FORM MO-NRI: TP Remote Work Income Should Not Be Greater Than Total Missouri Wages Entered On Your Federal Return

[bfurlow80]

Hey All,

I'm getting this error when trying to complete the non-resident tax form for Missouri. I live in Texas and received some wages in 2023 for a Missouri based employer. The W-2 I received from them only has boxes 1-6 completed. When TurboTax pulls over my federal tax information, I'm getting this error message (in the subject line) after plugging in the amount of wages I received from the Missouri employer as "remote work". Plus, it's telling me that I owe money to Missouri which can't be right as Missouri doesn't tax remote workers that are non-residents. Any help resolving this would be greatly appreciated!

[AmyC]

If you are a nonresident with no taxable MO income, the only reason you are filing a return is to get a refund of what your employer withheld. Your MO wages are zero. If there was no tax withheld, you would not file a MO return. Please review that you allocated all of your income away from MO since your error indicates that you have MO income listed.

The MO Instructions on page 3 states:

Note: If you are not required to file a Missouri return, but you received a Wage and Tax Statement (Form W-2) stating you had Missouri tax withheld, file your Missouri return to claim a refund of your Missouri withholding. If you are not required to file a Missouri return and you do not anticipate an increase in income, you may change your Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate (Form MO W-4) to “exempt” so your employer will not withhold Missouri tax.

[bfurlow80]

Hi Amy,

Thanks so much for the reply. I think what's confusing me is the following language regarding filing requirements for MO (page 3, Form MO-1040):

"You do not have to file a Missouri return if you are not required to file a federal return. If you are required to file a federal return, you may not have to file a Missouri return if you:

a. are a resident and have less than $1,200 of Missouri adjusted gross income;
b. are a nonresident with less than $600 of Missouri income; or
c. have Missouri adjusted gross income less than the amount of your standard deduction for your filing status."

Would "b" apply in this case as I'm a nonresident that never stepped foot in Missouri so, the income generated would not constitute "Missouri Income" given that it's not taxable by the state? If I don't need to file a Missouri return, do I still need to go through the motions in TurboTax or can I just omit adding Missouri in the state tax filing section altogether?

Thanks again for your help. It's greatly appreciated.

[AmyC]

If your w2 shows MO income, the program knows you need to file MO and you need to mark that is is not taxable to MO. Otherwise, you don't need to file.

[brooce]

i have the same issue, except i worked 100% remotely. i get an error that says “form MO-NRI: SP Remote Work Income should not be greater than total Missouri wages entered on federal return.” i have input my W-2 info on form NRI and still get the same error. in fact, i tested random wages numbers and still got the same error—until i entered zero. then it cleared the error. does this mean i have to pay the MO taxes due (even though if was all remote), then MO will review and see i don’t owe taxes then send a refund??

Missouri still requires that i file a return and include the NRI to show i worked remotely. they will then correct the taxable % to MO and any balance due would be corrected. but the NRI in turbotax should show i earned 100% of the income remotely and i should therefore owe no tax. what am i missing?

[RobertB4444]

Why do you think Missouri requires you to file a return?  If there is no Missouri income at the bottom of your W2 in box 16 then you do not need to file a Missouri return.  If there is income for Missouri in box 16 then make sure that your remote work income is the exact same as what is entered in box 16.

@brooce 

[brooce]

thanks so much for the reply. you’re correct that there is no MO income, and i agree i should not have to file a MO return. however, turbotax kept prompting me to file one but then it kept giving me the above error. a turbotax helpline call also could not resolve what was happening. 

when i contacted MO dept of revenue and explained my situation, they said i SHOULD file a MO return and be sure to include the NRI form. but then another MO agent later said i do not need to file one. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ the MO return instructions explicitly state remote work will not be taxed, so none of it made sense from the beginning. in the end, i skipped the MO return since in was all remote work, and i did not actually earn any income in MO.