state tax source

[thejoe04]

I travel for work, and my company is in Florida, so my income is paid from Florida. Do I pay taxes in the states I worked in even though my income is from Florida.

[Hal_Al]

Yes, but "nobody" does. See http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/28/pf/taxes/business-traveler-tax-threat/  If you live in a state without an income tax (e.g. FL ), it’s more likely you should file in the work states. You can't use the "it all comes out even" rationale for not filing.

[thejoe04]

Thank you. That’s what I thought, but when I asked my company they said they couldn’t give me personal tax advice and then I asked them for a corrected W-2 and they said to Adjust my W4 online but that would only account for this year not last year so I’m just trying to make sure I’m doing the right thing. It’s been kind of a hassle. From What I can tell I need to pay taxes to the states in which I worked in on the money that I earned while I worked in those states, but unfortunately TurboTax software is hitting a few glitches for some reason which is causing me to pay taxes on my full income in Alabama when I only earned about a third of it there. That’s why I am asking for corrected W-2. I think that will resolve the issue. If you have any other pointers or tips I definitely appreciate them. Thanks again for your help and have a great day. 

[TomD8]

I assume you're a resident of Florida.

Basically the rule is that you have to pay income tax to states you physically worked in if (1) that state has an income tax; and (2) your income in that state exceeds its filing threshold for non-residents.  You can find each state's filing threshold on its tax website.

The rules are different if you travel because you work in interstate commerce - for example the trucking, airline, or railroad industry.  The general rule there (there are exceptions) is that if your job involves travel to or through several states, you only pay state taxes to the state in which you reside.

[Hal_Al]

The state software varies (I'm not familiar with AL). Usually two things happens: 1. For wages, TurboTax (TT) goes by what's in boxes 15-17 from the W-2 screen.   You do not need a corrected W-2 from your employer.  You can modify lines 15-17 from your own records.

2. In the state interview you will encounter allocation boxes to fill in income other than wages.  In some state software the wages may also be in the allocation boxes area.  

Be advised there's currently a glitch in TT, FL isn't available in the drop down list for box 15, so leave the FL line blank

[thejoe04]

Thanks for the help, that makes perfect sense!

[thejoe04]

Thanks for taking the time to help so much. I really appreciate it. I was going to do what you suggested, but I though I would need my employer's state ID number. Can I do it without that for each state?