Abstract
The State of Illinois assesses a tax on every individual who has the “privilege of earning or receiving income in or as a resident of this State.” Three categories of people are subject to the taxing statute: those who are live in another state but receive income from specified sources in Illinois, those who become or cease to be a resident during a taxable year, and those who are considered residents of Illinois. The term resident includes people who are in the state during a taxable year for a purpose that is not temporary or transitory and those who are domiciled in Illinois but absent from the state for a temporary or transitory purpose during a taxable year. It is difficult to prove a change in domicile because it is a subjective intent analysis that is guided by objective indicators.
Illinois has a two-part statutory test for changing domicile, which requires taxpayers to show that they relocated with the intent to establish a new domicile and that they abandoned any intention to return to their Illinois domicile. Illinois courts have created a four-part test that includes abandonment of the old domicile and intent not to return, along with physical presence in a new domicile and the intent to make it a new domicile. In Cain v. Hamer, the First District Appellate Court of Illinois had to determine whether two taxpayers had changed domicile for Illinois tax purposes. After finding that the physical abandonment and intent not to return factors were moot, the court decided the case solely on the basis of physical presence in the new domicile and intent to make it the new domicile. This article examines the possible effects the decision in Cain v. Hamer may have on determining residence for Illinois tax purposes
Recommended Citation
Ronald Z. Domsky,
Changing Residency for Illinois Tax Purposes,
40
S. Ill. U. L.J.
11
(2015).
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol40/iss1/5