Unemployment non resident state

[BenJ207]

I live in ME but lost my part-time job in MA during covid, I chose to file for Unemployment in MA.

I was eligible based on my earnings for past 5 qtrs working, 1 of which was in MA and rest in ME.

For the MA State return, it is asking for the non-MA portion of my Unemployment.

"If all of the unemployment compensation you received is related to Prior work in Massachusetts enter 0 for the Non-MA Portion."

Most of my Prior work was in ME, can i enter the full amount of my Unemployment as non-MA?

ME is favorable as it gives the $10,200 tax break on unemployment but MA does not.

thanks

[LenaH]

No. If you received unemployment in Massachusetts from a job you held in Massachusetts and Maine, then you must allocate the correct percentage based on the breakdown of earnings between the two states and multiply that by the amount of your unemployment compensation for the year.

Per the State of Massachusetts, nonresidents are subject to Massachusetts income tax on unemployment compensation that is related to previous employment in Massachusetts.

Furthermore, Massachusetts is exempting $10,200 of unemployment if your income is 200% or below the federal poverty level. Please see Filing Season FAQs – New May 17 deadline, PPP, and more for the income chart based on family size. 

[PC03054]

Is the 200% FPL threshold in MA (for the UI tax relief on 10,200) measured against the gross income, MA gross income or Federal AGI?

[JohnW152]

@PC03054

Actually, it's based on household income, but there's no indication yet on how that will be calculated.  You'll need to check the link below for updates.

According to If I have not filed my 2020 income tax return, how can I claim the new unemployment deduction? on the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Tax Filing Season Frequently Asked Questions page:

If you have not filed a 2020 tax return yet, you should report all of your unemployment income on your Massachusetts return as usual using line 8a on Form 1 (for resident taxpayers) or line 10a on Form NR/PY (for nonresidents or part-year residents).   If you are eligible for a deduction, you should report the deduction amount on Schedule Y, line 9.  Note that you may be eligible for a deduction on your federal return but not eligible for a deduction on your Massachusetts return. More information about how to calculate household income and the deduction amount will be added to this page soon. Please check back.