I am active duty military and my wife is from my state of residency.

[4sterChris]

My wife and I are from the same home state, and we got married in Missouri about 5 years after I enlisted. 

Long story short, my residency is still in Missouri, and she is also from Missouri. We both vote and are still considered residents of Missouri, even though we live in Georgia. Even both of our homes of residence are listed as Missouri, TurboTax keeps flagging our state return, saying we have different residency statuses and the rest of the application has to be completed elsewhere. 

I can't get ahold of a real person, and every time I call Tech Support, like it directs me to, it just hangs up on me. 

[DanaB27]

Just to clarify, you selected "Missouri" only for both of you in the "My Info" section for the state you lived in? Did you have any other income in Georgia? 

1. Login to your TurboTax Account 
2. Click "My Info" from the left side of your screen
3. Click “Edit” next to your name
4. Please scroll down to “2. Tell us the state(s) you lived in”  select "Missouri" 
5. Repeat for your spouse

When you go to the State section is there a Georgia return? If you did not have nay Georgia income then please delete the Georgia return.

[4sterChris]

Both of our info(s?) are selected to Missouri, with no other states lived in during 2020.  There is no return for Georgia in the state return section, only one for Missouri. We have no incomes in Georgia, however, my wife does have income from Florida. 

Legally, we are both still residents of Missouri, and vote there in an absentee status. 

Thank you for your help!

[ToddL99]

Based on the information you provided, you are only required to file a MO state tax return.

In the Personal Info interview of TurboTax, do not check that you "Lived in another state" or "Earned Money in another state".

Active-duty military (and their spouses) are considered to live in their state HORs no matter where they are stationed. Their active-duty pay (and spouse's civilian pay)  are considered to be earned in their state HOR.  

When you complete the My Info Personal Interview (both of you):  

• Select Missouri as your state of residence;  

• Answer "No" when asked if you "Lived in another state in 2020?" That question only applies if you changed your state of residence in 2020.  

• When asked if you "Earned money in another state?", answer "No" (unless the military member had non-military income in the state where you are stationed).  

[4sterChris]

I agree, and I have attempted to do so. Based on the information it has asked for, the result has been:

It will be necessary to file a MO tax return. (I agree)

I am listed as a Missouri Non-resident, and since Missouri taxes were deducted from my military pay, my military wages should be exempted. (I am used to seeing this on my previous tax returns)

My wife's income has no State taxes deducted, since her place of employment is in Florida. 

However, the message I continue to get is:

"Taxpayer and Spouse Different Residency. We have noticed that you are filing a joint return, but taxpayer and spouse have different Missouri residency statuses. Missouri now allows you to calculate your taxes separately, but on the same form, etc."

The problem is, the site then says that I must use the "forms mode," and advises me to call technical support, but offers no further guidance. None of the site's resources allow me to utilize this "forms mode," or address the issue. 

Thank you for your continued help!

[TomD8]

@4sterChris  wrote:  "I am listed as a Missouri Non-resident"

If so, go back to the My Info section of TT and check your entries, following @ToddL99 's instructions carefully.

[TheJustinB]

Did you ever get this resolved? I am having the same issue and there does not appear to be any fix to it. TurboTax doesn't appear to have any way to file a simple state tax return if you are military, which seems like a design flaw

I am at a loss on how to make this thing work

[BillM223]

Lots of active duty personnel successfully file their returns with TurboTax, so please give us the facts in your situation:

Are you both military or just one?

What is the service member's Home of Record?

Where does the spouse live?

Did either person receive non-military income (reported on a W-2) from the state that you are actually living in?

[jpmo]

Is there a solution for this? I am also form MO with a similar issue. Both me and my spouse have non-resident marked in our info section. I answered the questions on the state return to indicate non-resident and I still get the error listed above. My spouse did earn wages in AZ and we will file an AZ return. The AZ return had no issues, only MO. 

[ThomasM125]

To clarify, you must indicate that you are a resident of Missouri, even though your didn't live there. In the other states, you file as a non-resident. Did you do this?

[ezakin]

Hi! Your responses indicate that you don't understand the problem. YES we are legally permanent Missouri residents. BUT Missouri law sates that active duty military do not owe state taxes in Missouri IF THEY ARE STATIONED AND RESIDE OUT-OF-STATE. If we indicate, as you have directed, that we LIVE in Missouri, then this year our family will be CHARGED nearly $3,000 in state income tax (instead getting a $12 return).

