HAR § 18-235-1.10 — Aliens

(a) “Alien” means an individual who is not a United States citizen. (b) An alien is a resident of Hawaii if the alien has permanent resident alien status (green card) and is domiciled in Hawaii, or resides in Hawaii for other than a temporary or transitory purpose. Thus, like all other individuals, the status of an alien as a resident or nonresident for Hawaii income tax purposes is determined by all of the factual circumstances. (c) Hawaii has not adopted the federal provisions of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 7701(b)(with respect to the definition of resident alien and nonresident alien), and therefore, section 7701(b) does not control for Hawaii income tax purposes. In addition, tax treaties between the United States and foreign countries do not apply to sub-nation states’ taxing authority and therefore do not control for Hawaii income tax purposes. (d) In certain situations, a taxpayer may be considered a nonresident alien for federal income tax purposes and a resident for Hawaii income tax purposes. In these situations, the special rules applicable to individuals who are considered nonresident aliens for federal income tax purposes will apply when the individual files a Hawaii resident income tax return. Example 1: N, a Hawaii resident, married O, a citizen of Australia, while both were attending college in Hawaii. Upon their graduation from college, they both found employment in Hawaii. After their marriage, O filed the required documents and became a permanent resident alien. Conclusion: O is deemed to be a resident of Hawaii. O is domiciled in Hawaii and became a permanent resident alien upon her marriage to N. Example 2: P is a Japanese national who is domiciled in Japan. In 1995, P moved to Hawaii to manage a Japanese company’s U.S. business operations. P was admitted by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service as a nonimmigrant alien. P’s authorized stay can be extended periodically. During 1995, P was physically present in Hawaii for more than 200 days during the taxable year. Conclusion: P is deemed to be a resident of Hawaii. Although P is in Hawaii as a nonimmigrant alien, and is domiciled in Japan, P is in Hawaii for other than a temporary or transitory purpose. HRS §235-1