Does delaware filing status for non residents have to be the same as federal?

[mamooma]

can i file married filing separate for delaware non resident and married filing joint for federal?

[Cindy0H]

Delaware does not seem to care how you filed on the federal return. Couples who file a joint federal return may file joint, separate, or combined separate Delaware returns.

From the instructions:

FILING STATUS 2 AND 3 – MARRIED

You may file joint or separate Delaware returns. 

NOTE: Generally, separate returns will be advantageous if both spouses have a Delaware adjusted gross income in excess of $9,400 or if only one spouse worked in Delaware.

Delaware Nonresident instructions (page 9):

https://revenuefiles.delaware.gov/2018/TY18_booklet_nr.pdf

[rc_410]

Info is accurate so long as you do not use the TurboTax software to file the return. The Federal to State interface did not note that the spouse's income was entirely earned outside of Delaware. Selecting "single" in the worksheet does not help -- only creates an error.