If my federal return is Married Filing Jointly but my state return is Married Filing Separately, which federal return do I include with my state return?

[suki]

If my federal return is Married Filing Jointly but my state return is Married Filing Separately, which federal return do I include with my state return? The Married Filing Jointly return (which includes my spouse's income) or the temporary/mock federal form I created to prepare my state Married Filing Separately return (which does not include my spouse's income)? If I include the latter form (temporary/mock federal form) with my state return will there be a problem because it doesn't match the Married Filing Jointly federal form I filed at the federal level?

[MichaelMc · Accepted solution]

When providing your state with a copy of your federal income tax return, you should always provide a copy of the return that was actually filed with the IRS.

If your state permits using a different filing status than that which was used on your federal return, the state authorities will have no problem recognizing the return and reconciling it to your state filing.

[suki]

Thank you!