Is a foreign student, intern, or trainee in Colorado on an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa a Colorado resident for income tax purposes?
Plain-English summary
Colorado wanted to know whether foreign students and exchange visitors here on F-1, M-1, or J-1 visas are Colorado residents for income tax. The short answer: usually not, but it depends on their housing.
Colorado treats you as a resident under either of two tests:
- Domicile — your true, fixed, permanent home. Anyone domiciled in Colorado is a resident.
- The six-month rule — even without domicile, if you maintain a permanent place of abode in Colorado and spend, in aggregate, more than six months of the tax year in the state, you're a resident — but only for the period you maintain that abode (you can be a part-year resident).
For F-1/M-1/J-1 holders, both tests usually come out "not a resident":
- Not domiciled. Anyone in the U.S. on a temporary visa is, by rule, not domiciled in Colorado. F, J, and M visas are issued only to nonresident aliens, are temporary, and require departure when the authorized stay ends. So a student/intern/trainee on one of these visas is not domiciled in Colorado.
- Usually no "permanent place of abode." The six-month rule needs a permanent place of abode, and typical student housing doesn't count: a dormitory lacking ordinary facilities (cooking, bathing, etc.) is not a permanent place of abode; hotel rooms lacking those facilities aren't either; and any housing a college provides to the student/intern/trainee (on- or off-campus) for temporary use while attending is not a permanent place of abode.
The important exception: if the person gets housing not incident to their enrollment — for example, buys a home or rents their own apartment apart from the academic program and lives there — that is a permanent place of abode, and combined with more than six months in-state it can make them a resident.
What this means for you
Foreign students, interns, and exchange visitors
Being in Colorado on an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa does not by itself make you a Colorado resident — you're not domiciled here, and a dorm, hotel, or school-provided apartment generally isn't a "permanent place of abode." But if you buy a house or sign your own lease for housing unconnected to your program and stay more than six months, you can become a (part-year) Colorado resident, which changes how Colorado taxes your income.
Universities, employers of interns, and international student offices
When advising visa-holders, the housing question is decisive on the six-month-rule side: college-provided temporary housing keeps students out of "permanent place of abode" territory, while privately acquired housing unrelated to enrollment pulls them in.
Accountants and tax professionals
The framework is § 39-22-103(8)(a) plus 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a): temporary-visa holders are not domiciliaries (Rule ¶(2)(f)), and dorms/hotels without ordinary facilities and college-provided temporary housing aren't permanent places of abode (Rule ¶(4)(i)(iv), (vi)). The rule analogizes to an employer-provided apartment for a temporary work assignment. Self-acquired, non-program housing flips the result.
Common questions
Q: Is an F-1 or J-1 student automatically a Colorado nonresident?
A: They are not domiciled in Colorado because they're on a temporary visa. Whether they're a resident under the six-month rule depends on whether they maintain a permanent place of abode and spend more than six months in-state.
Q: Does living in a dorm make me a Colorado resident?
A: No. A dormitory (or hotel) lacking ordinary facilities like cooking and bathing is not a "permanent place of abode," and neither is college-provided housing for temporary use.
Q: What would make me a resident?
A: Getting housing unrelated to your enrollment — for example, buying a home or renting your own place apart from the program — is a permanent place of abode. With more than six months in Colorado, that can make you a (part-year) resident.
Q: Can I rely on this letter?
A: No. It's a General Information Letter — general guidance only, not binding on the Department and not something any taxpayer can rely on. A binding answer requires a private letter ruling.
Citations and references
Statutes and rules:
- § 39-22-103(8)(a), C.R.S. (Colorado resident — domicile or six-month rule)
- 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a) (domicile, temporary visa, permanent place of abode, dorms/hotels/college housing)
- 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F)(i), (J), (M)(i); 8 CFR § 214.1(a)(2), (a)(3)(ii) (F/J/M nonimmigrant visas; temporary status)
Source
- Landing page: Colorado Letter Rulings
- Original PDF: GIL-24-001.pdf
Original ruling text
Office of Tax Policy
P.O. Box 17087
Denver, CO 80217-0087
[email protected]
GIL 24-001
February 27, 2024
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
Via Electronic Mail: XXXXXXXXXX
Re: Residency of foreign students, interns, and trainees in Colorado on F-1, M-1, or J-1 visas
Dear XXXXXXXXXX:
You submitted a request for a general information letter regarding residency of foreign students
in Colorado on F-1 and M-1 student visas and J-1 visas for interns and trainees. The Colorado
Department of Revenue (“Department”) issues general information letters and private letter
rulings. A general information letter provides a general overview of the relevant tax issues but is
not binding on the Department. A private letter ruling provides a specific determination for a
specific set of facts, is binding on the Department, and requires payment of a fee. For more
information about general information letters and private letter rulings, please see 1 CCR 201-1,
Rule 24-35-103.5.
