If you file a joint federal tax return you must file a joint New York return. The only exceptions to this rule are the following three cases. (These are quoted from the Instructions for Form IT-201.)
- One spouse is a New York State resident and the other is a nonresident or part-year resident.
- You are unable to file a joint New York return because the address or whereabouts of your spouse is unknown, you can demonstrate that reasonable efforts have been made to locate your spouse, and good cause exists for the failure to file a joint New York return.
- Your spouse refuses to sign a joint New York return, reasonable efforts have been made to have your spouse sign a joint return, there exists objective evidence of alienation from your spouse such as judicial order of protection, legal separation under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, or living apart for the twelve months immediately preceding application to file a separate return or commencement of an action for divorce or commencement of certain family court proceedings, and good cause exists for the failure to file a joint New York return.