Am FL military, stationed VA. Filing MFJ fed for wife/child. Filing MFS state for wife(va res). Can she claim child in "mock" fed mfs to increase state return?

[slhtgb]

Florida residency does not require me to file a state return. Military allows me to keep FL as state of residency even though stationed in VA. Since child was claimed in MFJ for the two of us, can he be claimed again individually for my wife when creating the "mock" MFS federal, to then get her individual state return?

[ToddL · Accepted solution]

 Yes, your  VA resident spouse  can claim your child on her VA MFS return, but only if she is reporting at least 1/2 of the federal AGI reported on your joint federal return.

From the VA DOR website, Military Tax Tips:

"Income, dependent exemptions, and itemized deductions must be allocated under federal rules for separate filing, as if you had filed separate federal returns. As a general rule, the spouse claiming an exemption for a dependent must be reporting at least half of the total federal adjusted gross income. In addition, the spouse must be able to support his/her claim of itemized deductions. If it is not possible to account for the deductions separately, the deductions may be allocated based on each spouse's share of the federal adjusted gross income. When filing a separate return, the other spouse's income, exemptions, and deductions should not be included."