If you and your spouse are filing a joint federal return but you
work in or are residents of different states, you may need to file separate
state returns. Sometimes this is required by state tax law; other times it is
to your best interest to not include your non-resident spouses income on your
state return. Otherwise both states may try to tax the same income.
The calculations you need to do can be done in TurboTax online,
but it is easier to do them with the desktop software. And you can file
up to 5 returns using the desktop software. It will be tedious, but it is
the best way to accurately minimize your taxes.
Please follow these instructions from TurboTax on this
subject:
- You'll
prepare one married filing jointly (MFJ) return to file with the IRS.
- Prepare
a "mock" married filing separate (MFS) tax return for each
taxpayer. This is for your records only, and will be used to
generate separate state returns for each person. The mock MFS returns are not filed.
- Then for the first
taxpayer, label
and use the first "mock" married filing separate (MFS) federal
return to prepare their state MFS return, using only their income and
their half of the deductions from the MFJ federal return.
This ensures that TurboTax only transfers the first
taxpayer's income to their married filing separate state return. File this MFS state return, but not the mock federal return
that it pulls the information from.
- For the second
taxpayer (spouse),
label and use the second "mock" MFS federal return to prepare
their state MFS return, again using only their income and their half of
the deductions from the MFJ federal return.
Again, file the second MFS state return, but not the
second mock federal return that it pulls the information from.
Be sure to name each TurboTax federal return so you know the MFJ
federal return to file, and which mock MFS federal and state return is for
which person.
Note: State returns
prepared using the "Mock" federal returns will require you to print
and file your state return by mail.
