My wife and I got married at the end of 2024. I live and work in New Jersey. She lives and works New York. Should I file our taxes as married filing jointly and if so how? How should the federal and state portions be filed? Does my wife need to file on her own?
Hi Kesha,
Correct, your wife wouldn't need to file a separate return at all. She'd be included on the federal and NY returns.
Also correct that your wife's income wouldn't be included on the NJ return since she didn't have any NJ income. Her income would only be included on the federal and NY return. Your income would only be included on the federal and NJ return.
Yes, you should be able to do it all in TurboTax. You can e-file two different states through e-file should each state accept the returns. If there is any push back from one state or the other you can mail that return, if necessary.
You can file jointly for federal purposes even though you lived in different states.
For New York, you'd file the same way as you filed for federal purposes. If you file Married Filing Jointly, you'd just need to file a part-year return and only allocate your wife's income.
For New Jersey, you can choose to file Married Filing Separately since your wife was a nonresident of New Jersey for the whole year.
Hi Kesha,
Correct, your wife wouldn't need to file a separate return at all. She'd be included on the federal and NY returns.
Also correct that your wife's income wouldn't be included on the NJ return since she didn't have any NJ income. Her income would only be included on the federal and NY return. Your income would only be included on the federal and NJ return.
One more question. Will I be able to do all of this via TurboTax online and e-file everything?
Yes, you should be able to do it all in TurboTax. You can e-file two different states through e-file should each state accept the returns. If there is any push back from one state or the other you can mail that return, if necessary.
So just some clarification needed. Despite the fact that my wife and I got married at the end of 2024, I'm not officially listed as living in NY by any agency for any period of time. So considering that, when filing the NY state return should I file as Married Filing Jointly or should I file as Married Filing Separately just like we are going to do for NJ. What's the reasoning for each option? Also what does filing part year for NY mean if I don't officially live in NY?
You're required to file the same way on your New York return as you do on your federal return. So, if you file jointly on the federal return you'd need to file jointly on the New York return as well. You'd need to file as a part-year resident. By filing this way, you'll be able to allocate only your wife's income to be taxed to New York.
Oh, I see. So that's a requirement of New York, but not New Jersey, correct?
That is correct. New Jersey allows you to file separately even if you file your federal return jointly.
I'm currently filing trying file New York as Married Filing Jointly and New Jersey Married Filing Separately due to me living and working in New Jersey while my wife lives and works in New York. I was told that my wife's income doesn't need to be included in the New Jersey return since she's not a resident, however the online turbo tax is automatically pulling in both wages from the federal. What should I do?
According to New Jersey's nonresidents instructions, "New Jersey Income Tax liability is based on the percentage of their total income that comes from New Jersey. The income section of the nonresident return has two columns: 1. Column A, income from everywhere, in which you report total income from all sources (both inside and outside New Jersey combined); and 2. Column B, income from only New Jersey sources."
Her income will be pulled over from the federal return, and then it will remove her income from column B. Can you view it and see if her income is being included under Column B?