<p>My husband has been assigned a job a Shanghai for 2 yrs. These 2 years will be my sons junior and senior years in high school. We are very concerned about in state elligibility if we are gone for those years. I did email on of our best public universities to pose the question of elligibility in our circumstance, but all they could say was that we MIGHT have a chance of getting an in state rate because we will maintain our home, drivers licenses, pay taxes etc and intend to come back after the assignment. Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation? My son and I may decide to stay behind here in NC for this reason.</p>
<p>It’s hard to believe that they were not able to give you a more firm answer. I would imagine that this situation is not all that uncommon for major universities. I would try to talk to someone personally. And if you are able to get a “yes” to the in-state tuition status - get it in writing! </p>
<p>Your husband might also check with his company to see if they know how these sorts of situations have been handled in the past. The person/department in charge of handling repatriation should have some knowledge/experience with this.</p>
<p>We lived abroad for part of HS and prior to leaving downloaded the state university forms and made certain we abided by every requirement- taxes, driver’s license, voting, car registration, etc. The only down side was the not in the state for the prior 12 months, but we were not in another state, so being abroad was okay. In our case we were also back in our state several times a year.</p>
<p>If you are in China will you be doing your taxes as a non-resident and not paying US taxes because that could be an issue.</p>
<p>I would download your states form and call the HEAD of the residency determination dept. Ask them what you can do to make sure you maintain your residency, planning before you go.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me</p>
<p>when I was working overseas for one of the global fortune 100 companies, I had an apartment there, but also maintained home in NJ and a driver’s license, etc . I paid property tax on it, and later much to my chagrin, I was liable for a full state income tax though my income source was 100% foreign, paid in local currency and deposited into my local bank account. (the company I worked for while I was overseas had their global HQ in that country)</p>
<p>If I am good enough for the state income tax, my child should be good enough to qualify for instate tuition rate. </p>
<p>You might want to check if you are liable for your home state income tax. If you are not, the money you saved by not having to pay the state income tax should be good enough to make up the difference between instate tuition and out of state tuition. If you think you are “resident enough” to be liable for tax, they should consider your child good enough for the instate tuition rate.</p>
<p>By the way, don’t forget to deduct something like $80k (I don’t know the current amount) from your federal IRS taxable income on your foreign income. Note that you are liable for federal income tax regardless where you live and where your income is from if you have a green card (permanent resident) or a citizen. I have seen a lot of expat who “skip” paying taxes, but they are the one who have no intention to come back to USA for good - not a recommended practice, mind you.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
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<p>Insist on speaking with the head of the department, or at the least get links to the official documents that spell out the regulations. Big schools have the phones answered by people who do not necessarily have all the answers. I went through this with a different issue recently, and finally got the answers by obtaining the links to the actual spelled out regulations. The young folks on the phone thought “maybe” and “might be” were good enough answers, but I disagreed.</p>
<p>Insist on getting something in writing, even if it’s just an email response from admissions that you can keep.</p>
<p>Good advice to check with a higher authority. Just as a general matter, US citizens, and permanent residents are taxable in the US on all income world wide. You may be eligible for credit for foreign taxes paid (depends on tax treaties), but you should use a good tax accountant. If you leave NC, pay no state tax, and return in 2 yrs, if you do not file there, you are likely to get a letter as to where are your missing tax returns (and maybe a bill). State taxes may be assessed on out of state income as well, and there may or may not be credits available for taxes paid elsewhere. If you are voting, registering a car,own real estate, etc. this is evidence of residency, but not necessarily determinative.</p>
<p>We know a number of folks who are posted for overseas employment. In all cases, they own homes in the U.S. None have instate residency in any state for tuition purposes because THEY did not reside in the states during the 12 months prior to college matriculation.</p>
<p>BUT check with your school…YMMV.</p>
<p>I will add…what a wonderful opportunity for your family…to be able to live in a different country with a different culture and language for two years. I think that is terrific.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.northcarolina.edu/legal/residence/committee/manual/The_Manual.pdf[/url]”>http://www.northcarolina.edu/legal/residence/committee/manual/The_Manual.pdf</a></p>
<p>some light reading for your enjoyment. The date is a bit old on this.</p>
<p>It really varies from college to college but here are a couple things to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li>some schools (University of Michigan) makes an allowance if you work for a state based company and are only gone a short time - 1-2 years</li>
</ul>
<p>-some companies have a benefit where they pay the difference if your child does not qualify for in-state tuition due to the transfer </p>
<p>-some colleges will bargain over state status or allow your child to change their status after a year</p>
<p>On the tax issues - usually your company will include tax preparation as a benefit. As a US citizen you pay federal taxes on world-wide income but will also pay taxes in China that can be deducted from your US tax bill (up to $80,000 a year then any excess can carry over). You will also pay non-resident state taxes based on the number of days your husband works in your home state - keep good calendar records. Your company should provide tax equalization - this is a program where you pay an amount that is based on what you would have paid in the US - your actual tax will be higher because of all the added benefits that they include (transportation, housing, schools, driver, etc)</p>
<p>As others have said, you need to get a more specific answer on this issue. I know a number of folks who went overseas, but maintained voting, drivers licenses, and paid state taxes and kept their residency. Some did not keep their homes as they rented.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you may not be able to get a more definitive answer to this question now. I know that state schools are hedging during this time of economic turmoil and budget cuts, because the rules that are in place now may change in two years.</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you decide to do.</p>