TLDR- Do I have to use married filing separately if I (but not my active duty military spouse) was a resident of multiple states after I retired from the military in 2023?
Hello all,
I retired from the military on 1 Jun 23, my wife remained active duty through all of 2023. I started the year as a CA resident, and after retiring, became a VA resident. My active duty pay went to CA for state taxes, and my retirement pension went to VA, and I did not have a job for the remainder of the year. My wife is a WA resident and doesn't pay state taxes.
When attempting to file my VA state taxes, TurboTax informed me that I'd have to use Married Filing Separately (MFS) since I was a resident of multiple states for 2023. We've been filing jointly for over decade, sometimes with multiple state returns due to owning rental properties.
I would very much like to NOT use MFS for multiple reasons, and was hoping I was missing something, especially related to unique military status, that would allow me to file jointly.
Thanks so much everyone!
