Spouse and I are filing MFS for Federal. Is it possible to file joint for state? Live in CA

[kellann25]

Due to a huge amount of back child support owed by my husband we are filing MFS on federal so I can at least get something back and the whole refund doesn't go to his ex. (doing standard instead of itemized) But if we file MFS for state, then I owe and he doesn't. Can we file MFJ for state only? We live in CA

Thanks!

[DS30 · Accepted solution]

No - you cannot file separately for federal income tax purposes then file jointly for state tax purposes (including residents of CA).

According to the CA Department of Revenue:

Use the same filing status for California that you used for your federal income tax return, unless you are in a same-sex marriage or a registered domestic partnership (RDP). If you are a same-sex married individual or an RDP and file single for federal, you must file married/RDP filing jointly or married/RDP filing separately for California. If you are a same-sex married individual or an RDP and file head of household for federal purposes, you may file head of household for California purposes only if you meet the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a domestic partnership.

Exception: If you file a joint tax return for federal purposes, you may file separately for California if either spouse was:

• An active member of the United States armed forces or any auxiliary military branch during 2017.
• A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources during 2017.

Community Property States: If the spouse earning the California source income is domiciled in a community property state, community income will be split equally between the spouses Both spouses will have California source income and they will not qualify for the nonresident spouse exception If you had no federal filing requirement, use the same filing status for California that you would have used to file a federal income tax return.