topic I want to amend my 2021 California state return - 2021 CA residency status from part-year resident to resident. Why do not I see the form changed from 540NR to 540? in State tax filing

I want to amend my 2021 California state return - 2021 CA residency status from part-year resident to resident. Why do not I see the form changed from 540NR to 540?

joydeep.jana — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 07:12:07 GMT

Filing jointly - original filing had one part-year and one CA resident. During the amendment, I need to change it to both CA 2021 full residents (during amendment, the residents details entered for both the spouses are exactly same - CA full time residents). The original filing had 540NR form. After amendment, will not the form changed to 540?

Re: I want to amend my 2021 California state return - 2021 CA residency status from part-year resident to resident. Why do not I see the form changed from 540NR to 540?

TomD8 — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 13:56:30 GMT

Why was one spouse originally reported as a part-year resident? Are you sure you're clear on CA's residency rules?

Re: I want to amend my 2021 California state return - 2021 CA residency status from part-year resident to resident. Why do not I see the form changed from 540NR to 540?

joydeep.jana — Sat, 05 Aug 2023 08:16:52 GMT

I thought that I (one of the spouse) was a 2021 part-year resident because I traveled on a job abroad. I traveled abroad but my job ended abruptly.

Later I realized, in order for me to qualify for the part-year CA resident under Safe Harbor -

"The spouse/RDP of the individual covered by this safe harbor rule will also be considered a nonresident while accompanying the individual outside California for at least 546 consecutive days. Return visits to California that do not exceed a total of 45 days during any taxable year covered by the employment contract are considered temporary."

I realized that I do not qualify for the 546 consecutive days rule, so I should be a CA resident in 2021. That is why I need to amend the CA filing. However, when I used TurboTax for the amendment, it did not changed my filing from 540NR to 540. Am I doing something wrong?

Re: I want to amend my 2021 California state return - 2021 CA residency status from part-year resident to resident. Why do not I see the form changed from 540NR to 540?

TomD8 — Sat, 05 Aug 2023 16:13:29 GMT

When you start the Amend process in TT, be sure to correct your residence information in the Personal Info section of TT. It should show CA as your State of Residence, and you should answer "No" to the question of having lived in another state or country. I think that should correct the problem. The Personal Info section determines what tax forms TT produces.