It isn’t always easy preparing your taxes when you’ve worked in more than one state. We can help you get it right!
I get many calls from people who prepared their own returns with two or more states and they all say something pretty similar, “I did the return, the federal is okay but the state just doesn’t seem right.” Then I ask, “Do you owe way more than you think you should?” “Yes, how did you know?” I do this for a living. The quick answer is to check to see if you took a “credit for taxes paid to another state”, that’s usually where the problem is.
Normally, I would have put that at the end of the blog post, but it’s such a common problem that I figured it needed to go first. Quick answer and you’re done. If you need more information, I’ll start from the beginning.
Two states can usually be handled by most of the major tax software companies with no problem. Remember the credit for taxes paid to another state and you should be good. On the other hand, three or more states can send your software into a tizzy. Even with my professional grade software, I still have to compute numbers by hand and manually input them into the program. If you’re dealing with three or more states, spend the money on a professional. It’s a good idea to ask, “Have you ever done a California return before?” (Or Ohio, or North Carolina, or whatever.) Experience helps.
Back to the two states: There are two situations where you could have two state returns. One would be you moved from one state to another, for example moving from Indianapolis to Chicago for a job. The other would be where you live in one state but work in a different state, for example living in St. Louis, Missouri but working across the river in Alton, Illinois. These two types of situations use different forms.
Moving: When you move from one state to another, you’ll be filing your two state returns as a “part-year resident”. You’ll be completing paperwork that says how long you lived in the state, what your earnings were for the state, etc. You should only be taxed on the income that you earned while you lived and work in the state. If you withheld properly, your taxes should come out normal, no big refunds, nor big balance dues. Most of the time in a case like this, you won’t be filing a “credit for taxes paid to another state” because the “part year resident” return will handle you income allocations. (Most of the time—there’s 50 states and they all have different rules, so in some cases you’ll still be doing the credit for taxes paid to another state.)
Living in one state and working in another: this situation is a little different. You will be a “resident” of the state you live in and a “non-resident” of the state you work in. The state you work in is the state your company is going to withhold taxes from. But the state you live in is going to tax your income too. This is where it’s really important to remember the credit for taxes paid to another state, because if you miss taking that credit your tax bill could be enormous. Sometimes, the tax bill is still pretty large even when you’ve done everything right. For example, here in Missouri our state income tax rate is 6%. Next door in Illinois it’s 3% (although it’s moving up to 5% this year.) If you live in Missouri and work in Illinois, you’re going to get hit with a pretty harsh state tax bill unless you had Missouri taxes withheld or paid estimated taxes.
Here’s some other tips that will help you with your multi-state return:
1. Always do the federal return first. Don’t start the state returns until the federal is done and you feel that it’s correct. If you have to go back and make changes to the federal, your state numbers will be off.
2. Non-resident income: that’s wages that you were paid in a state you didn’t live in. It also includes self-employment performed in the state.
3. Resident income: the state you live in will tax everything, in addition to your wages, it will tax your pension, interest, investment income, everything.
4. Moving expense deduction-always goes to the state that you moved to, not the state that you moved from.
This is a pretty quick and dirty summary of multi-state tax returns. If these tips don’t solve your problem, do call us and get some help. They’re not always easy to handle and we do this for a living.
Hi Diane,
Sorry, but you’re a California employee and resident.
Hi Tiffany,
You and your husband will be able to file as married filing jointly on both your state and federal returns.
I’m guessing that you had some income in PA during those first three months so you would need to file a PA return for that income. The rest of your income is in CA so the majority of your taxes will go there.
Technically, what you need to do is file as a part year resident of California and a part year resident of PA. That said, it might be easier to file as a California resident and a PA non-resident. In your situtaion, it should result in the same taxes so you might want to go with the easier option.
Congratulations on your marriage.
Hi Sam,
So you moved to Texas from California but you’re still working for the same employer. Even though you work for your California employer, now that you live in Texas and work in Texas, you are subject to Texas taxes–which, Texas has no state income tax.
