Dear khedges2,   Oh dear, you received CA unemployment.  Be prepared for a sticker shock on your tax return.   First, though, to answer your question, the CA EDD site states:   "You will receive Form 1099G for the most recent tax year during the last week of January. We will mail you a paper Form 1099G if you do not choose electronic delivery by December 27. Form 1099G tax information is available for up to five years through UI Online."   As we are not in the last week of January, the 1099-G numbers you see right now are meaningless.  Check back next week.   OK, now the sticker shock:   From direct observation helping a friend navigate the CA EDD system, I found that the optional 10% federal tax withholding option only deducted 10% of the CA portion of the unemployment payments but never touched the extra federal stimulus contribution.  So, for example, if you received the $600/week supplement from April until the end of July, you received approximately $10,000 of untaxed unemployment income.  If your federal tax rate is relatively low, say 10%, that means an extra $1,000 of tax due.  On top of that unanticipated hole in your pocket, if the amount you owe on your return exceeds $1,000, you will owe additional underpayment penalties and interest.  Interestingly, TurboTax takes a crack at determining the amount of penalties and interest automatically, though it may be possible to use form 2210 to laboriously reduce that amount.   If the unexpected tax is more than you can afford right now, and, really, how can anyone on unemployment expect to have and extra grand in their back pocket, you may need to set up a payment plan with the IRS.   And, yes, I tried to alert EDD, my state representatives, and a reporter to the issue back in May without anything being changed at EDD. ... View more

Thank you . I read the Fidelity memo.  I did receive a 1099-div showing cap gains from NJ LT Tax Exempt Fund. Though I did not sell, the gain is a result of the fund manager buying and selling.  Doesn't the memo refer the reader to the tax treatment for cap gains (as sold by the fund manager) to the manner in which interest is taxed?   Tax on capital gains There are 2 ways investors could owe capital gains tax on a bond fund investment. First, there are the capital gains (and losses) generated by the fund manager, as he or she buys and sells securities. Whether the profit from the sale of a bond in the fund is taxed at ordinary income tax rates or is eligible for a reduced capital gains rate is dependent on the same factors as explained above (this is a reference to interest). ... View more

Be aware that Massachusetts considers you a full-year resident for tax purposes (making ALL your income subject to MA taxation) if you m aintain a permanent place of abode in Massachusetts, and  s pend a total of more than 183 days of the tax year in Massachusetts, including days spent partially in Massachusetts. (Do not count days spent in Massachusetts while on active duty in the U.S. armed forces.) https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-legal-and-residency-status-in-massachusetts   You can find the definition of "permanent place of abode" in the same web reference.   ... View more

alexandria177,   If your state unemployment department has not withheld, or underwithheld, income tax on your unemployment compensation (typically 10% federal plus state if your state taxes those benefits), you can make "estimated tax payments" yourself.    On the federal side, such payments are made on form 1040-ES.  Whether you need to pay quickly depends upon whether you will end up owing more than a $1000 come next April.  You can safely ballpark that need by taking your total untaxed unemployment you've been paid to date this year, adding it to whatever taxed income you have received to date, doubling the total, and using the table on page 7 of the 1040-ES to calculate an amount of tax.  Subtract from that what you've already paid in federal tax this year, if any, and compare the result to $1000.  If it is more, then it would be safest to send in an estimated tax payment for the difference using the second quarter 1040-ES strip in the form.  (The total income figure will likely be an overestimate as the federal unemployment supplement will be replaced by something a good deal less generous, if at all, but better safe than sorry.  I wouldn't like you to be stuck with a large interest and penalty bill for significant underpayment.)   If you cannot afford that size estimated tax payment, pay what you can afford and try to at least match the 10% that would normally be withheld and which matches the lowest federal income tax bracket rate.   If you care to name your state of residence, I can advise you if you will need to follow a similar procedure for your state. ... View more

sakman7000,   It's not clear how you entered the 1099-Q distribution into TurboTax.  It should be entered under deductions and credits.  I used the Search box on "1099-Q" and followed the direct link to that location.  There you enter the basis and earning split of the total distribution and what state 529, if any, the distribution came from.  Double check that your didn't separately enter the $10K as, say, scholarship income.  At this point, do go back into TurboTax and double check each of the 1099-Q area entries.  Let me know the outcome. ... View more

angelh206,   IRS publication 974 "Premium Tax Credit (PTC)" [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p974.pdf]  details the provisions and exceptions for the PTC.   IRS form 8962 [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8962.pdf] and accompanying instructions [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8962.pdf] tell you how to calculate the PTC given the information that appears on your 1095-A form. ... View more

Why should you get the CA SDI back?  That's only if not have 2 or more employers.  On your W2, what box is the SDI in?  If it is in box 19 you need to move it to box 14 to get credit for it.   The SDI taxable wage limit is $118,371 per employee for calendar year 2019.   The maximum to withhold for each employee is $1,183.71.   If one employer took out more you have to get it back from the employer.   So enter the max for box 14 on that W2.   Excess CA SDI will be on CA 540 line 74.   See 540 Instructions Page 13 line 74 https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2019/2019-540-booklet.pdf ... View more

smsboodoo,   There are a number of issues here to explicate. 1.  Unitary Taxation The federal government and the state of Minnesota have graduated income tax rates that increase with increasing income.  (Illinois has a flat rate of 4.95%.)  States use the unitary taxation method to ensure taxpayers with large US/worldwide income pay a tax rate on the state income that is consistent with what they would have paid had all their income been earned in that state.  This method calculates that state tax that would have been owed had all the income been earned in that state and then prorates it by the fraction of income actually earned in that state.  (There is also proration of exemption credits and standard deductions.)   Of course application of unitary taxation to Illinois has minimal impact as IL does not currently have a graduated tax rate.  The main impact is the prorating of the exemption amount.   2. Credit for Other State Income Tax As you may have noticed, the income earned in IL while you are MN residents is taxed by both IL and MN.  MN accounts for this by providing a tax credit on your MN return that is up to the amount paid to IL.  (There are adjustments for income that is nontaxable by one state but taxable by the other.)   3. Married Filing Separately Minnesota does not allow a switch in filing status between federal and state returns.  Illinois does, though their IL-1040 instructions specify only a very few situations under which they say to do so.  The undated site https://www.vitastateguide.com/stateinstructions/www/illinois.html  suggests that MFS in IL saves some tax when only one spouse has IL income.  Not at all clear why that would be so, but you can always experiment.  In general, there is very rarely any benefit to MFS as both federal and state income tax significantly restrict credits and deductions in that event.   4. Residence Your thought of declaring one spouse a resident of another state is not going to fly.  While residency is a somewhat fluid concept, it primarily depends upon where you actually live, receive and pay bills, register to vote, have a driver's license, etc.   I hope this has helped provide some clarity for you. ... View more

amitpaz,   According to the CA 2019 Personal Income Tax Booklet (https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2019/2019-540-booklet.html) the Energy Conservation, Solar Energy, Solar Pump, and Water Conservation credits have expired.  So there is no place to enter energy improvements on your CA return. ... View more

drosen1052,   There are many available 529 plans available to any US resident.  However, tax deductibility is limited to state residents that invest in their individual state's 529 plans.  Did you contribute in 2017 to one of the options available through www.nysaves.org?  If so, then you can dispute New York State by responding to their notice with copies of your 529 receipt and documentation. ... View more