Me and my wife are planning to submit federal and state tax withholding forms for 2024 and here's our situation. I will be a resident of NC for the entire 2024. My spouse will be a resident of WA for the entire 2024. No kids.
We usually pay our federal and state returns as MFJ (my spouse was a part-year resident of NC in 2023). We want to continue filing federal taxes as MFJ, but I am unsure if that's the right choice.
Here are a couple of questions I have.
1. Can I file my NC tax return as MFJ when my spouse is a nonresident of NC (not even a part-year resident)? If yes, would we have to report my spouse's WA income on the NC return? Which standard deduction would apply in this situation?
2. Can I file my NC return as MFS considering our federal return is MFJ? Is it worth going down this path?
3. We both have W2 incomes and separate other typical income types (1099-INT, 1099-DIV). However, we have a joint savings account (in which we both contribute). For this account, 1099-INT will be issued to me/I am the primary account holder. Does this income count towards NC source of income for my spouse? Does this require us to file MFJ for my NC state return?
4. Given our situation, should we consider filling MFS for federal and state returns? Or any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance. 🙂
