Taxpayers (also referred to as "Husband" and/or "Wife") are individuals with a current Florida address. Taxpayers own a house in Indiana. Taxpayers also possess tangible personal property, including automobiles, in Indiana and the automobiles are properly titled and registered at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Additionally, Husband incorporated an Indiana company in 1999 and has been the president of the company since. The company was eventually acquired by a multinational company and became a subsidiary of that multinational company. Husband continues to work for the company as the president of that subsidiary located in Indiana.
In late 2008, Taxpayers purchased another house and additional vehicles in Florida. Subsequently, Taxpayers applied for the Florida homestead exemption for the Florida house and their Florida drivers' licenses. On April 15, 2009, Taxpayers timely filed their married-filing-jointly Indiana income tax return, IT-40 PNR, for the 2008 tax year. Taxpayer, however, did not file their 2009 Indiana income tax return. As a result, the Indiana Department of Revenue ("Department") issued a proposed assessment based on the best information available.
…
In this instance, Taxpayers claimed that they are not required to file Indiana income tax for 2009 tax year and are not responsible for 2009 Indiana income tax because they became Florida residents in late 2008. To support their protest, Taxpayers provided additional documentation, including copies of Taxpayers' Florida drivers' licenses and excerpts of their federal and state returns showing [a] Florida address. Taxpayers also submitted a letter, dated May 5, 2010, from the county Auditor's Office where Taxpayers' Indiana residence is located, acknowledging that Taxpayers wanted to file their homestead credit in Florida, as well as an e-mail correspondence regarding their October 5, 2010, request. Additionally, Taxpayers offered a copy of their membership certificate to a Florida golf & country club and copies of the monthly statements (bills). Taxpayers further submitted copies of their 2008 and 2009 Florida property tax statements, showing that they were allowed a homestead credit for 2009 in Florida.
Taxpayer is mistaken. Upon reviewing Taxpayers' documentation, its documentation demonstrates that they purchased a residence in Florida, properly insured, and filed their homestead credit in Florida beginning 2009. However, the county Auditor's Office in Indiana was not informed until May 5, 2010, and, thus, the homestead exemption for Taxpayers' Indiana residence remained for 2009 tax year. Additionally, Taxpayers have obtained Florida drivers' licenses and possibly purchased and owned automobiles in Florida. However, Taxpayers also retained their Indiana automobiles and their Indiana drivers' licenses. Thus, the question remains–whether, for the tax year at issue, Taxpayers were domiciled in Indiana and, therefore, considered as Indiana residents.
… Husband continued to work as the president of the same company located in Indiana for the tax year at issue. Husband claimed that, for 2009, he worked from his Florida residence. But, in the company's filings with the state of Indiana, Husband remained at the same Indiana residence. The nature of Husband's employment requires Husband to maintain his contacts in Indiana, to carry an Indiana phone number, and to return to Indiana to perform certain necessary tasks.
Additionally, … Taxpayers here continue to own their Indiana home and tangible personal property including automobiles, which were properly registered with Indiana BMV. Taxpayers' Indiana address continues to be used for their important banking activities. For example, Taxpayers joined the golf & country club in Florida in late 2008 and the monthly statements (bills) for the 2009 tax year at issue were mailed to their Indiana residence. Wife made a payment by personal check, listing Taxpayers' Indiana residence as the address. Additionally, Taxpayers' documentation demonstrates that they spent some time in Florida during 2009; they also returned to Indiana several times during 2009 to be with family members.
As discussed above, "resident" includes any individual who was domiciled in this state during the taxable year. IC § 6-3-1-12(a). "A change of domicile requires an actual moving with an intent to go to a given place and remain there. It must be an intention coupled with acts evidencing that intention to make the new domicile a home in fact.... [T]here must be the intention to abandon the old domicile; the intention to acquire a new one; and residence in the new place in order to accomplish a change of domicile." State Election Bd. v. Bayh, 521 N.E.2d, 1317-18. Thus, given the totality of the circumstances, in the absence of other supporting documentation, the Department is not able to agree that Taxpayers met their burden of proof.
Finally, Taxpayers also argued that they did not have any Indiana sourced income, but the Department is not able to agree. Assuming that for 2009 Taxpayers effectively changed their domicile from Indiana to Florida, Taxpayers' documentation shows that Husband continues to work for the company located in Indiana as the president of the company. The company's filings to the state of Indiana for the year at issue listed that Husband resided in the Indiana residence. Thus, based on the information available to the Department, Husband worked in Indiana and Husband's compensation received from the company would have been Indiana source income and subject to Indiana income tax pursuant to above referenced Indiana law and regulations.
In short, Taxpayers remain obligated to file their 2009 Indiana income tax return and their income is taxable in Indiana.
