I earn out of state income, my spouse doesn't. Is it possible to remove her SSN from the out-of-state filing? NJ/NY situation, if relevant.

[taylor-haverkamp]

For some reason, my NYS IT-203 had her SSN (but not her name or DOB) filled in. I'd prefer not to include her SSN on the filing if it's not needed, since she doesn't have NYS income to report.

[ErnieS0]

No. You cannot remove your spouse’s Social Security number when filing a married filing separate Nonresident or Part-Year New York tax return (IT-203). Your federal return will show the same way (if you are filing a separate federal return).

Both the federal and state need to keep track of your other half in case some items need to be matched up or compared between the two returns.

[taylor-haverkamp]

We aren't filling separately; also, my spouse does not have a tax relationship of any sort (income, deductions, or otherwise) with the state in question (NY).

I ask because this feels like a bug in the software; again, my spouse's name and DOB are not populated on the state form.

[ToddL99 · Accepted solution]

If you are filing joint returns, then your spouse's SSN must be included on the return.

While you know that your wife doesn't have any NY-sourced income, the state of NY does not know that.  The only way NY can confirm she doesn't have any NY income is if they have her SSN to compare with the various tax documents they receive (e.g. W-2s, 1099s).

Yes, they will "see" any non-NY income she might have, but that is easily removed in the income allocation interview of the NY state return program.