I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about local income taxes in Texas. There is no state income tax. When I used to live in Texas, we didn’t have a local income tax where I lived (but it was a long time ago.)
You will file a part year resident of California tax return. You will not file a Texas tax return. If your city has a city tax, you’ll have to check that out with them, sorry.
Hi Cory,
Under your circumstances, I think you are better off filing as an Ilinois resident and a California non-resident for 2012. (Which is exactly what the states told you and I agree.)
You are married, you can’t file as single in California. You still file as married, both you and your wife are non-residents but your wife has no income in California. It will turn out okay.
Hi Shirley,
You’re on an F1 visa. You’re a student in Massachusetts and you have income from California. First and foremost, you live in Massachusetts, so you will be taxed as a Massachusetts resident. Even though you are a non-resident alien for federal purposes, Massachusetts will treat you like a resident because you live there. Welcome to America, the land of taxation that doesn’t make sense.
Now, about the California income. The question is: did you actually work in California or does the W2 just have a California address? If you worked in California–that is, you personally were in that state working for awhile, then you will file a California non-resident return.
If you worked in Massachusetts, but the W2 has an employer address of California, then you just file the Massachusetts return and don’t file anything for California.
I hope that answered your question. Our state issues can be a bit confusing. (Even to people who were born here!)
Hi Alice,
You live in Georgia, but you took a 7 week job overseas and got paid by an Ohio company. You will still file as a Georgia resident and pay taxes on our overseas income to Georgia as it was only a temporay assignment.
Hi Robin,
I think the best thing for you would be to file as a full year resident of NC and your husband file as a part year resident of NC and part year for Tennessee. Tenneessee does not have a state income tax so being a Tennessee resident is a good thing for you taxwise.
It’s perfectly normal to have an old address on a W2, but I would file the federal return with his Tenneessee address. (The address on the tax return has a lot of power.)
So yes, he can file as a part year resident of NC.
Hi Deepa,
Your daughter basically worked in Illinois only and she had some interest income from New Jersey (her original home.)
If you file her as an Illinois resident, she will also pay tax to Illinois on that $100 of interest income she earned in New Jersey as well. But I think you’re doing the right thing by showing her as an Illinois resident for taxes.
Hi Human and/or Josh,
Welcome to America. Our tax system can be pretty confusing. Sorry about that. It’s hard even for Americans.
So you came to the US via New Jersey and stayed there for 3 weeks before moving to Minnesota.
The first question would be: did you earn any income while in New Jersey? I’m guessing that you did, that’s why your company started withholding New Jersey taxes. If that’s the case, then I think you might be best served by filing as a “part-year” resident of New Jersey and a “part-year” resident of Minnesota.
If that’s your situation, you should be getting a refund from New Jersey and will owe Minnesota since they didn’t have any withholding.
Now, if you made no income in New Jersey, you’ll still have to file a New Jersey return so that you can get your refund. You would file as a non-resident and show that there was no income earned in New Jersey. I agree with your thought about attaching a copy of your Minnesota tax return to the New Jersey return–that will show that you are paying Minnesota for your income.
It’s okay that you have a NJ drivers license. You still have a Minnesota address so that’s okay.
You do not need to attach any of your state tax returns to your federal return. They share information.
You are not limited to paying taxes to only one state. Some people pay taxes to five or even more states (but that’s pretty rare.) But if you have taxes for both New Jersey and Minnesota, that’s pretty normal.
If you earned no income in NewJersey
Hi David,
Since you lived in Washington, DC for the entire year, but had a job in New Jersey for just two months, I would file as a WDC resident and a New Jersey non-resident. Then you would claim a credit for taxes paid to New Jersey on your Washington DC return.
Someone should honor you for doing a public service here.
Forgive me is this was answered before.
