Residency question.

[Sharky146]

I am active duty military.  I am a legal resident of Florida, but live in Virginia.  My wife lives with me and is resident of Virginia.  I do not file a state return because FL has no state income tax.  My wife needs to file a VA state return, but Turbotax wants to lump in my income into her state return.  How do I fix it?  Thank you.

[ToddL · Accepted solution]

Regrettably, VA is one state that will require your wife to file her VA return as Married, Filing Separate.

From the VA 2016 Form 760 Resident Individual Income Tax Booklet:

Married Taxpayers: If one spouse is a Virginia resident and the other is a nonresident, you may not file a joint Virginia return unless you both elect to determine your joint Virginia taxable income as if you were both Virginia residents. If the spouses do not make such election, the resident spouse will file either Form 760 or Form 760PY, while the nonresident spouse will file Form 763, if applicable (i.e. they had VA source income). 

Active-duty military are considered to live in their state HOR no matter where they are stationed. Their active-duty pay is considered to be earned in their state HOR. 

When you complete the Personal Interview:

1. Select your "Home of Record state" as your state of residence; your wife should select Virginia as her state of residence.
2. Both of you should answer "No" when asked if you "Lived in another state in 2016?" That question only applies if you changed your state of residence in 2016. 
3. When asked if you "Earned money in another state?", both of you should answer "No" (unless you had non-military income in NC)

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