Spouse moved to another state mid year. Am I getting it right how to file?

[kovvas]

Hello!

My situation is (2024 year):

Me - NC resident, worked only in NC

My wife - moved from NC to MA in July. Didn't work in NC. Started working in MA in July

So, I have only W2 (plus I have some income from stocks) and my wife has only one W2.

I've done some research (thanks to amazing posts in this community). Am I right about how we should file?

E-file:

• Federal - MFJ
• NC - MFJ

By mail:

• MA - only my wife files MFS. And she must do it by mail

If yes, as I can see from TurboTax downloadable software, I can e-file Federal and NC in one shot. And after that use this guide - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/small-business-processes/pre[product key... and prepare documents for my wife to file by mail.

Please double check me if I'm right

I appreciate any help you can provide.

[JohnB5677]

Where does your wife consider "HOME"?

Does she intend to return to NC?

If she does not intend to return you will file Federal as MFJ, and

File both NC and MA as MFS so her MA income is not listed as part of NC

If she does plan to come back you will still file federal as MFJ. but

File both states as MFJ, but have your wife as a non resident on the MA return.

You will show both incomes on NC, but get a tax credit for taxes paid to MA.

Only her income would go on the MA tax return.

[kovvas]

Thank you for such a fast response!

My wife is considering home as her new place in MA. Unfortunately, she forgot to update her address with her new employer so she has our NC address in her MA W2 form. But she paid all taxes in MA.

Just to clarify, I have my income only in NC and my wife only has income in MA

As I understand you, we should do the following:

Federal - E-file MFJ

NC - only I paper-file MFS (or I can E-file MFS with Federal?)

MA - only my wife paper-files MFS

Is that right?

Thank you so much for your attention and participation.

[DianeW777]

Yes, you understand. TurboTax may allow one state as e-file, and I would suggest North Carolina (NC). File the MA by paper and both states married filing separately (MFS).

• MA: If married taxpayers have a Massachusetts residency tax year that begins and ends on different days, they must file married filing separately, assuming each spouse is required to file.
• NC: For a married couple filing a joint federal income tax return, if either the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse is a nonresident and has no North Carolina taxable income for the taxable year, the filing status married filing separately may be claimed on the North Carolina income tax return.

@kovvas 

[kovvas]

Thank you so much for a very fast response!

I've never filed taxes by mail and state separately from the Federal, so I'm sorry for double-checking and some silly questions.

So, to clarify:

I use TurboTax to E-file our MFJ Federal return and only my MFS NC return.

I use TurboTax with this guide https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/small-business-processes/pre[product key... to prepare documents for my wife's MFS MA return. And she needs to send only documents about her MA return, not also Federal docs, right?

Also, do I need to wait for Federal to accept our MFJ return before sending my wife's docs to MA?

Thank you for your patience and all your help. I very much appreciate that.

[MaryK4]

Yes, you only need to send the Massachusetts state return, not the "mock" federal return you created.

You do not need to wait for the federal to get accepted before sending the Massachusetts,  In general, paper return take longer to process, but they do not need the federal to be accepted. 

Thank you for asking the questions, we all are here to help!

@kovvas 

[kovvas]

Hello!

Can you please help me with that moment? 

@DianeW777 mentioned that TurboTax may allow filling one state as an e-file in my case.  As I understand, I need to file MFJ Federal and MFS NC. But I don't see how it is possible simultaneously because TurboTax keeps me as MFJ in that NC return.

If I follow that guide - Link to TurboTax Page - it is said that I can file MFS state returns only via mail.

So I am a bit confused.

Would appreciate any help with that

Thank you in advance

[DaveF1006]

It depends. You do have some options to consider..

1. Create a Separate Tax Return. Prepare your MFJ federal return and e-file it. Do not prepare a State return in this filing.
2. Now create a new account in TurboTax Online, which means paying for a new return. On this return, you will fill out a Married Filing Separate return on your federal return as well as the state return. At the end of the tax return, indicate you will mail both returns. Here you will retrieve your NC state return and mail it.
3. If you have the TurboTax desktop software, you can file both returns in the same product.

You may wish to file Married Filing Jointly because North Carolina allows MFJ even if spouses have different residency statuses. You may be able to file MFJ for NC and allocate only the NC-resident spouse’s income and the rest of the income in MA.

[kovvas]

@DaveF1006 Thank you for such a quick response!

I purchased TurboTax desktop software. And it does allow me to file MFJ Federal and MFJ NC returns.

So, in my case, is it allowed to E-file MFJ Federal and NC returns and after that create a new return for my spouse and prepare only MFS and file it by mail?

And should I file MFS MA return if I was not a resident and didn't have any income in MA?

Thank you a lot in advance for your patience.

[DaveF1006]

Since, you purchased the TurboTax software, you have the ability to create three returns separately. Here is how to file.

1. File federal one return, MFJ.  Do not file a state return because you do not want your state return to be electronically filed unless you decide to file Married Filing jointly for both the federal and the states. in this case, you will be preparing MA and NC state returns. Remember, you will only file the state returns if you decide to file Married Filing jointly for both the federal and the state. Otherwise,  do not prepare state returns in this filing.
2. Prepare a Married Filing Separately return by starting a new return. You will prepare a federal and NC state return for yourself. When you are done, you will mail the NC state return and ignore the federal return.
3. Now since you are given the responsibility of preparing your wife's return, you will prepare a Married filing Separate return. Here you will file a federal return and a MA state return for her. When you are finished, you will mail the MA return and ignore the federal return.