living as a guest in my friend's house

[zurlita]

Hi!

I would like to ask for your advice in the following situation:

Last year I lived with my husband in a rented apartment for 7 months. Then I lived abroad for 2 months. Then, I returned to the US and lived the remaining 3 months as a guest in the houses of two friends without paying rent. At this moment I don't have a permanent residence anywhere. I had my W2 form  for the last year mailed to the address of one of my friends.

My questions are:

1. What address should I give to IRS as permanent address if at this moment I don't have a permanent address?Can I give the address of a friend without this impacting her tax status?

2. When I am asked about whether I rent or own, I don't see a third option. The last three months of 2023 I neither owned, nor rented. I just lived in my friends' houses as a guest as they also lived in my house as guests when they have passed through a difficult personal time in their life.  How do I define the time spent as a guest in the houses of my friends?

Thank you very much for all your suggestion.

Zurlita

[xmasbaby0]

You do not need to enter anything about being a guest in someone else's home on a tax return.   As for what address to use---use the address you want the IRS and/or state to use if they need to mail you a letter or a check.   You did not own a home, so skip that.  And there is no place on a federal return to enter anything about rent.  There are some states that have rent credits--but if you paid no rent, you skip those questions too.

Or----did you and your spouse live in a state that offers a rent credit of some sort?

 As far as I know, the states that have anything for rent are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.

[xmasbaby0]

You did not ask about this-----but your description of your circumstances suggests that you and your spouse are living apart now.   If you were still legally married at the end of 2023, your filing choices are to file married filing jointly or married filing separately.

If you were legally married at the end of 2023 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $27,700 (+$1500 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return.

 Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

 If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice since with online, you get one return per fee.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

If I am filing a separate return why do I have to list my spouse’s information on my return?

Even if you file separate returns (the worst way to file) you each have to list each other's SSN's and some other information on your own tax return.  The IRS can then cross check to make sure you are not "double dipping" for itemized deductions, dependents, etc.

If you are in a community property state, there is more information that will be needed.

Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/five-tax-tips-for-community-property-states/L4jG7cq7Z

[zurlita]

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I did pay rent for the firs 7 months, but at that time I was living in a rented apartment. At the end of the year I lived only as a guest. So, I do have to input the rent I paid, but I don't want this to be considered rent I paid to my friend.

Many thanks again.

Zurlita

[zurlita]

Clarification: we live/lived in NJ in 2023.

[xmasbaby0]

You do not mention one word on your tax return about your friend.  There is no place to even do that.  

[zurlita]

Yes, but let's say I give the address of my friend.  And then I need to respond if I owned or rented  in 2023. I rented, but not at the address given. I don't want her to appear as renting her house when she is not. Basically, I don't want my personal situation to impact her. I don't want IRS to ask her why she didn't report that she rented if I report that I rented. I did rent, but not from her; I did it before living in her house.

Thank you very much for your time!

[xmasbaby0]

It sounds like you are stressing over this without even looking at the rent form for NJ, which asks for the address where you paid rent.   The address where you paid rent with your spouse is not going to be your friend's address where you stayed later in the year.

For further help

To call TurboTax customer support

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

Customer support is available from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time

[zurlita]

Thank you for your time and help! Have a nice weekend.

Zurlita