If a retired couple buys a seasonal home in Utah and spends about five and a half months a year there, but keeps their permanent domicile, driver's licenses, and voter registration in another state, are they Utah residents subject to Utah income tax?

Plain-English summary

A couple planning retirement wrote the Commission asking whether buying or building a Utah home for seasonal use (about five to five-and-a-half months a year, to escape summer heat back home) would make them Utah "residents" subject to Utah income tax, given they intended to keep their permanent domicile, driver's licenses, voter registrations, and bank accounts in their home state, with no Utah-source income and no plan to rent out the house.

First letter (March 26, 1997): The Commission explained Utah Code § 59-10-103(1)(j)'s two-part residency test:

• (i) Domicile test: you're a resident for any period you're domiciled in Utah — "domicile" meaning a place voluntarily fixed as a permanent home with intent to abandon the old one. This is fact-specific, and the Commission was explicit that owning Utah property alone is not enough to establish domicile here. The couple's out-of-state driver's licenses, bank accounts, and voter registration were cited as evidence they hadn't abandoned their original domicile — but that evidence gets weighed against any other facts suggesting they'd actually established Utah residency.
• (ii) 183-day test: regardless of domicile intent, if you maintain a permanent Utah abode and spend 183 or more days (counting fractional days) in Utah during the tax year, you're a resident and must file a resident return.
• If neither applies, you're a nonresident and file a Utah return only if you have Utah-source income.

The couple's frustrated follow-up (undated, referencing a March 31, 1997 letter): Understandably wanting more certainty before committing to buy a Utah home, they pushed back, sharing more personal detail — lifelong residents of their home state, ages 49 and 48, deep family and investment ties there, no intention of ever abandoning that domicile, and a firm plan to stay under 180 days in Utah (already more conservative than the 183-day statutory line) specifically to avoid Utah tax exposure. They asked for a clearer, more reassuring answer.

Second letter (April 11, 1997): The Commission reiterated there's no bright-line test for domicile — each case is fact-specific — but gave a more direct answer given the added facts: if the couple does nothing to establish Utah residency and doesn't hit the 183-day threshold, they need not file as Utah residents, and as nonresidents they need only file if they have taxable Utah-source income. Critically, the Commission confirmed that retirement funds earned in their home state are not taxable by Utah for a nonresident. The Commission noted that nothing in their letters suggested they intended to establish Utah residency or abandon their original domicile.

What this means for you

Retirees or "snowbirds" considering a seasonal Utah home

Owning a vacation or seasonal home in Utah does not, by itself, make you a Utah resident or subject your outside income to Utah tax. What matters is (1) whether you actually intend to make Utah your permanent home (abandoning your old domicile) and (2) whether you spend 183 or more days there in a tax year. Staying meaningfully under that day count and maintaining your other-state ties (license, voter registration, bank accounts) supports nonresident status.

People seeking Utah "pre-clearance" of their residency status

Don't expect the Commission to give a guaranteed, bright-line answer in advance — this ruling shows the Commission consistently declines to pre-certify a domicile determination, because it depends on the full fact pattern as it actually develops, not a hypothetical plan. The best it will do is confirm which test applies to facts as described and how those facts tend to point.

Nonresidents with pension, Social Security, or investment income earned elsewhere

If you don't establish Utah residency and don't hit the 183-day threshold, Utah will not tax your out-of-state pension, retirement, Social Security, or investment income — you'd only need to file (and owe tax on) Utah-source income, if any.

Common questions

Q: We own a seasonal home in Utah — does that alone make us Utah residents?
A: No. The Commission was explicit that ownership of Utah property alone is not enough to establish Utah domicile.

Q: How many days can we safely spend in Utah without becoming residents?
A: The statutory threshold is 183 or more days (counting fractional days) in the tax year while maintaining a permanent Utah abode. Staying under that — and ideally with a meaningful safety margin, as this taxpayer planned by staying under 180 days — supports nonresident status, though the Commission notes there's no universal bright-line test beyond the day count itself.

