Non Resident tax filing GA/NY

[nancesar]

Hi -

My wife worked for a company in NY while living in GA for 4 months.

NY State taxes were withheld from her income. No GA State taxes were withheld.

I live and work in GA full time and GA state taxes are routinely withheld.

I downloaded both the NY and GA state forms. Does she need to file both? If so how do we file as we file Married filing jointly. It appears that Turbo tax is showing a credit to the Georgia return for her withheld NY Taxes, however the NY State return is showing a massive return in NY State taxes more than what was paid.

I am not sure if NY is picking up the taxes that I paid in GA (I work in GA fulltime)?

Do we even need to file NY?

TIA

[ErnieS0]

Yes. If your wife was a Georgia resident and taxed by New York, you do have to file a Georgia resident return and a nonresident New York return.

NY will not pick up your taxes paid in GA because NY will not give you credit for GA withholding. NY will only give you credit for NY tax paid.

The GA tax return will give you credit for tax paid to NY on income that is doubled taxed by both GA and NY (which you saw).

Your New York tax is probably high because NY bases nonresident tax on the NY percentage of total income, so both you and your wife’s income is included in computing the total NY tax rate.

For example, if you earned $100,000 total and $30,000 in NY, your tax rate would be based on $100,000, not $30,000. Say the NY tax on $100,000 is $12,000. Then your tax would be 30% ($30,000/$100,000) of $12,000 or $3,600 which would be a higher tax rate than the tax on $30,000.

Another option

You can file two separate federal and state returns for you and your wife (married filing separate). In that case, your income will not show up on your wife's New York return. 

[nancesar]

Thank you for the response.

I guess my concern is Turbo Tax is showing a refund for New York equal to what was withheld for me in GA state taxes since it is combining our incomes and picking up the total state tax regardless of where the tax was withheld. (i.e. it is refunding all the taxes withheld from my income paid to GA)

Only my wife worked the full year for a company in NY.

I worked the full year for a company in GA.

Is this correct?

TIA

[ErnieS0 · Accepted solution]

Doublecheck the state codes in W-2 Box 15 in TurboTax. If the state code on your W-2 is GA, the withholding will not carry over onto the New York return. 

To get back to your W-2

• Type w-2 in Search in the upper right
• Click Jump to W-2
• Select Edit on the W-2 you want to reopen.