If we indicate that we maintain a residence outside of the state (which is true, even though we vote, register our cars, pay property tax, etc. in Missouri, therefore it is our permanent home of record), then TurboTax changes our status to Non-resident, our state tax status changes to indicate we are due our return, BUT we receive the message that our spouse's residency does not match ours and therefore we cannot file our taxes online. This happens regardless of whether we list our spouse's state of residence as Missouri (her home of record) or the state where we are stationed and reside.

TurboTax HAS NOT differentiated between a Permanent Home of Record and a Mailing Address/State of Residence for military families, and the tax implications on this can be in the THOUSANDS of dollars for us. It is very frustrating that something so simple (which all of our banks, and our county governments have figured out and honor) is STILL a problem after 5 years of customer questions and complaints.

TurboTax needs to differentiate between HOME OF RECORD and HOME OF RESIDENCE for their military customers.

Thanks!

[DMarkM1]

If the active duty military member has not taken any actions to change their resident state while on active duty then the home of record (where they joined the military) is their resident state (they are one and the same).  The spouse of the active duty military member simply has to claim the same resident state as their military spouse under the Military Spouse Relief Act.  If they do not claim the same resident state as the active service member then they must file according to the laws of the state(s) they are residing (stationed in) and/or working in.  

MO does not tax military active duty pay but does tax other income including the nonmilitary spouse's income if they are claiming their resident state under the Military Spouse's Relief Act.  

According to MO Department of Revenue, the active duty military pay of a military service member who has MO as their home of record (same as resident state for tax purposes) but are stationed outside of MO, is excluded from MO taxable income.   Further, if there is no other non-active duty income then there will be no income to report to MO and the taxpayer is considered nonresident for tax purposes and does not have a MO filing requirement.  

However, if the servicemember had MO taxes withheld and wants those refunded they would file a nonresident return.  

The same is not true of the servicemember's non-military spouse who is a MO resident (under the Military Spouse Relief Act) but is stationed outside of MO to be with military spouse on orders.   If the spouse has income then that income is considered MO source income and is taxable by MO.  The spouse is a MO resident for tax purposes. 

So for MO joint filers that sets up the potential situation of two different tax filing statuses on one return.  However, the married active duty servicemember does not have to file as nonresident.  The active duty spouse can answer "Yes" to having income other than active military pay to allow for the same resident filing status as the nonmilitary spouse.  The active duty military income from the military w2 is still excluded from MO taxable income.  The MO tax will be the same as only the nonmilitary spouse income will be taxed and the MO taxes withheld from the active duty pay will count toward the MO tax bill.   

Here is the MO reference.  TurboTax appears to handle the situation according to MO law.

@ezakin 

[roger-vw]

i have a similar problem

I am active military with a Missouri residency and wife is active military with Texas residency

I want to get my Missouri taxes refunded.

TT send me to forms mode to fill out Mo information worksheet.

It shows no errors by TT says "worksheet not done" and won't let me continue to file.

The Mo 1040 form shows no errors.

What could be the issue

[DaveF1006]

To specifically view the error, we would like to see a diagnostic copy of your return. The information in this file is a sanitized copy meaning there is no personal information, only numbers so that we can troubleshoot in depth, check for calculation issues, and to see how certain items are applied. Here is how to order. 

For Turbo Tax online, go to tax tools>tools>share my file with agent.  When this is selected, you will receive a token number.  Respond back in this thread and tell us what that token number is. 

If you use the desktop version, go to the black stripe at the top of the program>online>send tax file to agent. Once you receive the token number, reply back in this thread and let us know what that token number is.

As an FYI, if Missouri is your home of record state, you will need to pay taxes on your military pay in Missouri unless you submit a change for your Home of Record State. 

When changing a state of residence, a person must complete DA Form 2058 and turn it into the personnel office. Pick up a copy of the form from Finance. This form tells DFAS which state's taxes to withhold from the paycheck. Filing this form alone, however, does not change state of legal residence. This form is filed to adjust state income tax withholding after a person has taken necessary steps to meet the requirements to change the state of residence.

Additionally, Individuals requesting a home of record change must submit a written request with their full name, SSN and the place they want their home of record changed.  The details for submitting the request can be found here.