My son is an undergraduate freshman at UC Berkeley since Fall 2014. We were in Hawaii. My son studied his high school in Hawaii, so he was an out-of-state student at UC. We had to pay the out of state supplemental fee of about 22K. To avoid the same fee this year, my wife moved to Cal last July. But I continued to work and stay in Hawaii. My wife did not work last year so we did not have any Cal income. We did not file the Cal state tax. My question is, will my son qualify for in-state tuition based on my wife’s (his mother) physical presence? My wife has all the evidence for her living in Cal (lease agreement, vehicle registration etc). Do both parent need to have lived in Cal for UC Berkeley in-state tuition? Google search shows some universities do require both the parents to be living in the state (ex Tennessee Univ). But this is not clear in the case of UC Berkely. I would greatly appreciate if anyone clarify on this.
Why not contact UCB directly?. You would get the most definitive answer from them.
I very much doubt this will work.
http://ucop.edu/residency/10-things-undergrads.html
Since your spouse does not work she is dependent on you. Presumably you pay taxes in HI.
I do not believe it will qualify him to be reclassified to instate tuition. Before doing this you should have read all the relevant documents for UC. Reading docs about other states is meaningless.
http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf
The burden of proof is on you, and wife, to prove she is a California resident. SHE didn’t move to California to be a student, but to be closer to relative? I think it would have been an easier case if she had gotten job, but that is not required to be a resident. He is just going to have to apply for resident status and see if it is awarded.
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My wife has all the evidence for her living in Cal (lease agreement, vehicle registration etc).
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You put up with having your wife live away from your home for a year, paying for an apt, utilities, etc, to “save $23k”???
Frankly, I think that the UCs won’t believe that the rental agreement is real. Does your wife have utilities in her name? Do you have proof that rent was paid?
I think the UCs will think that you dotted some I’s and crossed some T’s but that your wife really lived in Hawaii. Why didn’t she work if she was all alone in calif???
Why doesn’t she work in HI and just earn the $23k???
How much did it cost you to set up a separate residence in CA for your wife for the year? Seems like it would have made more sense to use that money to pay the OOS differential.
You knew when your kiddo started college that he was an OOS student. You knew the costs of OOS would be higher.
Did you not have a plan to pay these costs?
Thanks all for your comments. I did not move to Cal with my family in last July, because it took a while for me to find an employment in Cal. Finally I found and joined with my family but only this year March. My wife, along with my daughter, continuously lived in Cal and, of course, has been paying the rent and utilities. There is no cheating in there. For all practical purposes our intention was to live in Cal from now. The complication part is my wife not doing any work last year, and, so, not paying the Cal taxes. I can call UC Berkely and ask them directly, but just wanted to know if anyone had gone through a similar situation or has some useful info so that I can make my case stronger.
"Ten things undergraduates need to know
Upon admittance to the University of California, your resident or nonresident classification is determined for purposes of tuition and fees only after you have completed and submitted a Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) to the campus residence deputy.
If you are not a California resident when you enroll, and you remain a dependent undergraduate, it is unlikely that you will be able to qualify as a California resident for purposes of tuition while you’re an undergraduate at UC."
Looks like your moving to CA won’t make any difference. The state schools do not have out of state “fees” as such; it’s a bit of a misnomer. What state schools actually do is reduce costs for state residents, who have been supporting the schools by paying state income taxes. So far, your family has not contributed to the schools, so there is no reason for a discount.
I am a tax person, so let me address from that POV. You, meaning you specifically, can pay tax in HI bc you work there, AND in CA if you set up residence there. (It’s not double, you get a credit for what you pay to HI).
So perhaps you need to consider if you already are a CA tax resident? Look at the residency test. CA is very agressive about residency. And that could work in your favor here with USC…
test:
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/misc/1015R.pdf
Perhaps you did establish res in CA if the apt, utils etc are in your name and you always intened to move when your work in HI was done and you found a job in CA. Of course this would require filing CA returns for that year. go talk to a tax accountant.
Thanks again for your responses, but looks like almost all of these arguments are based on just general thinking. My reading is that in-state tuition fee is a privilege for the residents. A resident is one who “lives” in a state. The lease agreement, tax returns etc are only "evidences’ of living but they are NOT REQUIRED. Theoretically, someone who lives under a tree, owns no property, pays no rents, has no income, and, hence, pays no taxes would also be a perfect resident and would enjoy the in-state tuition fee. Since the in-state tuition fee is a monetary benefit, intuitively one thinks that it has to be related to the taxes. But as a general rule that applies to the public it is not related to the income tax etc. My question was whether Cal requires BOTH parents to be living in the state like Tennessee. Couldn,t find any definite info either way.
USC is a private university, not a public university. Costs are the same for both in and out of state residents.
ETA…I am not a tax expert…but my kid lived, went to college and worked in CA. She filed CA taxes as a NON resident. She filed taxes in our home state as a resident.
You cannot be a resident of two states for tax purposes.
OP indicates UC Berkeley…somehow the conversation transitioned to USC.