part year resident two states

[nannato9]

I lived in VA for 6 months and ID for 6 months in 2020.  I receive a CSC retirement pension as my only source of income.  How do I file my state taxes

[DavidD66]

If you are required to file in both states, you will file non-resident returns.  You will allocate your income based on the time you spent in each state (in your case 50 -50).  There is a section in each state return where you will be asked to enter the part of your income that applies to that state.

You must file a Virginia tax return if:  

• you are a resident of Virginia, part-year resident, or a nonresident, and 
• you are required to file a federal income tax return, and
• you have Virginia adjusted gross income equal to or greater than the amounts below: 

Single of Married Filing Separate  $11,950

Married Filing Joint  $23,900

Part-year Idaho residents must file if their total gross income from the following sources combined is more than $2,500:

• All sources while an Idaho resident
• Idaho-source income while a nonresident

[nannato9]

Thank you for your answer.  However, I'm still confused. I lived in Loudoun County VA for 22 years as a resident.  In July 2020 I moved to Idaho where I had a house built for me.  I don't understand why I would file non-resident for both states, as I was a resident for six months in each state.  Why wouldn't I file as a part year resident?  

Another question I'm confused about is my federal government pension I receive monthly based on 37 years of work in Virginia for the Federal Government.  Wouldn't I just split my pension 6 months each state?

My last question hopefully is, I was the beneficiary on my ex-husbands Elevator pension which was 5,000 with 1,000 federal income tax taken out.  Is this money also claimed in both states for income tax purposes?

Thank you for any further clarification you can provide to me.

[ToddL99]

You are correct, you will file as a part year resident for both states.

You will also split your pension income between the two states, reporting to VA the income received while a VA resident and reporting to ID the income received after becoming a resident of ID.

The same logic would apply to the payment received from your ex-husbands Elevator pension. Report it as income to whichever state you were residing in when you received the income. If all of it was received while you lived in VA, then report all of it to VA on your VA return;  if all of it was received while you lived in ID, then report all of it to ID on your ID return, etc.

[nannato9]

Thanks