Filing Jointly but working/living in different states

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
March 24, 2025
3 replies
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My wife and I got married at the end of 2024. I live and work in New Jersey. She lives and works New York. Should I file our taxes as married filing jointly and if so how? How should the federal and state portions be filed? Does my wife need to file on her own?

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Best answer by Super_D

Hi Kesha,

Thanks for the quick reply. So if I'm understanding you correctly, I would file for the both of us for the federal and both New York and New Jersey. My wife doesn't file at all. Is that correct? Also by choosing to file Married Filing Separately in New Jersey, does that mean that my wife's income won't be mentioned in the Jersey file?

KeshaH

You can file jointly for federal purposes even though you lived in different states.

For New York, you'd file the same way as you filed for federal purposes. If you file Married Filing Jointly, you'd just need to file a part-year return and only allocate your wife's income.

For New Jersey, you can choose to file Married Filing Separately since your wife was a nonresident of New Jersey for the whole year.

Super_DAuthorAnswer

Hi Kesha,

Thanks for the quick reply. So if I'm understanding you correctly, I would file for the both of us for the federal and both New York and New Jersey. My wife doesn't file at all. Is that correct? Also by choosing to file Married Filing Separately in New Jersey, does that mean that my wife's income won't be mentioned in the Jersey file?

KeshaH

Correct, your wife wouldn't need to file a separate return at all. She'd be included on the federal and NY returns.

Also correct that your wife's income wouldn't be included on the NJ return since she didn't have any NJ income. Her income would only be included on the federal and NY return. Your income would only be included on the federal and NJ return.

DianeW777

Yes, you should be able to do it all in TurboTax. You can e-file two different states through e-file should each state accept the returns. If there is any push back from one state or the other you can mail that return, if necessary.

@Super_D

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KeshaH

You're required to file the same way on your New York return as you do on your federal return. So, if you file jointly on the federal return you'd need to file jointly on the New York return as well. You'd need to file as a part-year resident. By filing this way, you'll be able to allocate only your wife's income to be taxed to New York.