I live in Dallas and work out of my house. I was hired by a company in Denver through and agency. I am a contractor and plan to spend less than 50% of my time in Colorado (if that matters) over the next 3 months.
What is my tax obligation?
Does it matter if I am hired by a consulting firm in Texas (employer) and working for the company in Colorado (client).
Would it make a difference if I had a direct agreement with the client in Denver vs through an agency in either state.
Hi Tiffany,
So you’ve lived in Kansas all your life but moved to Missouri in September. When you do your own taxes, it shows that you owe nothing to Missouri or Kansas and that seems wrong.
What I think you should do is file as a Kansas non-resident and a Missouri resident. No matter what, you have to pay Kansas for all of your working income. Your Kansas taxes are higher than your Missouri taxes so when you claim the credit for taxes paid to Kansas on your Missouri return it will wipe out any Missouri debt. That’s the easiest way to do it and it’s going to give you the same result as if you divided up your income from when you lived in Kansas versus when you lived in Missouri.
I apologize for my mistake…I said it was December of 2011 when we moved to TX, but it was actually December of 2012. I need to know if I can legally file as part year resident and how to do this. In other words, we lived in Louisiana until December. I worked in Louisiana until that point. My wife worked in TX the entire year. I have two days left to file…what is my best option?
Hi Ms. Roberg.
I wanted to ask a question about my situation. I am a married mother of two small children. However I lived and worked with the state of MD from November 2011 until October 2012 when I moved to MS and am now working for the state of MS. At the same time my husband was living in Georgia from November 2011 until May 2012 when he moved back MS in May 2012. He also took out a 15000 from his retirement and was taxed federal but not state and I was unaware of him doing this. How should I file because I am being taxed big time when I file jointly with him. I moved back with him in a new state of MS in October. Please help.
my wife is a traveling physical therapist and has been located in 3 different states for work in 2012 (MD, IN and VA) in that order. I am a resident of MD. We plan to file federal jointly, but not sure how to file her returns in 3 states. She received W2’s for each state, her driver’s license is in MD but she has rented in the 2 other states (IN and VA) her address on the W2’s is a VA address where she rents.
Any advice on how to file in these three states? Can she be a part time resident of each state or does one of the three have to be designated as her permanent residence?
I was going to make her a resident of MD and nonresidents in IN and VA.
Thanks for your time!
-not sure where to begin.
Hi Jan,
I’m so glad to see that you’re still answering questions here! That’s amazing! I’m also glad to run into this article, because I was almost going to go to a tax professional for a simple multi-state filing.
Am I doing something wrong? I lived and worked in New York for the first 4 months in 2012 and moved to California and work there now. When I tried doing the New York filings it said I owed $500+. Does this seem normal and if I do my California return right after should it cancel out?
Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I’ve spoken to so many different representatives and I’ve gotten so many answers. And before I finalize my return, I’m reaching out to ask one more time to someone who may give me the correct information. First of all, I had 3 jobs in 2012. I live in Maryland but work one of those jobs in Virginia. My Virginia employeer taxes that income as Maryland state tax. When I first started filing on my own, it said I owed 256 dollars in VA tax. Most agents I spoke to told me that I should not owe anything to Virginia because I live in Maryland, and those two states have stipulating agreements and that the Virginia W2 could be filed under Maryland. They asked what state was listed in box 15 on the W2 and it lists maryland on all W2’s including the job in VA. So they explained that if one was listed as VA, then I would file VA, but since they all list MD, I should only be filing Maryland state returns, as opposed to filing a Maryland state return and a VA non-resident return as well. They told me to delete the non-resident Virginia return and only file Maryland, and that was why I owed VA state tax. I’m trying to confirm this for sure so I don’t have any surprises later on. Also, many people at my job on the same team live in Maryland but work in VA, and have never had to owe any amount of VA tax. So I’m curious as to why I owe so much in VA. Should I only be filing Maryland returns as suggested, or is there something else I need to be doing? And why do I owe over $250 in Virginia?
