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March 30, 2024
Question

MT is including my income on tax return and I'm not a resident and my income is from another state?

  • March 30, 2024
  • 1 reply
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I'm filing a Married filing separately  on the same form.  I'm not a resident of MT only my husband is.  My income is from another state and we're having to pay tax on my income.  I can't find any information on this.  The return itself offers an option to file "Married filing separately & spouse not filing", but Turbo Tax doesn't allow me to choose that option.  Does anyone know MT rules on this?

1 reply

March 31, 2024

It sounds like the calculation is working as it should. Your federal adjusted gross income -- even income earned in another state -- transfers over to your Montana return. Your Montana tax is then prorated, based on the ratio of your Montana-source income to Montana adjusted gross income.

 

According to Montana Taxable Income Calculation in the Instructions for Form 2:

Taxpayers will use their federal taxable income as the base for calculating their Montana taxable income.  Montana's current system uses the federal adjusted gross income as the base for determining Montana taxable income.

See Nonresident Tax in the link above for more information.

 

As for the filing status issue, you may not be eligible for the Married Filing Separately and Spouse Not Filing status.  According to Filing Status 2c --Married Filing Separately and Spouse Not Filing in the link above:

You can use Filing Status 2c when:

  • Both you and your spouse are nonresidents and one spouse has no Montana source income.
  • You are a resident and your spouse is a nonresident who has no Montana source income.
  • Another taxpayer claims your spouse as a dependent.  When you select this filing status, you must include your spouse's Social Security Number.

Note:  When you use this filing status, you cannot claim your spouse as an exemption on your return.