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I have a two tax questions. They're probably simple answers, but this is the first time I'm doing taxes without the help of my parents' accountant, so I'm a bit wary whether I'm doing this correctly.
1) I lived in California all my life until this summer, when I moved to Massachusetts for graduate school. Regarding MA state taxes, there are forms for non-residents as well as partial year residents. First, what makes me a resident (eg. a MA drivers license, just a MA mailing address?) Second, would it be beneficial to declare myself/become a MA resident? I have a CA drivers license which I recently renewed, does this automatically disqualify me from being a MA resident?
2) I have earned interest on a number of CD's and savings accounts from different banks: i) a small amount of interest from a bank in Washington state, and ii) about $300 in interest from an online bank. Does the interest earned need to be reported under the state the bank is located? Or the mailing address I gave for the account. For example, for the online bank (ING) I have listed my mailing address as California, but the bank's mailing adddress is Minnesota. Does that mean I report the interest earned under my CA state tax? or do I need to fill out a state tax form for MN? Lastly, is there usually a dollar amount threshold that if you earn under a certain amount in interest, you don't have to pay state taxes, or fill out a state tax return. In other words, I've only earned a small amount of interest from the Washington bank. If it's under a certain amount, am I no longer required to either pay taxes or even fill out a state tax form?
I'd be grateful to anyone who can help answer my questions. Thanks for your help
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