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Level 1
posted Jun 4, 2019 3:49:43 PM

How do you "Choose the state where your tax-exempt dividends came from"

How do I determine the state?

0 4 2529
4 Replies
Level 15
Jun 4, 2019 3:49:45 PM

Select the bottom of the list..."More than one state" and move on..

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IF the amount is fairly large, you "might" be able to break out the $$ that came from your own state's bonds, but you have to calculate the exact amount yourself from the Broker's ,or Mutual fund's supplemental information sheets that they provide (somewhere,...sometimes online).

 Example: you live in NC, and  you have $100 in tax-exempt $$ in box 10 of a 1099-DIV form. The Mutual Fund's information tells you that 2% comes from NC bonds.  So that's $2.  So if you break out the $2 of NC tax-exempt interest from the $98 for all the other states, that will save you ~5% of $2 or 10 cents in state taxes ...except that with rounding to the nearest $1 that would give you a zero savings.  The same situation with $1000 in box 10 would save you $1 in NC taxes.

So..is it worth the effort or not for your situation..I can't tell you that.  Selecting "More than one  state" is always allowed...and avoids all the extra work.  Certainly you should investigate the situation with your funds (or bonds, box 8 on a 1099-INT)......But you need to know what bond funds you hold, and what the state distribution is before you can do anything beyond "More than one state".

Level 1
Jun 4, 2019 3:49:46 PM

Since the dividends are from mutual funds, I was advised to enter "Various."

Level 15
Jun 4, 2019 3:49:47 PM

...there is no "Various" for that particular page in the software.  
"More than one state" is your only choice, and will be handled as-if it "various" was possible.

Level 1
Jun 4, 2019 3:49:49 PM

So I discovered. Thank you, Steam Train.