Live in one state, work in another, file in two states??

[meganrose5263]

I live in MD full time, but work in VA full time. I only have MD state taxes taken out, but turbotax wants to make me file in both states, regardless of having no income tax from VA. Is there a way around this?

[JotikaT2]

Yes.

Since you live in Maryland and work in Virginia, your income is only taxed in Maryland as these states have reciprocity.  This means there is an agreement between both states to only tax income within your resident state.

You will need to review your input in several sections to ensure only Maryland is being reflected as a source of income.

In the Federal interview section under Income & Expenses, select Edit to the right of your Job (W-2) information.  

Be sure to review your input under boxes 15-17 to ensure only Maryland is reflected.

Do the same for any other sources of income, assuming they are only from Maryland sources.

When you complete your review here, proceed to the State interview section.  You will see a screen titled Status of your state returns.

If you still see Virginia listed, go ahead and select Delete to the right to remove the return.  

You should then only have your Maryland state tax return listed.  I would recommend reviewing your input on the Maryland return as well to ensure everything is reported accurately.

[SteamTrain]

....and on the bottom of the My Info page, be sure you did NOT indicate that VA was another state that you worked in  ("Other State Income" ).    You would only use that if you had other non-W-2 income that your received that is considered VA sourced...like a rental property you owned in VA and received income from, or working a self-employment (1099-NEC) job in VA.