Spouse living in another state, I worked in 2

[festervand]

Hi, I worked for the majority of the year in upstate NY but started a new position in CO in December. My spouse has worked in NC throughout the entire year. If filing separately, is the state return portion as straightforward as I file for both NY and CO while she only files for NC? Is there anything that affects the federal return in this case?

Thank you for the help.

[MaryK4 · Accepted solution]

You will have to file a Part-Year New York and Part-Year Colorado tax return.  You  can file separate New York return but must prepare it by referring to How do I prepare a joint federal return and separate state .. to avoid paying double tax on the North Carolina income.  

If one spouse is a resident of New York State and the other is a nonresident or part-year resident, the taxpayers must either file separate New York returns using Married Filing Separate status or file jointly as if both spouses were New York residents.

Colorado requires the same filing status used on the federal return. Any two individuals who legally file a joint federal income tax return must also file their Colorado income tax return jointly. 

Couples who file a joint federal return and one spouse is a nonresident of North Carolina and had no North Carolina taxable income may file: (1) a joint North Carolina return or (2) the spouse with the North Carolina taxable income may file a separate North Carolina return. Taxpayers who choose to file a separate North Carolina return must attach a separate federal return or a schedule showing the computation of separate federal taxable income to the North Carolina return.