Do Merchant Mariners pay state income tax in the state they live in or work in?
You pay for the state you live in
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My company (NY) will not withhold my state income taxes (MA) so i pay on my own; some do quarterly but i prefer to pay a lump sum in April and keep the money liquid and pay a small penalty rather than give them a little all year.
Thanks. When I worked for Penn they only took out federal. I only worked there for 6 months so ill be paying those taxes in april. Hopefully they take the taxes out here.
Its some law that they cant take out state unless you live in state that the company is based in but some companies still wont
Typically you have to ask your employer to take out state taxes and fill out the withholding form for your state.
A federal statute prohibits any state tax deductions from a seaman’s wages, EXCEPT in the state of legal residence.
I have had to fight past employers on this. And I once had to fight off a tax lien from the State of California — where I have never lived, but where a former employer was based.
At current wage levels, there is a considerable advantage to maintaining a legal residence in a no income tax state, such as NH, DE, FL, TX, WA, and AK.
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I used to get a taxes due notice every year from California when I was working for a S.F. based company. I would reply with proof that I lived in another state, document that I was a merchant seaman employed at sea, and therefore exempt from CA taxes. That would end their pursuit of my money, until the following year when I would get a new demand from them.
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[QUOTE=“tugsailor”]A federal statute prohibits any state tax deductions from a seaman’s wages, EXCEPT in the state of legal residence.
If possible pease site statute, I’m facing this exact situation. Thanks
I’ve had the same problems a few years back, it has since stopped. You need to contact the number on the letter you received to straighten the matter out.
Found it. 46 usc 11108
The problem is, looking down at your W-2 form the bottom line says Taxable STATE income with the state abbreviation of the state the company is from. Once in a while the states come up with a bent to find more income. The states have access to the Feds records. It appears they go after these W-2s.
I have been round and round with Louisiana about last years taxes. My company refused to take out state taxes, Louisiana still has a grand of my money because they refuse to acknowledge that I work in federal waters and live in another state, even when i point out the above statue.
I had the same issue with California, working for a tug company based out there, but working GOM, Caribe, and Atlantic. The CA IRS thought I owed them 8 arge. I had to fill out tax return for that state proving I was not a resident and had actually never set foot there. Annoying yes but at least it got them off my back. My state of residence is a no state tax state so I don’t worry about that.
I had a very similar problem in California. I didn’t file a CA return, but had to send quite a bit of correspondence to the attorney general to get a state tax lien dissolved, and then a lot more correspondence to credit bureaus to get the tax lien removed from my credit reports. It kept popping back up on the credit reports for a couple years.
It doesn’t matter where a seaman works — state waters or federal waters, or in what, if any states. The federal statute prohibits anyone from deducting state income taxes from a seaman’s wages, EXCEPT in the state of legal residence.
As I understand it, for example, if a seaman living in CT, worked on the Staten Island Ferry (which operates exclusively within the inland waters of NYC), the employer (I’m not sure who that is, maybe the city), and the State of New York, and the City of New York (yes, they have a city income tax), should not be able to deduct or levy state and local taxes on that seaman’s wages.
Does anyone know a good tax guy for mariners in CA?. I moved out to the Bay Area earlier this year and want to make sure I don’t get any angry letters sent my way. Thanks in advance!
[QUOTE=SeaScoundrel;91399]Does anyone know a good tax guy for mariners in CA?. I moved out to the Bay Area earlier this year and want to make sure I don’t get any angry letters sent my way. Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]
There use to be a guy on Mission? His name was Ming? I believe he was an ex SUP sailor now doing taxes. I used him once. Of course you can always use Kapp who is in LA. I have used twts out of Maryland for the last few years. I used them when I lived in CA as well. So far been pretty good
So I can be a resident of Florida (no state income tax), work in the Gulf, and live in California. If I understand correctly, I must file taxes in Florida and pay, file in Louisiana and not pay citing 46 usc 11108 , and nothing in CA?
[QUOTE=NYBoatman;91274]Do Merchant Mariners pay state income tax in the state they live in or work in?[/QUOTE]
US Code for seaman’s taxes can be seen here:
http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/46C111.txt
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If you live in CA that is where you pay taxes.