Hi Jan, I’m incredibly impressed with how you’ve helped all of these people. I have a question as well, and I’m hoping you can help.
I grew up overseas (I’m an American citizen, though) until I moved to New York to attend college. I graduated last May and it took me six months to find a job. The job is in Virginia, where I live now. I moved here when I started working in early, early December, so I only have one month of taxable income for this tax year. I didn’t work while I was in school in New York, and only have 62 dollars of state income tax for this little bit of work I did in VA in 2012. I know I don’t *have* to file, but as you’ve pointed out, it’s always nice to get back what you can.
So my question is – do I file a part-year return even if I don’t have a part-year return to file in another state (can you only do a part-year if you’re doing the “rest” of that year elsewhere?). Or do I file a regular resident return because VA is my intended home for the foreseeable future?
Thanks a bunch.
I lived in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and worked in Maryland. PA and WV taxes were withheld. Do I need to file a return with Maryland?
Hi Jan,
This is a great site! Hope you can provide guidance on how to handle my situation:
I live in CA & work for a CA company but fly out to OH 3-4 days a week. My W-2 only shows withholding from CA but I have travel receipts to prove my OH trips. On my 2012 tax return can I claim 75% of those wages as earned in OH & pay OH tax rate (instead of being taxed at the CA tax rate) and then pay the CA tax on the remaining 25%?
Thanks!!!
Hi Jan,
I moved from PA to CA last March to be with my Fiance who is a full time CA resident. I continued working remotely for my company in PA until June, and then I started a new full time job in CA, and the we got married last August.
We filled out our Federal return jointly, but how do we file our state taxes? Should we both file married but separate in CA? I know I am a part time resident in both PA and CA. While I was working for my old company in PA they only deducted CA state taxes. Will I owe money to PA for those wages, or do I need to take a credit for taxes paid to CA? Thanks so much for the help.
Hello,
I lived in California and moved to Texas in July. I work for the same company as I did in California but now from Texas remotely. How do I file taxes?
Also on my W2 I got local income tax (box 19 from Texas) withdrawn but not state income tax(box 17) and tax act said this is wrong?
Jan,
This is my first time filing multiple state tax and it’s confusing. Here is the situation, I relocated for work from IL to CA. I didn’t move out to CA until Dec. last year but my new job in CA started in Nov. My spouse hasn’t moved to CA yet. I called the IL tax dept, they said I should file IL state tax as full time resident. I called CA tax dept, they said I should file as NR. Also, we file as married jointly for federal, should I file the same for CA or I should file as single?
According to your article, I should file as part year for IL and CA? Also, when I claim for other state tax credit, I should claim on IL filing or CA filing?
Thanks so much for your time and help!
Hi Jan –
I commend you for replying to all the questions posted here two years running! I’m doing taxes with Turbo Tax online right now and I’m pretty I’m doing it wrong as it appears we owe we too much:
Me: Lived in DC 1/1/12 to 4/30/12. Got legally married to my wife in March 2012 but didn’t move into my wife’s condo in MD until 5/1/12. My work is in DC and it withheld DC taxes through April, then switched to MD taxes starting in May.
Wife: Lived and worked in MD for all of 2012. She owns the condo in her name only and has a good-sized mortgage interest deduction.
We both made roughly the same amount of money last year, both have student loan interest deductions, and don’t have children.
Right now Turbo Tax recommends filing jointly but it says we owe a little federal and Maryland tax, but WAY too much DC tax. I suspect it has something to do with what you wrote about above. Should we be filing separately for the federal and state returns? I’m about ready to just pay someone to do this for us!
Thank you in advance!
JL
I am currently a GA resident/student. During last summer, I worked oversea and got paid by a Ohio corporation for the 7 weeks of work I did oversea. How/which state(s) do I file? Thank you!
I’m a F1 student in MA and have income from CA. Can you provide any useful information about two states tax returns as non-resident aliens?
