If I have more income, rent, and work in North Dakota with lower income taxes and my spouse lives in our house and works in Minnesota, then which is our resident state?

[rosko8480]

I moved to North Dakota in February 2019 for a new job and rent an apartment but my spouse still lives and works in Minnesota because we haven't sold our home. Does our resident state have to be Minnesota because we still own our home in that state?

[Anonymous]

is our house the same as the one you live in?  it's not clear the way you phrased it.  if you both live in the same house then the state the house is in is your resident state and MN would be a non-resident state.  

[rosko8480]

Hello @Anonymous,

My (ex)wife and I divorced on 1/2/2020, and we’re filing Married-Jointly for 2019. My ex still lives in the house we own in Minnesota and I rented and lived in my apartment in North Dakota on 3/3/2019,  and have worked in ND since 11/27/2018.

Thanks!

[KarenJ2]

I am a resident of North Dakota, but my spouse is a resident of another state. How do we file our North Dakota income tax return if we file a joint federal return?

You need to file jointly for MN "as if" you were residents of MN and then claim ND reciprocity to exclude the ND income. You may need to send in some kind of proof that  you are not a MN resident.  

Reciprocity prevents both states from taxing the same “personal service income” (wages, salaries, tips, commissions, fees, or bonuses). Generally, only your home state will tax the personal service income you receive from an employer in a reciprocity state. When this happens, you only need to file a return in your home state instead of in both states.

If you are a Minnesota resident, you can file an income tax return with the reciprocity state for a refund of the tax withheld. 

What is a state reciprocal agreement?

2019 Minnesota Individual Income Tax Instructions