Can I file for CA state single and married filing jointly for federal?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 3, 2019
1 reply
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I want to do this because my wife lives in Mexicoand not in the USA, and does not have an ITIN or SSN we have applied but will she not have one until June. I will lose 400 from the state doing it this way but I could really use the state tax money now

Best answer by Leonard11_2

Yes, you can file single in California even if you file married filing jointly on your federal tax return.

If you file a joint tax return for federal purposes, you may file separately for California if either spouse was:

An active member of the United States armed forces or any auxiliary military branch during 2018.
A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources during 2018.

The link below is to the California Franchise Tax Board and contains additional information you may find useful.

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/Filing-status-information.shtml

Leonard11_2Answer

Employee

Yes, you can file single in California even if you file married filing jointly on your federal tax return.

If you file a joint tax return for federal purposes, you may file separately for California if either spouse was:

An active member of the United States armed forces or any auxiliary military branch during 2018.
A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources during 2018.

The link below is to the California Franchise Tax Board and contains additional information you may find useful.

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/Filing-status-information.shtml

yiz

California return requires me to attach a federal return. If I file jointly in federal return and file seperately in ca return, shall I attach the real federal return (file jointly, sent to IRS) or the mock federal return (file separately)? Thank you!