I forgot to file my nonresident NY taxes but filed my federal and resident taxes for NJ. Do I need to amend the already filed federal and NJ if the values are the same?

[joy1]

I work in NY and live in NJ. A few days ago when doing my taxes I didn't get a warning about not submitting my non-resident taxes for NY. It showed I owed NJ money, which I paid (small amount). My federal and NJ state taxes were both accepted. Fast forward a few days and I just found out I forgot to submit NY non-resident taxes and needed to amend my taxes. 

After adding my NY taxes, it said NY owed me a refund. I went to do an amendment to my NJ taxes and it says there were no changes detected. 

So my question is, if there are no real changes to my already filed NJ taxes, do I need to send in an amendment for that (or even federal)? Or do I just e-file my NY taxes that I forgot to submit the first time around?

Thanks!

[IsabellaG · Accepted solution]

You don't have to amend your federal or state returns. You can just file the NY return. But make sure that your NJ return is correct, because there is a New Jersey credit for taxes paid to another state when you are a resident.

[ecannan11]

What if I amended the others anyway?

[MarilynG1]

@ecannan11 If your Refund amounts changed when you Amended your returns, you did need to Amend.

Click this link for more info on Do I Need to Amend?

You shouldn't submit Amended Returns until you have received your Refunds from your original returns, though.  Amended Returns don't 'catch up' with your original returns and correct them.

They are processed separately, and take several weeks to complete.

If you paid tax to a state you didn't live in, click this link for more info on How to File a Non-Resident State Return. 

[ecannan11]

I already received federal returns for 2017 and 2018 and paid back to NJ for 2017 and 2018.

[ErnieS0]

@ecannan11 As tax Expert @marilynjoy said, if your refund amounts changed you should amend even if you received federal returns for 2017 and 2018 and paid NJ for 2017 and 2018.

Preparing a New York nonresident return should not change federal but it may change NJ if you did not claim a credit for taxes paid to NY.

You can amend more than once. If TurboTax is showing an additional amount due, it means you owe more. If TurboTax shows a refund, you are getting some money back. In that case, you don't have to file an amended return for federal and NJ. You'd just be giving up your refund.

[ecannan11]

Based on what I received it looks like NY entered a substitute form on my behalf. As I've stated, I have now filed the non-resident form for 2017. After they review, will they update the original tax numbers they used when they started applying the penalties and interest? I know that the tax amount assessed should be no where near $16K.

[ecannan11]

Only 30% or so of all income earned for 2017 was from my income. I feel like they just bloated the numbers because I didn't file. We paid a substantial amount back to NJ which is where we resided in 2017 and 2018. So I don't see how they attributed so much tax to NY.

[JohnW152]

It’s doubtful that the state tax office “bloated” your actual tax numbers because you didn’t file, although penalties and interest could result for that reason.

The state receives tax information from the IRS, banks, and employers among others.  Sometimes this information is incorrect, and you’ll have a chance to provide input.

Please see the Department of Taxation and Finance’s Audit and How we select audits pages for more information.

[ecannan11]

It's not that I didn't file. I filed my NJ and Federal and both were accepted. We completely forgot to file the non-resident to NY which was just recently sent and filed. Will they review the newly filed document and make updates?

[JotikaT2]

No, each entity is operated separately from each other.  New Jersey and the IRS will not review your newly filed New York nonresident return.  

They will only be notified of any changes if you determine you need to file an amended return for either of the two taxing agencies as indicated above.

Were your earnings already reported on your federal return as originally filed?  If so, you would not have to change your federal return.  If however, these are new earnings, you would need to amend your federal return.

I would recommend reviewing your New Jersey return.  As mentioned before, you could be entitled to an additional refund for any taxes paid in New York if the income was already reported on your return as originally filed.  Essentially, you may have had more income being reported from New Jersey sources when they were actually from New York.  If this applies, you may be due a refund from New Jersey for any income that was taxed twice by both states.

@ecannan11

[ecannan11]

Nothing as far as overall income changed. We simply forgot to file the non-resident form (which has now been submitted and filed). I did amend NJ as well as I wanted to include the non-resident income attributed to NY.

[JotikaT2]

That is all you need to do at this point.  You have taken all of the steps to file the required state returns and amendments.  Since your overall income did not change, you do not need to amend your federal income tax return as there would not be any changes.

[ecannan11]

What happens next? When should I expect to hear something? So I assume NJ and NY will review the updates.  Particularly since NY never received the non-resident forms?

[JotikaT2]

Yes, you will need to wait for each state to process the returns. 

If you are getting refunds, you can use the following links to check the status of your refunds.

New Jersey tax refund updates

New York tax refund updates