We have moved from state to state several times so I understand the part year residency but we have never had a move cross over from one year to another and I’m not sure how to file for 2012.
In Oct 2012 My husband moved and began working in TN (about 11 hours from our NC home). I was still living and working in NC full time as of 12/31/12. I will move myself and our furnishings sometime in 2013. We file joint. Do I file full time NC resident and he files part year NC resident on the same 2012 return?
He did not have a permanent TN address as of 12/31/12 because he was still in a hotel with the company paying expenses so his W2 from TN has his NC address. Does this effect how he files?
The only income he had in NC in 2012 was unemployment and I know he owes NC taxes on that. TN did not take taxes from his TN earnings because it is an income tax free state.
In short,can he file as part year resident in NC and does he owe any state taxes to NC for his earnings in TN? FYI, I use a software program to prepare our taxes.
Appreciate your input.
My daughter went to school in Evanston, IL and earned about 1000 dollars working while a student. Federal and state taxes were withheld in IL. She graduated in June and was home in NJ til first week of August. Since August she works full time in Chicago, IL and taxes are held there. The only income she has in NJ is less than 100 dollars in interest income. I am filing her as an IL resident. Is that fine and if so do I have to file anything in NJ
I started my job in NJ where I worked and stayed for 3 weeks, then I was moved to MN where i worked and stayed for whole year. I received my first paycheck in MN only as it is usually 3 weeks late. Employer only withheld NJ taxes, now i am filing a non resident return with NJ to get money back.
My question is -do I need to allocate Income to NJ for those 3 weeks.
I started my job in NJ where I stayed and worked for 3 weeks and then was moved to MN for rest of year. I got my first paycheck in MN only as it is usually 3 weeks delayedEmployer kept withholding NJ taxes, now I am filing a non resident return with NJ and asking for refund.
My question is do I need to allocate any income to NJ for those 3 weeks
Hi Coty,
I think you should just file as Texas residents for all of 2012 since you moved there in 2011. If you earned any income in Louisiana, you would claim it as a non-resident.
Hi Terry M,
You are supposed to have Ohio tax taken out because you work there. So don’t change that.
Since you are a Pennsylvania resident, you will get a credit on your PA tax return for the tax that you pay to Ohio.
Hi Thomas L S-
I deleted your last name, just for privacy.
You will be liable for North Carolina income taxes. You will file as a North Carolina resident and a Virginia non-resident. You will pay Virginia tax on the income you earned in Virginia.
You will claim a credit for the tax you paid to Virginia on your NC return. You will pay tax on all of your retirement income to North Carolina. (Or whatever part of your retirement income that is taxable in NC.)
Hi Brian,
I think I understand your question. You work in Kansas but live in Missouri.
When you do your Missouri taxes, and you input the Kansas tax liability (and yes that’s the right number to input, not the withholding.)
But when the return prints, the credit for taxes paid to Kansas shows up as lower than what your actual Kansas liability is. That’s not really that unusual either. Missouri has a whole formula for that so I often get smaller numbers–that’s okay.
You should never see a refund from Missouri unless you’ve had Missouri withholding. At least, not in your situation.
I hope that answers your question.
Please advice. I am a non resident alien who came to USA (NJ) in Sep 2012. stayed there for 3 weeks and went to MN in Oct mid and stayed there till year. Now employer withheld NJ taxes only. I want to file MN as I leased out an apartment and lived with family there. From your blogs , I understood that file for MN taxes and get a complete refund back from NJ. Please advice on few points-
.do I need to send MN return to NJ or any note stating that employer was wrongly withholding. what else needs to be sent to NJ to resolve any miscommunication,do I need to send them address proof of MN.
.I stayed in NJ for 3 weeks and did not receive in that time period. So do I owe any money to NJ? Do I need to allocate any money from Total state wages to NJ. If I allocate then MN total allocated wages is reduced from overall total wages.
. I have NJ license and mobile e-bills at NJ address as I never changed that as I don’t have a car, is that a problem in asking refund from NJ.
