Wrong Address on W-2 Form -- and Income Identified as Wages in the Wrong State

[BM85]

***NOTE: I am reframing a question I asked last night because I may have inadvertently buried the lede.***

Fidelity issued a W-2 to my previous address in NJ. I resided in CT all year. No taxes were withheld; HOWEVER, boxes 15, 16, and 17 identify this income as NJ state wages rather than CT state wages. Because I didn't live in NJ at any time during 2024, I will not be filing a NJ state return. How should I handle this?

***A previous response (before I noted the problem with boxes 15, 16, and 17) indicated that the address shown on the W-2 is irrelevant and I shouldn't worry about this issue. But I hadn't specified that boxes 15-17 show these as NJ State wages, and I don't know if that changes the answer.***

Since I'm e-filing, I could overwrite the incorrect address; in that case, the address would be correct but it wouldn't match the W-2. Alternatively, I could leave the incorrect address; but if I do so, even if the IRS doesn't flag my return because of the difference between my W-2 address and my filing address, won't the State of NJ be looking for taxes? 

(The entire year's payment was < $2,000, so my primary concern isn't the amount of taxes due--it's the risk of being audited by NJ for non-payment of taxes or by the IRS for an incorrect W-2.)

Thank you!

[DaveF1006 · Accepted solution]

Since you have information recorded in Boxes 15-17, you will need to file a NJ non-resident return to declare the income was earned in another state. Since you mention Box 17 is filled out, you should receive a refund to taxes paid in NJ. Prepare your NJ non-resident return first, to receive your refund and then prepare your Connecticut state return. 

As you prepare your NJ non-resident, it will ask if you earned all your wages in NJ, here you will say you earned some of the wages in NJ and then put 0 for the wages earned in NJ. If you get an error message at the end, you can print your NJ and mail it in accordance to the mailing instructions given.

Here is the screen where you will make the choice to declare your NJ wages non-taxable.

[BM85]

Thanks, Dave. Just to confirm: even though no taxes were withheld on this W-2 (in NJ or otherwise), I still have to file a NJ non-resident return because the W-2 identified this income as taxable in NJ--correct?

And do I have to do anything out of the ordinary when preparing my CT return (since this W-2 doesn't identify this as CT income)?

Thank you!

[DianeW777]

It depends. If the wages were not from a New Jersey (NJ) source and you did not live in NJ in 2024 and if there is no NJ state tax withheld, then a return is not required for NJ.

• File Form NJ-1040NR if you had income from New Jersey sources for the part of the year you were a nonresident.
  • NJ Instructions (page 3)

If you meet all of the requirements above, then you would file only your Connecticut (CT) resident return for 2024.

If you do not meet all of the requirements, any income that is required to be reported on NJ would create a tax credit for CT. See details below should you need to pay any tax to NJ for the same wages taxed to CT.

@BM85