Yes, because California is a community property state and the community property rules also apply to California RDP's, you would need to split your community income.
This older TurboTax tips article on RDP has some good information.
Regardless of what state you live in, each domestic partner prepares a separate federal return based on the Allocation Worksheet that you attach to it. You might consider including an explanatory note to remind the IRS of your situation.
For domestic partners, the "ours" aspect of your preparation covers community property income and deductions. Using the Allocation Worksheet from the IRS's community property publication 555, you can establish your shared, or community, income for each category of income such as wages, dividends and interest. Divide the totals in half to give each of you 50 percent.
California domestic partners file as individuals for federal filing, however, under California law, the state return must be filed as a married return. This requires the creation of a “mock” federal return that reflects joint-filing status. This is just to get the numbers you need to fill in the sections of your state return that use numbers from a "married filing jointly" federal return. This ”mock” federal return never goes to the IRS; you submit it with your California state return.
California is a community property state. When filing a separate return, each spouse/RDP reports the following:
- One-half of the community income
- All of their own separate income
Community property rules apply to the division of income if you use the married/RDP filing separately status.
See here for California FTB information on married or RDP filing separately.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
