# Az state taxes for expats



## wdg

Hello there,

I have been living in Japan for the last 11 years, with my last place of residency as Arizona. I did not own any property in AZ, but I did maintain my AZ driver license (which does not expire until I am 65, and only use when I am back in the states as it is invalid in Japan) and a bank account address (all mail forwarded to my mother's address and now my sister's address after my mom passed away; was briefly changed to a Utah address a few years ago while my mom was living there). I voted once for the federal election in 2008, but have not voted since.

My Japanese wife and I are now looking to move to the US, most likely back to AZ. Based on the argument presented on this page (Who Is an Arizona Resident? | Attorney at Law Magazine Phoenix - Attorney at Law Magazine Phoenix) it sounds like I would have been considered an AZ resident throughout 2007-2018 as I never tried to establish residency in another state? Does this mean I have an obligation to go back and file state taxes for all of these years? Are there any potential penalties? Would I possible own anything if I made under the foreign earned income exclusion my entire time here in Japan?

Lots of questions and the AZ tax page provides little help. If anybody has any answers or can point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.


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## Bevdeforges

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about this. It is, indeed, possible to be resident in no state at all. And when they passed the various legislation regarding voting from overseas, it was stated specifically that voting from a state from overseas does NOT make you resident in that state.

The example cited in the article was of someone who was absent from the state for a year. It's very different when you've been living overseas for a good 10 or more years like you have been. It's probably not such a great idea to have continued to use that Arizona driver's license all this time, but there are plenty of folks who do similar things and are not considered resident in the state.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Moulard

Agree with Bev here. You have clearly been domiciled outside of Arizona in that you have not maintained a home in the state. The examples that are cited are lines enquiry that could be made if you believed you were not a tax resident of Arizona but they thought you were. 

Since the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act was passed in 2009 states have had to allow overseas voters to cast ballots in Federal elections. State elections are different. Some, like Maryland have laws that deem you a tax resident if you vote in state elections.


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## DavidMcKeegan

Yes, it does not sound like you would have triggered the residency requirements for the years you were abroad. However, this document from the Arizona Department of Revenue goes into further detail on who is considered a resident for tax purposes.

https://azdor.gov/sites/default/files/PROCEDURES_INDIV_1992_itp92-1.pdf

I hope this helps!


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## wdg

Thank you for the input everyone! Sounds like I don't have worry about filing back taxes in AZ. Thanks


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