Husband moved to another state last June, I lived in the same state all year...

[mktaj]

... and I'm confused about how to file.  My husband and I both lived in Massachusetts from January to June last year, then he moved to Pennsylvania.  We are doing married filing jointly on our Federal.  I got both MA and PA states for TurboTax, but in the PA sections it says

"Based on what we know from your federal return, you lived in Pennsylvania during 2020.  That means we'll be helping you prepare a Pennsylvania part-year resident tax return."

Which sounds to me like it's assuming we both moved.  Any advice on how to handle the situation in TurboTax where only one of us moved?  I thought it would be straightforward -- file joint for federal, joint for MA with only his MA income on the return, and he would file separately in PA with his PA income.  Is that possible?  If so, how do I enter it in TurboTax that way?  Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Melissa

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately it's not that simple.  You have two options:  file a joint full-year Massachusetts resident return or two separate Massachusetts returns because your residency is not the same.  If you file a full-year Massachusetts return, all of the income is taxed in Massachusetts, but Massachusetts will give you a credit for the tax that your husband pays to PA.  Your husband would file a nonresident PA return (married filing separate) to report only his income to PA

If you file separate Massachusetts returns, you will file a full-year resident return and your husband will file a part-year Massachusetts return and a part-year Pennsylvania return.  Each state would tax the income claimed as earned in each state.

You can file joint Federal returns and separate state returns.  You sound like you are using TurboTax desktop, which makes this easier.  If this is correct, see this Help Article for more information How do I prepare a joint federal return and separate state returns?

[mktaj]

Thanks for the quick reply!  I will try it both ways and see which would work out better.  And thanks for the link to the article about filing joint federal and separate state returns, that is exactly what I needed! 

Melissa