Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 006 - Department of Finance and Administration › Division 05 - Division of Revenues › Regulation 1997-4 - Comprehensive Individual Income Tax Regulations › Rule 26-51-102 - DEFINITIONS › Rule 2.26-51-102(9) - Residency Determination

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
A three pronged test, as set forth below, is used to
					 determine whether or not a person is a resident of Arkansas. Satisfaction of
					 any one prong is sufficient to establish residency.
a)
any person
domiciled
in the state of Arkansas
. Domicile is
				  comprised of an act coupled with an intent. A domicile is acquired by (1)
				  physical presence at a place coinciding with (2) the state of mind (that is,
				  intent) of regarding the place as a permanent home. A domicile arises
				  instantaneously when these two facts occur. Every person must have one domicile
				  but can have no more than one domicile, regardless of how many residences a
				  person may have at any given time. A domicile, once established, continues
				  until a new domicile of choice is legally established. An established domicile
				  does not end by lack of physical presence alone nor by mental intent alone. The
				  old domicile must be abandoned with the intention not to return to it. If one
				  moves to a new location but intends to stay there only for a limited period of
				  time (no matter how long), the domicile does not become the new location but
				  rather remains unchanged.
b)
any person who maintains a permanent
place of abode
within Arkansas
and
spends in the aggregate more than six (6)
				  months of the year within Arkansas
. Place of abode means a place
				  where a person has established a permanent home, even though such person may be
				  absent therefrom[sic] for a long period of time. A temporary home or residence
				  would not be considered a place of abode, as there must be at least some degree
				  of permanence. In addition, a person must actually spend
more
than
				  six months of the tax year in Arkansas to fall within the scope of this
				  provision. A person who has spent either less than six months or exactly six
				  months in Arkansas would not fall within the scope of this provision.
Place of abode and residence are considered to mean roughly
					 the same thing. However, domicile and residence are not considered to be
					 synonymous. Residence denotes only an act (the act of residing), while domicile
					 denotes an act (the act of residing) coupled with the intent that the residence
					 be a permanent home. The distinction between domicile and place of abode is
					 that although a person can have several homes (or places of abode) at one time,
					 only one of those homes can be the person's domicile. The home that the person
intends
or
considers
to be their permanent home (as
					 in home base) would be the domicile.
c) In situations where it is not clear if the
				  requirements of either domicile (a) or place of abode (b) have been met, a
				  residency determination can only be made after thoroughly reviewing the facts
				  on a case by case basis. When reviewing the facts, the Supreme Court of
				  Arkansas has held that we are not bound to accept a taxpayer's claims of intent
				  when the circumstances point to a contrary conclusion. Furthermore, when acts
				  are inconsistent with a taxpayer's declarations, the acts will control, and our
				  conclusions regarding residency should be based on the facts and circumstances
				  proved. The following factors should be reviewed in making a residency
				  determination:
* Address used on federal income tax returns;
* Address used on telephone, utility and commercial
					 documents;
* Address used on voter registration;
* Address used on driver's license, hunting and fishing
					 license;
* Address used on motor vehicle, boat and trailer
					 registration;
* Address used on real and personal property tax
					 documents;
* Address used on county and other tax assessments;
* Address on governmental documents, such as military
					 records. With respect to military records, the Leave and Earning Statement is a
					 very important document;
* If the Taxpayer has a spouse, the spouse's address on
					 such things as drivers license, voter registration, vehicle registration, etc.
					 should be checked out;
* Employer and withholding information, nature of
					 Taxpayer's employment (traveling salesperson, etc);
* Location of Taxpayer. How often and for how long is
					 Taxpayer present at the locations at issue;
* Location of immediate family, such as spouse and
					 children;
* Length of time in Arkansas of Taxpayer and immediate
					 family;
* Community affiliations, such as club memberships, church,
					 bank accounts, etc.;
* Absence of factors in other states.