. In my federal return , do I need to attach NJ and MN returns also,or how will IRS got to know that I am paying MN, they might send info to NJ
. I know we have to pay state tax to 1 state, but if I did not earn much and to close this mess, can I pay both stated for same period. I only fit as Non resident for both as I stayed for less than 183 days.
Please please reply.
Hi Jan,
Your website is very helpful. Could I ask a question. I am full time graduate student in Washington, DC and lived there the whole year. I had an internship in NJ for 2 months over the summer (I stayed at a hotel). My company witheld both for NJ and DC income taxes. What income tax return do I file for NJ (nonresident or part-year resident)? I would also file resident return for DC?
Thank you.
My wife and I moved from Louisiana to Texas in December of 2011. We moved into a corporate rental while our house was being built. Can we file as part year residents in Louisiana, since we technically moved out of the state during 2011, even though there were only about 10 days left in the year.
I live in Pennsylvania, work in Ohio, & my pay check is out of Texas. They presently are taking Ohio state tax out. Can I elect to not have this state tax out? I assume I will have to contact Texas to have this done. If I do, do they have to oblige or can they say no? If they continue to take Ohio state tax out, do I have to pay my Pennsylvania state tax quarterly, or can I wait until next tax season? If I can wait, do I have to file in Ohio, & wait to get that tax in order to send it to Pennsylvania, or does Pennsylvania cross over into Ohio & collect it? Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
My entire working career was in Virginia. When I retired I moved to North Carolina. My retirement pension is from Virginia. I have a part time job in Virginia. I have never worked in North Carolina. My question is: Do I have to pay any income tax to the state of North Carolina. I know that I have to file a return in North Carolina but do I have to pay? Thank you.
Hi Neil,
you will file jointly as a part year resident of IL and Washington. (No Washington taxes.)
Wages are taxed in the state they are earned in. Interest and dividends are taxed in the state you live in. It’s in your best interest for your interest and dividends to be earned while you live in Washington. Your financial statement will tell you when the dividends were awarded. It will make sense for you to separate these out if any can be attibuted to Washington.
You and your husband will have different times that you start living in Illinois.
Oh–one thing to keep in mind. When you’re inputting the W2s into the computer software–when you work in Washington (or another no-tax state) they usually leave the “state” box blank on the W2. You’ll want to put WA in the state box so that your software doesn’t put the income into your Illinois return.
Hi Jan,
I moved to IL from WA last year. Only wages I earned last year were in WA. I did earn couple of hundreds in interests and dividends on my investments through the year. On the other hand, my spouse earned wages as a full year resident of IL. We filed federal returns jointly. What should be our strategy for IL returns?
1. Do we file 2 separate IL returns for me and my spouse, each filed as married filing separately?
2. Do I even need to file IL return when all I earned after moving to IL was small interests/dividends and no wages?
Your help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Hey Lesley W. —
I’m playing catch up with the mail bag and I think I missed your post. Sorry.
You’ve got Oklahoma non-resident income. I think the problem you’re having is you’re using the regular tax return for Oklahoma. What you need is the Non-resident return. The 511NR. That one has the Oklahoma income sorted out. That should give you the results you’re looking for.
Hi Cindy,
I think that if your husband is temporarily in California, that you could file him as a non-resident of California and a resident of Georgia. That would probably be the best for you taxwise as well.
Do check California rules about residency though. If he was there long enough, California might require he file as a resident. Just double check that before you file.
Hi Srikrishna,
You were a full time resident of NC and a non-resident of California. You will pay tax on all of your income to NC. You will only pay tax in California on the income you earned in CA.
On your NC tax return, you will claim a credit for the tax that you paid to CA. If you use the 1040.com software (a link is at the top of this website) it will compute that for you automatically.
Hi Kim,
I’ll answer the easy question first. Yes, your daughter can still qualify for the tuition tax credit even if she paid the tuition with her loans. That’s perfectly okay.
