Non-Resident PA tax 2014

[nilssone65]

My daughter is in college in PA.  She worked there and received a small W2 stating non-taxable compensation for federal but was charged state & local tax in PA.  On her non-resident PA return for 2014, question askes "Does the person on whose return the taxpayer is a dependent qualify for tax forgiveness?"  How do I answer this?

[ChristinaS]

She qualifies for Tax Forgiveness if you (and your spouse, if marred) would qualify if you had a need to file a PA return.

So, it really comes down to your income. Eligibility is not a simple Yes or No, but it does require relatively low income on your part.

As an example (see page 15 of document below)- If you are married and have one dependent child, you are eligible if your income is at or under $24,750. Consider your income from wherever you made it- just your total income.

http://www.revenue.pa.gov/FormsandPublications/PAPersonalIncomeTaxGuide/Documents/pitguide_chapter_2...

Also, what state is she a resident of? PA has reciprocity with several states.. including NJ and MD. With reciprocity, she would need to change her PA income to $0 to simply get the state withholding back. (She can't get local taxes back, however)

[ChristinaS]

The numbers I posted relate to 2016, which is the readily available info from the PA site. This should give you an idea if your own income would qualify if you were filing in  PA

[nilssone65]

I did not have a need to file a PA return.  I am a NJ resident and file NJ taxes.  Does this help?

[nilssone65]

Can you call me?

[ChristinaS]

It would be based on "if" you filed a PA return. It doesn't matter that you don't. However, she shouldn't have had PA tax withheld, as NJ and PA have reciprocity. Have her list $0 as PA wages to get 100% of PA tax back. Local tax is not covered by reciprocity, and she needs to declare the income on her resident NJ return (if she needs to file that in the first place)

[ChristinaS]

No, we can't make callsin this channel, but you can initiate phone support instead of posting here. Its straightforward though. She just needs to get her PA tax back. Tax Forgiveness is not relevant, as NJ residents don't pay PA tax on wages.