interview questions ask if wife had income in NY (no). Verified amount on W2 for NY state. Deleted duplicate entry for NJ. Finishing NY return, lists combined income from Federal return. Am I paying NY taxes for wife's income?
No you are not. However, your wife's income is factored in to determine NY tax. What NY does is determine how much tax you would pay on all of your income (as married filing joint), and then prorate the amount based on the percentage of the income that is actually earned in NY.
For instance, if you earned 60K, and your wife 40K, New York calculates how much tax you would pay on 100K. But you only pay 60% of that amount, because only 60% of the income was earned in NY.
No you are not. However, your wife's income is factored in to determine NY tax. What NY does is determine how much tax you would pay on all of your income (as married filing joint), and then prorate the amount based on the percentage of the income that is actually earned in NY.
For instance, if you earned 60K, and your wife 40K, New York calculates how much tax you would pay on 100K. But you only pay 60% of that amount, because only 60% of the income was earned in NY.