Last year "Married filing separately" and this year "married filing jointly" how do i calculate state taxes paid, balance due if one of us paid and other got refund

Hello,

Last year we filed "Married filing separately" and this year "married filing jointly".

My spouse got a state tax refund 2000$ and i made a state tax payment of 3000$. Overall we paid 1000$ state taxes.

When reporting total balance due paid in "Deductions/Credits" section do we report the difference or the amount I paid (3000$) or the difference ?

When reporting state tax refund in "income section" we reported 2000$ my spouse received and total state tax withholding for me and my wife.

Please clarify.

Thx!

1074

Expert Alumni

Apr 7, 2025 7:15:56 AM

You only need to report a refund if you itemized your return and took a deduction for that payment. So if your spouse did not itemize, then this is not reported on your return at all.

You do not combine the total of refund and payment.

The payment is not reported at all.

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Last year "Married filing separately" and this year "married filing jointly" how do i calculate state taxes paid, balance due if one of us paid and other got refund