Issue
Residency of foreign students, interns, and trainees in Colorado on a nonimmigrant F-1, M-1, or
J-1 visa.
Discussion
For Colorado income tax purposes, an individual is a Colorado resident if they meet either of
two criteria.1 Any individual who is domiciled in Colorado is a Colorado resident. Additionally,
any individual who satisfies the six-month rule is a Colorado resident. Under the six-month rule,
any individual who maintains a permanent place of abode in Colorado and spends, in
aggregate, more than six months of the tax year in the state is a Colorado resident, but only
while they maintain the permanent place of abode. For example, if a nondomiciliary individual
maintains a permanent place of abode in Colorado from April 1st through the end of the year and
spends, in aggregate, more than six months of the tax year in the state, they are a part-year
Colorado resident from April 1st through the end of the year, but not for the first three months of
the year before they maintained a permanent place of abode in Colorado.
1
Section 39-22-103(8)(a), C.R.S., and paragraph (1) of 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a).
GIL 24-001
February 27, 2024
Page 2
Any individual in the United States on a temporary visa is not domiciled in Colorado for income
tax purposes.2 F-1, M-1, and J-1 visas are issued only to nonresident aliens, are temporary, and
require the visa holder to depart the United States at the expiration of the authorized period of
admission or extension of stay.3 Consequently, any foreign students, interns, or trainees in
Colorado on a nonimmigrant F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa is not domiciled in Colorado. However, they
may be a resident under the six-month rule.
A foreign student, intern, or trainee temporarily in Colorado on an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa is not a
resident under the six-month rule unless they maintain a permanent place of abode in
Colorado.4 Various types of housing commonly occupied by nondomiciliary students, interns,
and trainees while attending college within the state are not permanent places of abode. A
student dormitory does not constitute a permanent place of abode if it does not provide all the
facilities ordinarily found in a place of abode, such as facilities for cooking, bathing, etc.5 Any
hotel rooms occupied by attending students, interns, or trainees similarly are not considered
permanent places of abode if they lack these ordinary facilities.6 Additionally, any housing
provided by a college to a foreign student, intern, or trainee on an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa, whether
on-campus or off-campus, for their temporary use is not a permanent place of abode for the
student, intern, or trainee.7
However, if a foreign student, intern, or trainee obtains housing that is not incident to their
enrollment in a course of study or participation in an approved program, it generally will be
considered a permanent place of abode for the student, intern, or trainee.8 For example, if a
foreign student purchased residential real property for their own use, it would be a permanent
place of abode for the student.
Miscellaneous
This letter represents the good-faith opinion of Department personnel who are knowledgeable
on state taxes issues. However, the Department does not make a specific determination on any
of the issues raised and the Department is not bound by this general information letter.
Thank you for your request.
Sincerely,
Office of Tax Policy
Colorado Department of Revenue
2
Paragraph (2)(f) of 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a).
8 CFR § 214.1(a)(2); 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F)(i), (J), and (M)(i); and 8 CFR § 214.1(a)(3)(ii). See also paragraph (2)(e) of 1 CCR
201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a).
4
1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a), paragraph (3)(b)(iv).
5
See paragraph (4)(i)(iv) of 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a).
6
Paragraph (4)(i)(iv) of 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a).
7
See paragraph (4)(i)(vi) of 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a). An apartment provided by an employer to a nondomiciliary
employee for use while on a temporary assignment does not constitute a permanent place of abode. Similarly, housing provided by
a college to a foreign student, intern, or trainee on an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa for temporary use while attending the college does not
constitute a permanent place of abode.
8
See paragraph (4)(i)(vi) of 1 CCR 201-2, Rule 39-22-103(8)(a). If the employee pays for an apartment while on a temporary work
assignment in Colorado and remains in Colorado when not working, the employee’s apartment is a permanent place of abode.
Similarly, if a foreign student, intern, or trainee secures their own housing, apart from their enrollment in an academic program, that
housing is a permanent place of abode.
3