Discussion:Foreign Wages and State Taxation

Generally you can look at the state filing requirements...my guess is that you are not required to file a state return if they were not physically present in the state and did not earn wages in that state. Each state has specific requirements....

Many states define a tax resident to include all domiciliaries, regardless of whether they are present in the state at all during the taxable year. Usually an expatriate employee does not establish a new domicile in the foreign country, but retains the original domicile until he or she moves to a different location (usually within the U.S.) with the intention of remaining there permanently. Many such states have special rules, however, that allow a domiciliary who is present in a foreign country for a minimum period of time, with limited returns to the home state during that time, to be treated as a nonresident.

If you identify the state or states with which you are concerned, we can give you more specific guidance. However, the first step in the inquiry is to go to the state department of revenue's web site (you can link to it through http://taxadmin.org) and look up the statutory definition of a tax resident.