Normally, California wants you to use the same filing status as what you use for the Federal Return. And you still may file as MFJ for California, but you can also choose to file California as Married Filing Separate for your specific case, as shown on their website: California Married Filing Joint or Separate
You'll note this statement on the site:
"If you file a joint return for federal purposes, you may file separately for California if either spouse was one of the following (Italics added. "Either spouse" is you in this case):
- An active member of the United States armed forces or any auxiliary military branch during the year
- A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources during the year (Italics added. Your spouse may file CA as MFS because you yourself had $0 CA income)"
Since you have the option on how to file for CA, you can choose the method that results in greater tax savings. However, unless CA tax is higher than IL tax for your income, it won't matter how you file CA. That is because IL taxes all of your income no matter where you make it, and will give a credit for the taxes you pay to CA on the income earned in CA. (Chances are that MFJ will be better in CA also. California will pretend that all of the income is taxable in CA under California law, taking into account deductions and credits applicable to the MFJ filing status. Then, the tax is prorated to the income earned in CA). And filing MFJ for California is much easier in TurboTax as well.
However, filing CA as MFJ is acceptable, and this Help Article shares how to do so: How do I prepare a joint federal return and separa...
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