Multiple States, Employer in 1 state, Live in another, actually work in state I live, not employer's state.

[TheBusinessMgr]

I live in NJ. I am an employee of a NY company as a consultant. My consulting assignment is at a company located in NJ. I didn't set foot in New York in 2020.

If COVID had not happened, I would have worked at my assignment site in NJ 100% of the time.

I should pay no NY taxes.

I paid in to NY taxes for part of the year, but my wages are showing 100% in NY, and about 80% in NJ.

The way I see it, I should get what I paid in to NY back, get no credit for that in NJ, and pay only NJ state income tax (in addition to Federal, of course).

On the relevant page in Turbo Tax (the "Work Days Outside of New York" page) is the statement "If you telecommuted to your job from a location outside the state, those days will still count as New York working days unless certain specific conditions are met."

I believe I meet those conditions, go to "Forms" to fill in as much of this information as I can.

But then when I'm done, New York is shown refunding me more than was withheld by New York AND New Jersey.

That's not right.

HELP!

[JotikaT2]

You will need to file in New York as a nonresident if your earnings from New York sources exceeds the filing requirements as provided in the link below. 

New York imposes income taxes on any income earned from New York sources.  They do not factor in your state of residence as an exemption from paying taxes in New York.

New York nonresident filing threshold

To ensure your return is calculated correctly, you will need to confirm a few items: 

In the My Info section of TurboTax, confirm that you have entered the correct state information: 

1. Click Edit to the right of your name 
2. Confirm your input under #2 Tell us the state(s) you lived in
3. Go back to the personal information section, and verify the mailing address and "Other state income" section.  Be sure to answer yes to the question asking "Did you make money in any other states?". 
4. Review your input in the Federal section under Wages.  Scroll down to the input for box 15, State taxes.  You will need to break out your New York and New Jersey wages as reported on your W-2 form.  If they are all reported on your W-2 form as being from New York, be sure to enter them that way. You will be able to claim a credit in New Jersey for any state taxes paid to New York on the same income.

Please note the following as it will affect the calculations: 

When you are preparing more than one state return, make sure you prepare the nonresident year resident New York state tax returns first.   Be sure to answer the questions correctly to ensure only income sourced to that state specifically are reported. 

You will then complete your New Jersey resident income tax return.  Proceed through the screens in your New Jersey return until you see credits and taxes. You should see Taxes Paid to Another State under the Credit for Taxes paid.   You can edit your information here if needed but the taxes paid to the other states should be listed in this section.