State tax was withheld and shouldn't have been. I don't live in that state just worked there. I filled out the form but they lost it. How do I get this money back?

[BillM223]

First, you owe tax in the state where you live, and in every state in which you work. So if you physically worked in another state from where you lived, you would normally owe tax to that state (there are exceptions for reciprocal states).

Second, if you really did have state tax withheld to the wrong state, the correct (and only) procedure is to file a state return for that state, and get your withholding refunded to you if you owed no tax.

The problem is that your employer has already sent the money to the wrong state, and the state won't give it back until you file a tax return showing that you don't owe it.

[TomD8]

If you tell us which states you live in and work in, we can give you a more precise answer.

[babyzoli]

We live in Washington state where there isn't a state tax.  I was working at sea out of Louisiana and have never paid state tax before, but this time they made a mistake and took out 1376.28 in state tax.  I want it back!  I have retired now so won't be working down there again.

[JotikaT2]

Since the employer has already withheld and submitted the Louisiana state income taxes, the only way to get a refund is to file a Nonresident Louisiana tax return.

Louisiana Nonresident tax return instructions

Go to the My Info section of TurboTax located in the black panel on the left side of the screen, and 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 accordingly to the question asking "Did you make money in any other states?". 
4. Proceed to enter your income in the federal section of the program, but confirm you select LA for the income sourced to that state.  All other income should not be sourced to any state as Washington does not impose any income taxes.

Your information will pull into your nonresident state income tax return for LA.

[SweetieJean]

Please see this:

I live in Texas, my office is in Louisiana, work offshore 120 miles south off the coast of Louisiana...

[Oli98]

Hi,

I worked and lived a full year in CA in 2022. On August 1, 2022, I started working remotely and moved, but still in CA. I planned to move to NY but never did. My address with the company was changed to NY address since I planned to move.

Now my W2 form has a NY address and paid taxes to CA and NY. I contacted my employer and was told my W2 will not be revised.

I checked online and it looks like I should file NY nonresident tax return and get the NY state tax back. Where in the Turbotax can I indicate that I should not pay tax to NY? I am on the NY page, and it says I have to pay more taxes to NY and I owe a penalty.

On the page "allocate your NY state earnings", the company is listed with the box1 amount. Should I delete the company?

Please help.

[TomD8]

@Oli98 --

What you have to do is file a non-resident NY tax return.  On that return you should show the withheld NY taxes, but allocate zero income to NY.  

That should result in a full refund of the incorrectly withheld NY taxes.

[babyzoli]

Hi,  I saw your message.  I am not an accountant, but what we did was to have our tax people send forms to the state that owed us money.  Also a letter that explained the situation.  We did get the money back but it cost us to get the work done.  If you don't have a tax person, find one that can help.

Carolyn Griffin