prove" I am not a Massachusetts resident for state tax purposes?

Note that I will have no Massachusetts sourced income or bank accounts in Massachusetts after I leave. I will just have my old house temporarily and some post office boxes.

22k 13 13 gold badges 85 85 silver badges 180 180 bronze badges asked Sep 13, 2018 at 14:29 7,006 5 5 gold badges 30 30 silver badges 55 55 bronze badges

"According to my reading of the Massachusett's DOR's "guidance", I have to "prove" I am not domiciled in Massachusetts if I want to not be taxed by Massachusetts. " Could you link to this or quote from this? This might clarify what you need to do.

Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 18:16 It would be useful to know what kind of taxes you might allegedly be liable for. Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 18:18

I thought the rule requiring the prosecution to bear the burden of proof applies to criminal cases. This doesn't involve a criminal case.

Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 17:02

I moved out of Massachusetts and never had this problem. I filed in Ohio as one who resided for part of the previous year in each of those two states.

Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 17:11

"I thought the prosecution had the burden of proof": this is true if you are tried for a crime. Tax matters are usually resolved before they get to a criminal court. Until that point, there is no prosecutor.

Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 18:35

3 Answers 3

§1(f) of Chapter 62 (income tax) defines "resident" or "inhabitant" for that chapter as

(1) any natural person domiciled in the commonwealth, or (2) any natural person who is not domiciled in the commonwealth but who maintains a permanent place of abode in the commonwealth and spends in the aggregate more than one hundred eighty-three days of the taxable year in the commonwealth, including days spent partially in and partially out of the commonwealth. For purposes of clause (1), the making of a financial contribution, gift, bequest, donation or any other financial instrument or pledge in any amount or the donation or loan of any object of any value, or any combination of the foregoing, qualifying for deduction as a charitable contribution under section 170 (a) of the Code to any corporation, foundation, organization or institution, which is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Code, shall not be used in any manner to determine domicile in the commonwealth or any other jurisdiction. For purposes of clause (2), a day spent in the commonwealth while on active duty in the armed forces of the United States shall not be counted as a day in the commonwealth.

Perhaps you are looking at this summary by the state which gives a list of "rules", which are not a strict interpretation of the statute. I would assume that at least some of those hurdles reflect case law, interpreted most generously in favor of the DOR.