I mistakenly paid taxes in the wrong state for the past 6 months -- help?

[MarilynG · Accepted solution]

If you were not a resident in the state you paid taxes to, file a Non-Resident State Return to have them refunded to you.

When you file your Resident State Return, you report all your income and also taxes you paid to another state (which you get credit for). 

Here's more detailed info:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3302052

[EDDIE11]

Paid state tax to wr

[j222]

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3302052

This link does not provide more detail on how to get your money back when improperly taxed by another state.

[Cynthiad66]

As  @MarilynG stated above, you must file a Non-Resident return for the state that you did not live in.  Your taxes will be refunded from that return.  You will receive credit for the taxes you paid to the wrong state on your home state return.

Filing a Nonresident State Tax Return

Make sure you prepare all nonresident returns before your resident state return, to ensure proper calculations. Also, make sure you select the state long form(s) even if TurboTax selects the short form(s) for you.

Tip: If you are preparing a nonresident state return solely to recover tax that was withheld in error, enter 0 on the screen that asks for the income earned in that state. This will eliminate your tax liability for that state, resulting in a full refund.

If you live and work in a Reciprocal State, you may only need to complete Step 3.

1. Prepare your federal tax return first, then as you begin each state return;
   • Your federal return data transfers into your state return, and
   • TurboTax learns that you need to file each state return.
2. Prepare a return for the nonresident state(s). Only report the income and withholdings from that state.
3. Prepare a return for your resident state. You will report all of your income, including income from any nonresident (or part-year) states.
4. Take a credit for taxes paid to the nonresident state on your resident state return so that you won't get double-taxed on the same income.

TurboTax calculates the credit for you, but you must select the state's long form to get the option, even if TurboTax chooses the short form for you.

Example: if you live in Kansas but work in neighboring Missouri, you would file a nonresident Missouri return in addition to your usual (resident) Kansas return. You'd then take a credit for any taxes you paid to Missouri on your Kansas return

@junk222

[Oli98]

Hi, 

I lived in CA all year in 2022. I planned to move to NY, so I changed my address with the company in August to NY. But I did not move. Now I received two W2 forms, one for CA and one for NY with the same earnings (all the boxes are the same), but paid state taxes to NY and CA.

I understand I can file non-resident to NY and get the refund back. But in Turbotax, when I get to Step 2 in your directions - 

       2. Prepare a return for the nonresident state(s). Only report the income and withholdings from that state.

I have 0 earning from NY. Right now, it lists all my earning in CA. Can I delete that part? When I tried to delete, Turbotax says - it cannot be deleted, because it is listed in my W2 form.

What should I do?

Thank you.

[ErnieS0]

Don’t delete anything. To file a nonresident New York income tax return, allocate your wages to $0 in the New York section.

The New York section, TurboTax will ask you whether all your income was earned in NY.

1. On “New York Income Allocation,” say No to Were all of your wages and/or your self-employment income earned in New York State?
2. Edit “Your W-2 on Your Form W-2 Summary”
3. Choose Allocate by Percentage on “Allocate Wages to New York” and enter 0%.

You may wish to mail in your New York return with an explanation about why you are claiming $0 New York wages. Enclose a copy of your California return to show you reported all of your income. A letter from your employer will be helpful.

If you do mail in your return, we suggest sending it by certified mail with delivery confirmation.

@Oli98

[Oli98]

Thank you. This is very helpful!