State tax filing

You are only required to include pages 1 and 2 of your Form 1040 ,  You should also include your W-2's or 1099-R's, anything that has withholdings on it. You do not need to include the "mock" Federal Return with your MO return, unless you want to for further explanation.  But if you do include it, I would carefully mark it with a complete explanation what it is and what you used it for.

Here's a brief overview of the procedure (see the sections below for detailed steps):

1. Prepare one married filing jointly (MFJ) return to file with the IRS.
2. Prepare a mock married filing separate (MFS) return for each taxpayer. This is for your records only and will be used to generate separate state returns for each person. The mock federal returns are not filed.
3. Then, for the first taxpayer, label and use the first mock MFS federal return to prepare their state MFS return. Use only their income and their half of the deductions from the MFJ federal return.
   • This ensures that TurboTax only transfers the first taxpayer's income to their married filing separate state return.
4. File this MFS state return, not the mock federal return that it pulls the information from.
5. For the second taxpayer (spouse), label and use the second "mock" MFS federal return to prepare their state MFS return. Again, use only their income and their half of the deductions from the MFJ federal return.
6. File the second MFS state return, not the second mock federal return that it pulls the information from.

Be sure to name each TurboTax federal return so you know the MFJ federal return to file, and which mock MFS federal and state return is for which person.

Click here for "How to prepare a joint federal return and separate state return?"

Please Note: According to the Missouri.Gov Website:

Spouses are required to file a “combined” return in Missouri when they file a federal joint return.

However, unlike federal joint returns for husband and wife, a Missouri combined return of a husband and wife does NOT impose “joint and several” liability.

For a combined return, each spouse is only liable for their own tax on their separate income, as adjusted for their determined portions of itemized deductions or the standard deduction, and exemptions, etc.

For this purpose, “separate” income means the income from each spouse’s earned income (e.g., wages), income from the spouse’s separately owned property (e.g., stock), and their portion of the income on jointly owned property, such as dividends on jointly owned stock, which is divided between them and each spouses’ portion listed separately for each spouse.

R.S.Mo. § 143.491. Returns by husband and wife.

1. A combined return shall be filed by a husband and wife who file a joint federal return even though one of them has neither income nor deductions. The tax liability of the two taxpayers shall be separate and not joint and several.

Request to separate liability

You must submit a written request to have the liability separated. The Department of Revenue will not separate the liability based on a telephone request.

Click here for "How to prepare a joint federal return and separate state return?"