Tahoe sits on a state line, and the line runs straight through my clients' tax returns. People move here from the Bay Area, split time between Incline Village and California, work remotely for companies three states away, or retire to Nevada while their income stays stubbornly Californian. Multi-state returns are a specialty here because they have to be.

The year you moved — Part-year resident returns for both states, income split by residency dates and source. The move-year return sets the record on when California residency ended or began, so it's worth doing carefully.

 

California residency questions — The Franchise Tax Board decides residency on your closest connections: home, family, time, and dozens of smaller facts. Moving your mailbox to Nevada doesn't move your tax home. If you're planning an exit from California, plan it with advice on the front end — the FTB audits these moves aggressively, and the documentation you build before you move is the documentation that wins.

 

Living in one state, working in the other — Wages generally follow where the work is physically performed. Nevada residents with California workdays owe California tax on those days; California residents owe California tax on everything, no matter where it's earned. Day counts and records decide these cases.

 

Remote workers — Where your employer sits matters less than where your chair sits. I sort out wage sourcing for remote employees, including the harder cases: California workdays, officer and director compensation, and equity compensation earned across a move.

 

Nonresidents with California income — California-source rentals, business interests, K-1s, and the state's 7% nonresident withholding that payors frequently miss.