Part-year resident in GA, spouse full-year resident in CA, filed Federal MFJ, what filing status should I use for GA tax return?

[lukeyang]

I lived in GA for 10months in 2022 while my wife lived in CA full year and she had no GA income. We filed federal tax return using MFJ. Should I file my GA tax return on my GA income using Nonresident MFJ?

I found the FAQ on GA department of revenue saying "If one spouse is a resident of Georgia and one is not, the taxpayer should write three in the residency code block (nonresident) of the Form 500. You must use Schedule 3 of Form 500 to calculate your Georgia taxable income". https://dor.georgia.gov/filing-residents-nonresidents-and-part-year-residents-faq

Thank you in advance.

[ErnieS0]

You file either joint or separate. No one could tell you what is the better option without seeing your return.

Georgia does subtract non-Georgia income, if you file jointly, so your wife’s income will not be taxed. If you file separately, you’ll have to create another “mock” return and will not be able to e-file GA.

If you are using TurboTax Online, you’ll have to pay for another account. If you are using CD/Download you can create a separate married filing separate tax return and compare the result.

See How do I prepare a joint federal return and separate state returns?