The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 61 AFSA NEWS taxable income over $34,600. Write: Department of Finance and Administration, Income Tax Section, P.O. Box 3628, Little Rock AR 72203-3628. Phone: (501) 682-1100. Email: Use Contact Form on “Contact Us” page. Website: www.arkansas.gov/dfa CALIFORNIA Foreign Service employees domiciled in California must establish non-residency to avoid liability for California taxes (see Franchise Tax Board Publication 1031). However, a “safe harbor” provision allows anyone who is domiciled in state but is out of the state on an employment-related contract for at least 546 consecutive days to be considered a non-resident. This applies to most FS employees and their spouses, but members domiciled in California are advised to study FTB Publication 1031 for exceptions and exemptions. The Califor- nia tax rate for 2014 ranges in five brackets from 1 percent of taxable income to a maximum of $4,479.42 plus 9.3 percent of the excess over $191,738 for married filing jointly or over $50,869 for singles. For taxable income over $259,844 for sin- gles and $519,688 for joint filers, there are three further steps up to a maximum of 12.3 percent. Non-resident domiciliaries are advised to file on Form 540NR. Write: Personal Income Taxes, Franchise Tax Board, P.O. Box 942840, Sacramento CA 94240-0040. Phone: toll-free (800) 852-5711 (inside the U.S.); (916) 845- 6500 (outside the U.S.). Email: Link through the website’s “Contact Us” tab. Website: www.ftb.ca.gov COLORADO Individuals domiciled in Colorado are considered residents and are subject to tax on their entire income regardless of their physical presence in the state. Colorado’s tax rate is a flat 4.63 percent of federal taxable income plus or minus allowable modifications. Write: Department of Revenue, Taxpayer Service Division, P.O. Box 17087 Denver, CO 80217-0087. Phone: (303) 238-7378. Email: Link through the website’s “Contact Us” tab on the “Taxes” tab. Website: www.colorado.gov/revenue CONNECTICUT Connecticut domiciliaries may qualify for non-resident tax treatment under either of two exceptions as follows: Group A: the domiciliary 1) did not maintain a permanent place of abode inside Connecticut for the entire tax year; and 2) main- tains a permanent place of abode outside the state for the entire tax year; and 3) spends not more than 30 days in the aggregate in the state during the tax year. Group B: the domi- ciliary 1) In any period of 548 consecutive days, is present in a foreign country for at least 450 days; and 2) during the 548- day period, is not present in Connecticut for more than 90 days; and 3) does not maintain a permanent place of abode in the state at which the domiciliary’s spouse or minor children are present for more than 90 days. Connecticut’s tax rate for married filing jointly rises from 3 percent on the first $20,000, in six steps to 6.7 percent of the excess over $500,000. For singles it is 3 percent on the first $10,000, rising in six steps to 6.7 percent of the excess over $250,000. Write: Department of Revenue Services, Taxpayer Services Division, 25 Sigourney St., Suite 2, Hartford CT 06106-5032. Phone: (860) 297-5962. Email: Contact through the “Contact us” page on the website. Website: www.ct.gov/drs DELAWARE Individuals domiciled in Delaware are considered residents and are subject to tax on their entire income regardless of their physical presence in the state. Delaware’s gradu- ated tax rate rises in six steps from 2.2 percent of taxable income under $5,000 to 6.75 percent of taxable income over $60,000. Write: Division of Revenue, Taxpayers Assistance Section, State OŸce Building, 820 N. French St., Wilmington DE 19801. Phone (302) 577-8200. Email: personaltax@state.de.us Website: www.revenue.delaware.gov DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Individuals domiciled in the District of Columbia are consid- ered residents and are subject to tax on their entire income regardless of their physical presence there. Individuals domi- ciled elsewhere are also considered residents for tax purposes for the portion of any calendar year in which they are physi- cally present in the District for 183 days or more. The District’s tax rate is 4 percent if income is less than $10,000; $400 plus 6 percent of excess over $10,000 if between $10,000 and $40,000; $2,200 plus 8.5 percent of excess over $40,000; and $28,550 plus 8.95 percent of any excess above $350,000 Write: OŸce of Tax and Revenue, Customer Service Center, 1101 4th St. SW, Suite W270, Washington DC 20024.