Question

How to amend CA state tax by changing residency status from nonresident to resident

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 8, 2021
1 reply
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My spouse and I file jointly.

We originally filed CA state return with CA residency status: mine (resident), spouse (non-resident).

We can see a few NR forms and schedules in documents, i.e. Forn 540NR, Sch CA(540NR)

Now I want to amend our state tax by changing my spouse's residency status so that both of us are resident for CA.

I followed the flow to change my spouse residency details. However, turbotax still asks me to fill in non-resident/part-year resident related questions, i.e. asking to distribute income to CA and non-CA.

At the end of the day, I still see the NR forms in the final documents.

I tried to delete all documents in CA return with suffix NR in the 'Tools' section. It does not work.

TurboTax Premier Online

T

TomD8

Employee

Your wife's California residency status is determined by California tax law. It is not a matter of choice. This reference gives California's detailed rules for determining residency status:

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2020/2020-1031-publication.pdf

Note: A non-resident return (CA Form 540NR) is required by CA when a resident spouse and a non-resident spouse wish to file a joint return.

**Answers are correct to the best of my ability but do not constitute tax or legal advice.

J

junjunjunAuthor

My spouse was in CA in 2020 all year, although working remotely for a foreign company.

I originally file with her status to be nonresident, as shown in Schedule 540NR.

I think she should be considered as resident. Therefore, we want to amend.

I think we should use form 540 instead of 540 NR.

However, amending by going though the status questions in turbotax still leave me Form 540NR, and my spouse is still marked as nonresident in Schedule 540 NR, that I am not able to change.