Can you explain Allocate Federal amount to myself or husband?

[coleridge2205]

Married filing jointly the question is  I may be able to exclude part of income from Maryland taxes.  How would that work

[LenaH]

Per the State of Maryland, a deduction of up to $1,200 is provided for two-income married couples who file a joint income tax return and who both have taxable income. The income can only be from wages, pensions, or business income. This is a state-only deduction that reduces your taxable income.

Allocation Between Spouses Examples:

• Wages- Allocate wages to the spouse who earned the income.
• Pensions - Allocate pensions to the spouse who received the distribution.
• Business - Allocate business income according to owner of the business or participation in the business. 

[smurphette]

I have the same question.  It has an amount we are supposed to allocate a portion of, but I have no idea where that number came from in the first place, so how would I know how much to allocate?

[ErnieS0]

The general rule is to allocate jointly owned property half and half and anything else according to the owner. For example, if you have a joint bank account, that would be divided equally, but if you have separate accounts you would each report your share.

If you tell us what Maryland is asking you to allocate, someone in Live Community would be able to give you a more specific answer.

Please feel free to reach out to TurboTax Community if you need additional help or click here for information on Turbo Tax Support. You can connect with a Live Agent over the phone and share your screen.

@smurphette 

[smurphette]

Same question this year, hoping to get a concrete answer this time.

TT is asking "As a married couple filing a joint return, you may be able to exclude part of your income from Maryland taxes. To help us determine how much you qualify to exclude, enter (my) portion of the total amount for each item listed below. We'll allocate the rest to (husband)."  There are two prefilled items, the first is "Taxable State Refunds" with a prefilled total amount of $0, and a dollar amount I can fill in to allocate to me, and the second item is "Other Maryland Subtractions" with a prefilled amount of $20,000 and a box to fill in what dollar amount to allocate to me.   You had said "If you tell us what Maryland is asking you to allocate" well, that's what I'd like to know as well.  How am I supposed to know what portion of "other maryland subtractions" should be allocated? 
@ErnieS0 

[BillM223]

I think that question is referring to this:

3. Is there a tax break for two-income families?

Yes. Maryland provides a deduction for two-income married couples who file a joint income tax return. When both you and your spouse have taxable income, you may subtract up to $1,200 or the income of the spouse with the lower income, whichever is less. The income can be from wages, pensions, or business income.

The deduction is available only on the Maryland return and should be entered on line 14 of Form 502. A worksheet is included in Instruction 13 of the resident tax booklet to help you calculate the subtraction.

Here is what the instructions say about line 14 above (see page 10:(

1. ENTER the portion of federal adjusted gross income from line 1 of Form 502 attributable to each spouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2. ENTER the portion of additions to income from line 6 of Form 502 attributable to each spouse. . . . . . 

3. ADD lines 1 and 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

4. ENTER the portion of subtractions from income from lines 8-13 of Form 502 attributable to each spouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

5. SUBTRACT line 4 from line 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

6. COMPARE the amounts on lines 5 (a) and (b) and enter the smaller amount here but not less than zero. 7. ENTER $1,200 or the amount on line 6, whichever is less. ENTER this amount on line 14 of Form 502.