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?
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.
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.