MN Marriage credit

[sameer84]

I worked in Virginia and my wife worked  in Minnesota and Virginia in 2023. We are filing federal taxes jointly, Virginia as residents and Minnesota as non-residents. 

To qualify for marriage credit, all of these must be true:

• You are married and filing a joint return
• You and your spouse have taxable earned income, taxable pensions, or taxable Social Security income
• Your joint taxable income is at least $44,000
• The income of the lesser-earning spouse is at least $28,000

If you or your spouse is a part year resident or nonresident, you may claim this credit based on the percentage of Minnesota income from Schedule M1NR, Nonresidents/Part-Year Residents .

Question: Does the income of lesser earning spouse (28,000) need to be from state MN, or other state income also counts?

Thanks

[JohnW152 · Accepted solution]

The income must be taxable on your Minnesota return.  Income from another state doesn't count.

According to Income to Include to Calculate the Credit on Minnesota's Marriage Credit page:

You must include any earned income taxable in Minnesota, including taxable portions of your pensions, annuities, Social Security income, and IRA distributions. Include only earned income that is included in your Minnesota taxable income and meets the IRS’s definition of earned income.