Part-year vs. full year resident for married filing jointly, wife stays local, husband travels for projects each week
My wife and I file returns jointly. We are based in MA, own a house and are employed in MA. My wife's job is local to MA and my job involves frequent Mon-Thu travel (multiple weeks in the year, my employer typically withholds tax for 2-3 states including NY, NJ, CA etc.) although my office is in MA when I am not traveling. Our Federal return seems straightforward - my question is if I should
(i) file MA state return on the non-resident form 1 (I am then reported as a part-year resident instead of full year resident although my wife has been a full year resident) and other states as non-resident as well
or
(ii) if I should file MA state return as a full year resident on the MA resident income tax return.
I have been filing using TurboTax for the last 3-4 years as a full year resident for MA. I recently received a state DOR audit notice for 2016 returns and a local CPA suggested I should file as a non-resident to avoid recurrence. Your guidance is very much welcome / appreciated.