Military member from PA stationed in NY

[tonypx]

I am in the military and stationed in NY. I entered the military from PA and I have always filed PA state taxes ever since even though I have lived outside of PA during my entire military service. I do have a PA drivers license, but the address is NY on there and vehicle registration is from PA but again the address is NY. I filed my state taxes as a non-resident, but I am confused now as to if I should file as a resident and in that case should I file an amended tax return? 

[MaryK4]

If your State of Legal Residence is Pennsylvania, you do not have to file a New York state tax return.  Under the Service Member’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA), you do not have to file a New York tax return if you are there on Active Duty and have no other income.   

[tonypx]

Thank you! I apologize for not stating the question properly. I meant while filing state taxes for PA, should I file as resident or non-resident? Also, if I filed as a non-resident, should I go ahead and do a amendment for my state taxes for PA and can you file just an amendment for state tax without having to change anything on the federal tax on turbo tax? 

Thank you and I apologize again for not being clear in my first post. 

[DanaB27 · Accepted solution]

You would file as PA resident if you had other PA income. If you had only military income earned outside PA and had no PA taxes withheld then you are not required to file.

Yes, you can amend your state return without filing an amendment for your federal. Please see I need to amend my state return.

From the PA Revenue Department:

As a Pennsylvania resident on active duty outside of Pennsylvania, only your military income is not taxable or reportable. Any other income you may have, such as compensation from a part time or full time job, interest, dividends, etc., from inside or outside of Pennsylvania, remains taxable and reportable. If your only income was the nontaxable military income, and PA tax was not withheld from that income, you are not required to file a Pennsylvania tax return. If you had other income, and it was $33.00 or more, report only that income when you file. Do not report the military income on Line 1a of your PA-40 return. Attach a copy of your military orders to your return to verify you were serving outside of PA.

If you are filing electronically, fax a copy of your W-2 and military orders to 717-772-4193 or email a PDF version to RA-BITPITELFCORFAXES@pa.gov. If you are unable to fax or email, please mail your orders to:
Department of Revenue
Electronic Filing Section
P.O. Box 280507
Harrisburg, PA 17128-0507