Can we file Joint Federal and Separate State? I’m a Nevada resident and earn 100% of my income in Nevada. Husband is a seasonal employee / Montana resident (lives there 6 mos out of the year and earns 100% of his income in MT). Can we file a separate State return for him? How do we ensure my income is not taxed by Montana? Also, if this is possible can we use the Online product? I’ve seen some similar scenarios where only the desktop version is suggested. Ideally we want to file One joint federal return and One State Return for my husband if possible. My income being earned in Nevada would not be subject to a State Return.
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No. "Beginning with tax years starting after December 31, 2023, Montana taxpayers must use the same filing status they used for federal purposes. This includes married couples who have different residency statuses for Montana tax purposes.
For example, a nonresident couple filing a joint federal return is required to file a joint Montana return even if only one spouse has Montana source income. Similarly, a couple where at least one spouse is a resident or part-year resident and files a joint federal return will file a joint Montana return even if the other spouse is not a Montana resident.
Couples with different residency statuses where one is a resident or part-year resident will use the “part-year resident” status and complete the Schedule II with their Form 2, to compute their tax on a joint return."
Sources for above in quotations: Montana Department of Revenue website (Click on "Filing Status" to be redirected to 2nd Web link) and Montana Individual Income Tax Filing Statuses
You can also file as "Married Filing Separately" on your Federal and State tax returns, but you may also lose valuable deductions only available to "Married Filing Jointly" filers.
Your husband will file as a "Part-Year Resident" filing jointly with a nonresident spouse (Schedule II with Form 2) (even if he is considered a Montana resident); only his Montana-source income is taxable by Montana.
None of the non-resident spouse's income (from Nevada) is taxable by Montana.
Sources for above in bold: 2024 Montana Form 2 - Individual Income Tax Instructions (pages 5-6)
You should use the Desktop version of TurboTax.
[Edited 1/23/25 | 9:01am PST]
Thank you @TomK2023 ! I appreciate your expertise. Can I also ask why I need to use the desktop vs online product? I don’t have a PC to download the software. If it’s absolutely necessary I can figure something out. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
The desktop is a more economical way. You can create another online account and create a fake federal. File only the state from that account.
Reference:
State e-file methods: standalone vs piggyback
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