The New York income is the double-taxed income. This is the income that is taxed by both states: NJ because you live there, and NY because you were working there at the time. On the NJ return, the NY amount is initially added to the total amount of income and must be zeroed out because it is being counted twice (as it is already being included in your NJ income on the NJ income line). Thus, in the NJ resident return, look for the screenshot below so you can filter this out and not have to pay tax on phantom income:
The New York income is the double-taxed income. This is the income that is taxed by both states: NJ because you live there, and NY because you were working there at the time. On the NJ return, the NY amount is initially added to the total amount of income and must be zeroed out because it is being counted twice (as it is already being included in your NJ income on the NJ income line). Thus, in the NJ resident return, look for the screenshot below so you can filter this out and not have to pay tax on phantom income:
Thank you. That part I do understand, but where I am confused is the section for NY taxes that says "Tell us about the money you earned in NY" They have amounts prefilled in for "Double taxed income" and "double taxed income paid to NY" but there is a box to correct those amounts if they are wrong. i am not sure if they are right or wrong because the numbers prefilled into the box i have no idea where they came from. those numbers are not on my w2 anywhere for NY or NJ.
The double-taxed income is the income you earned in NY as a NJ resident. This should be the amount on the NY state line of the W2 in box 16. However, the double taxed income paid to NY is coming from the NY return, not from your W-2. You receive a credit in NJ for your NY tax liability, not the amount of tax you had withheld from NY. If you didn't have self-employment or any NY Allocations, you will not need to enter any information on this screen. But this screen is only accurate if you have prepared the NY nonresident return first in TurboTax. Otherwise, the calculations can be off. If you started NJ first you should clear that state return, finish the NY return, and then finish the NJ return. Then you can trust the numbers and just hit continue on that screen.