part year resident of MA with minimal taxable income

[stsaladin]

I am a part year resident of MA, retired and married filing jointly.  My total MA income is less than income threshold for not tax status but still not getting back all of my withholding. Can anybody help?

[KeshaH]

As a part year resident, your Massachusetts exemptions are prorated based on the number of days you lived within the state. Because of this, your Massachusetts income may actually be more than your deductions. In that case, you'd have a tax liability and wouldn't be able to get a refund of all of your withholding.

(Source: Massachusetts 2024 Filing Season Updates)

For example, the exemption/deduction for Married Filing Jointly in 2024 is $8,800.

(Source: Personal Income Tax Exemption)

If you lived in Massachusetts for only 90 days, that's about 25% of the year you lived in the state. You'd multiply the $8,800 by 25% to get your prorated exemption of $2,200. If your MA income is higher than $2,200, you'd have taxable income and a tax liability in Massachusetts.