Now–what state does she live in. It sounds to me like she is a resident of Kansas and a non-resident of MO. That’s how she should file.
One more thing–is she an undergrad? If yes, you might be able to claim her and her tuition tax credit on your taxes. That may be the best thing for all of you. If you might be able to claim her, try running the numbers both ways and see how it plays out. It’s worth checking.
Hi Angel,
Yep, that is a hair puller. Here in Missouri they have spaces for the husband and wife to move separately, but I checked on the PA return and you’re kind of all or nothing.
But here’s the thing about reciprocity–basically it states that you are taxed by the state you live in. You should apply for a refund from the state you don’t live in and use the money to pay your live-in state.
What’s funky with you is that you lived is separate states.
You might want to get a local professional to help with yours. I don’t do many Pennsylvania returns and have never done a West Virginia one. The one thing I do know is that a local preparer will have better information for you. (I’m the queen of Missouri taxes–there’s all sorts of little tricks–you want someone like that for you.)
If I were doing your return, I’d play with the filing status–married filing separately (not always good, but might be in your case.)
I’d also play with making you both residents of PA in June and dealing with the reciprocity.
But the important thing is–a local preparer would have better information for you. Even though PA and WV have reciprocity–one or the other might be a better state for you to claim because of credits and deductions.
Sorry I’m not much help here. Here’s a link to help you find an EA in your area:
https://portal.naeacentral.org/webportal/buyersguide/professionalsearch.aspx
Hi,
I was a full time student in NC and earned income in NC while working from Jan – May and from Aug – Dec. During summer, I moved to CA and worked for 3 months. I rented an apartment in CA.
1) Should I be filing as part-time resident / full time resident of NC?
2) If I need to file as full time resident of NC, is the income I earned in CA taxable in NC?
My daughter worked in MO all of 2012. She rented a house in MO from 1/1/2012 to 8/15/2012. She moved to KS in August. We have lived in KS since she was born. She never updated her drivers license, car tags, nor registered to vote in MO (she kept her KS drivers license and car tags). Her employer withheld for both MO and KS (although not much for KS). My question: when filing her taxes, we were planning on just claiming residency as full time in KS. Will that cause any issues? Also an unrelated question — she received a 1098T form for school tuition — but she has taken our school loans for her tuition — can she still apply for the tax credit if she hasn’t actually paid the tuition — she used the loans for that? — Thanks.
Hi Caitlyn,
Do Not just subtract out numbers on your W2–you’re right it won’t match.
Here’s what you need to do.
1. You are a part year resident of Massachusetts.
2. You are a part year resident of Maine.
3. You will need to allocate your income appropriately on your tax returns. You’ll do that on the NRI form.
4. You will get a refund for the overpayment you made to MA.
Note: you’ll have to do some manual overrides to get this to be right because your company said you were living in MA while you lived in Maine. Bottom line–when you add the income on your MA return to the income on your ME return, it should total exactly the income on your federal return. If that’s not happening–get a professional to help you.
Hi Michelle,
It sounds like you could have been a victim of identity theft. Perhaps some creep filed a tax return in your name over there and now NC is trying to figure things out.
1. Make sure NC is really the ones asking for the information. Sounds like you did talk to them, just making sure.
2. I’d ask if it’s an identity theft issue. If you never worked or lived there, then that’s the logical explanation.
3. Did any of your jobs ever withhold NC tax? I’ve seen that–happened to me. Company was withholding tax for wrong state. That could trigger something too.
4. If NC is legitimately checking into your taxes, I’d go ahead and send them the proof that you filed somewhere else.
A couple of things: NC is not a community property state–so you don’t have to worry about owing tax for a spouse that lived there.
NC is not a common law state–so you don’t have to worry about being married to someone that you’re not married to there either. (Those were the first two things that popped into my mind.)
So that brings me back to indentity theft. That’s a tough issue to prove. You might need some help.