The refund from your 2018 state tax return, which you receive in 2019, does not affect your 2018 federal tax return. State taxes paid and state tax refunds do not necessarily affect your federal tax return at all. If there is any effect, a state refund is reported on your federal tax return for the year that you receive the refund, no matter what year the refund is for. State tax that you pay is reflected on your federal tax return for the year that you paid the state tax, no matter what year the payment is for. Your 2018 federal tax return will reflect the actual state tax that you paid in 2018, and any state refund that you received in 2018. The actual 2018 state refund that you received in 2019, and any state tax that you paid in 2019, will be reflected in your 2019 federal tax return.
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