How to file Federal tax in status of head of household and file California tax in status of married separately using Turbotax

[folohart]

I'm a resident alien and my spouse is a nonresident alien. We have a qualifying dependence and we live together. In the instrument of 1040, I'm qualified a head of household. (1040 instrument: You are married to a nonresident alien at any time during the year and the election to treat the alien spouse as a resident alien is not made. You are considered unmarried for this purpose). However, I'm not qualified a head of household in California (540 NR instrument: If you were married or an RDP as of the last day of the year, and you lived with your spouse/RDP at any time during the last six months of the year, you cannot qualify for the head of household filing status).  How could I file Federal tax in status of head of household and file California tax in status of married separately using Turbotax.

[ThomasM125]

You need to prepare two separate federal returns, one filing as head of household, and the other married-separate. Then, file the federal and state returns separately. You can use the desktop version of TurboTax to accomplish this, as you can file multiple returns for the same fee.

[MikeFD]

In my situation it is Head of Household on federal but California says I'm single.   If I file two separate federal returns (as per your recommendation), the federal tax is different between the two of them.   Which federal return do I actually pay?