Skip to main content
February 20, 2024
Question

I am in WA and Spouse lived in NJ for 6 months

  • February 20, 2024
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

I live in WA and got married in June 2023. My spouse lived and worked in NJ until June 2023 and then moved to WA. How should we go about filing taxes if we want to file jointly? Would I need to pay taxes in NJ?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

1 reply

DMarkM1
February 20, 2024

No.  You do not need to pay NJ taxes on your income if you were NJ non-resident all year according to the NJ form 1040 Instructions extracted below.   Instead use a TurboTax desktop product to file a joint federal return and separate NJ return for your spouse.  You will create and file a joint federal return and then create a separate "Mock" federal return that will not be filed but only used to create the Part-year NJ separate return with only your spouse's income/deductions.  Here is a link with more information on the process.

 

For the joint return in the "My Info" section indicate you both lived in WA all year. TurboTax will indicate you may need to file a NJ return since their W2 probably shows NJ taxes.  You can ignore that since you will be filing a separate return.  Of course since WA does not have a state income tax you will not have a joint state filing requirement.  

 

In the separate return in the "My Info" section indicate they lived in WA on 31 Dec and lived in another state "NJ" as well.  This will generate the part-year NJ return.  After making all the federal entries be sure to allocate as needed in the NJ state interview to exclude from NJ tax any non-NJ source income they may have.  The separate NJ return will need to be printed/mailed since you will not have a corresponding e-filed federal separate return.   

 

" If during the entire tax year one spouse was a resident and the other a nonresident, the resident can file a separate New Jersey return. The resident calculates income and exemptions as if a federal married, filing separate return had been filed. You have the option of filing a joint return, but in that case, your joint income would be taxed as if you both were residents."

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"