Q: If we're nonresidents, is our pension or Social Security income from our home state taxed by Utah?
A: No. The Commission confirmed that as a nonresident, retirement funds earned in your home state are not taxable by Utah.

Q: Can we get the Commission to guarantee our residency status in advance?
A: Not really — this ruling shows the Commission will describe the legal test and how the facts as presented tend to point, but domicile is fact-specific and determined based on your actual conduct, not a stated future plan.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Utah Code Ann. § 59-10-103(1)(j) (defines "resident individual": domiciled in Utah for any period, OR maintains a permanent Utah abode and spends 183+ days in Utah during the tax year)

Source

• Landing page: https://tax.utah.gov/commission/rulings/
• Original PDF: https://files.tax.utah.gov/tax/commission/ruling/97-016.htm

Original ruling text

97-016

Response
March 26, 1997 and April 11, 1997

Request

Dear
Mr Marrelli:

I am writing to ask for an
interpretation of Title 59 of the Utah Code Annotated as it applies to a
specific fact situation. That fact situation is as follows:

My wife and I would like to live in
Utah five to five and one half months a year upon retirement. We would like to
buy or build a house for that purpose. Our permanent residence would remain in
XXXXX. Our voter registrations, motor vehicle registrations, drivers' licenses
and bank accounts would all remain in XXXXX. We would not have any income from
Utah sources. We would not rent out the house when we were not using it. Our
income would come from my pension from the City of XXXXX, XXXXX, my wife's
XXXXX Retirement/Social Security benefits, and non-Utah investments and annuities.

My
questions are as follows:

1 ) Would we be classified as Utah
"residents" by virtue of our ownership of real property in Utah?

2) Would any portion of our income
be subject to the Utah State Income Tax?

3) Would we be required to file a Utah
State Income Tax return?

I am, of course, hopeful that your
answer to all three questions will be in the negative. We like Utah very much,
but do not care to subject ourselves to state income tax - in Utah or anywhere
else.

Thank
you for your attention to this inquiry.

Sincerely
yours,

NAME

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY
STATE ZIP

Advisory
Opinion - application of income tax to non-resident living in Utah part time.

Dear
NAME,

We have received your request for information
concerning the application of Utah income tax provisions to your
situation. We offer the following
guidance:

Section
59-10-103 (1) of the Utah Code defines �resident� for income tax purposes as
follows:

(j) "Resident individual" means:

(i) an individual who is domiciled in this state for any
period of time during the taxable year, but only for the duration of such
period; or

(ii) an individual who is not domiciled in this state but
maintains a permanent place of abode in this state and spends in the aggregate
183 or more days of the taxable year in this state. For purposes of this
Subsection (ii), a fraction of a calendar day shall be counted as a whole day.

For purposes of subsection (i),
�domicile� means a place where a person has voluntarily fixed habitation with
the intention of making a permanent home.
The definition assumes abandonment of the old domicile with the
intention of establishing a new domicile in Utah. The determination of whether a taxpayer establishes domicile in
Utah is fact specific. However,
ownership of Utah property alone is not enough to establish a Utah
domicile. Your XXXXX driver licenses,
bank accounts, and voter registrations serve as evidence tending to show that
you have not abandoned your XXXXX domicile.
That evidence will be weighed against any other factors that tend to
show that you have established residency in Utah. If you establish permanent residency in Utah or if you move your
residency to Utah some time during the tax year, you must file as a resident or
part year resident.

Under subsection (ii), you are also
considered a Utah resident if you
remain in Utah 183 days or more during any tax year. In that case, you will be required to file a Utah resident tax
return. If you remain in Utah less than
183 days and you do not establish Utah residency, you are considered a non-
resident. As a non-resident you must
file a Utah return only if you have income from Utah sources.

Please let us know if you have other
questions.

