1099 DIV -Which state is your exempt-interest dividends from?Is it state where the company is headquartered or the state where my broker is or the state where I live?

@lynnerbarton 

It is neither.

It is asking which state's issued the actual bonds that produced the $$ in box 12 of the 1099-DIV.

If you select the top bullet point, you scroll to the bottom of the list of states and select "Multiple States"......unless all of the $$ were from bonds issued by your own state.....which is rare. but possible.

(Like sometimes CA residents buy a bond fund that ONLY invests in CA-issued bonds)

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...............However, if your state has an income tax, and if box 12 is pretty large, you can sometimes reduce your state taxes by indicating what portion of box 12 came from bonds issued by your own state (Also any US Territories, like Puerto Rico).  To do that calculation, you need to get that information from whatever brokerage issued the 1099-DIV.   IF you can't get that, then you just mark it all as coming from "Multiple States". 

 (Also, Illinois does not allow a breakout for IL bond interest on a 1099-DIV, and CA & MN have minimum % state bond holding requirements before they allow you to break out those state's bond interest )

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Example:  For a NC resident....If box 11 is $1000 and comes from just one fund.....and 2% came from NC bonds, I could break out NC interest (2% of $1000 = $20) form the rest and save myself (maybe) $1 in NC taxes since NC would-have taxed that $20 at ~5%

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