For
the Commission,

Joe
B. Pacheco,

Commissioner

SECOND REQUEST LETTER

Mr.
Joe B. Pacheco

Commissioner

Utah
State Tax Commission

210
North 1950 West

Salt
Lake City, Utah 84134

Dear
Mr. Pacheco:

Thank
you for your letter dated March 26, 1997.

Having
worked for a governmental body (the City of XXXXX) for the past eighteen years,
I can understand the Commission's reluctance to give me a definitive answer to
the questions posed in my letter dated February 26, 1997. Hopefully, you can
understand my reluctance to make a major investment in Utah without a good deal
more assurance concerning my potential liability for Utah State Income Tax than
your letter provides. That is particularly true since the reported cases
indicate that the Commission has been rather aggressive (you would probably say
diligent) in classifying persons as residents. Be that as it may, perhaps if I
give you additional information, we will be able to work our way out of this
apparent impasse.

I
am a XXXXX native. Other than a few years when I was in grade school and two
years when I attended XXXXX University, I have lived in XXXXX my entire life. I
am now 49 years old. My wife, who was born in XXXXX, moved to XXXXX with her
family when she was thirteen years old and has resided in XXXXX continuously
since then. She is now 48 years old.

We
cannot imagine ever not living in XXXXX for the better part of the year. We
have family here. We have investments here. We love the winters here.
Unfortunately, we do not love the summers. We want to live somewhere a lot less
humid and a lot cooler during the summer months. That's where Utah comes in. We
would like to come out there each year when it starts getting hot here We would
like to return here when it starts getting cool. Most years, we would probably
be in Utah from early May through mid October - five and a half months, more or
less. In light of your statutory provisions, we would be most careful not to
stay in Utah more than 180 days, including fractional days.

A
few years ago, I purchased a condominium in XXXXX. That is where we will live
from roughly mid October through early May when we can retire, sell our house
in XXXXX and do what we want.

I
do not see how we could be considered to have abandoned our XXXXX domicile when
every time we came to Utah we would know that it was for a finite period of
time and that we would then return to XXXXX I am, however, not interested in
taking a chance on whether the Commission will see things that way when the
time comes. I've earned a living for twenty four years (with a few still to go)
hassling and being hassled, suing and being sued I don't intend to spend my
retirement that way.

That's
about it. If we cannot receive some substantial assurance that we will not be
subject to the Utah State Income Tax if we follow the plan outlined in my
letter of February 26, 1997 and in this letter, we will simply look elsewhere.
I would regret the necessity of taking that step. Utah has many of the things
that we're looking for - and one thing that we're not looking for. A State
Income Tax.

Regardless
of whether you can provide me with the assurance which I am seeking, I do
sincerely appreciate your courtesy in responding to both of my letters

Sincerely
yours,

NAME

April
11, 1997

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

Dear NAME,

We
have received your letter dated March 31, 1997 asking for clearer guidance about the income tax consequences to you of living
in Utah part of the year. It is
difficult for us to be more explicit.
In our letter of March 26, 1997, we described the criteria for filing as
a Utah resident, a part-year resident, or a nonresident. The classification that will apply to you
depends upon your activities and length of stay in Utah. If you do nothing to establish Utah
residency, you need not file as a Utah resident. In that case you need only file as a nonresident if you have
taxable income from Utah sources. As a
nonresident, your income from retirement funds earned in XXXXX are not taxable.

Perhaps
the opinion letter created some confusion concerning the activities that
evidence Utah residency. There is no
bright line test for this determination.
Each case is fact-specific. We
can only say that if you establish residency in Utah and abandon your XXXXX
residency or if you remain in Utah 183 days or more, you will be considered a
Utah resident for tax purposes. Nothing
in your letter suggests that you intend to do that.

I hope
this letter clarifies my previous response and helps you as you make future
plans.

For
the Commission,

Joe
B. Pacheco,

Commissioner