How To File State Taxes If You Have Dual State Residency

If you live in one state and work in another, you’ll need to file two tax returns

When it comes to filing state taxes, it can get confusing, especially if you spend time in multiple states. You may be wondering if you can even be a resident of two states or if you’ll need to file taxes to more than one state.

The RapidTax team is available to help you with tax questions you may have. In fact, you’ll be able to report your income from multiple states with RapidTax!

There’s a variety of reasons why you consider yourself a resident of more than one state.

For example, you could;

• have moved during the year
• work in a different state than you live in
• work in multiple states
• spend a large amount of time with family or spouse in a different state
• have multiple houses in various states
• spend summer in the north and winter in the south (lucky you)

Whatever your case may be, the most important rule of thumb is to file a resident return to the state you spend the most time in while also filing a non-resident return to any state you earn income in.

3 Types of State Tax Returns

There are three types of state tax returns. Your residency status in that state will determine what type of state return you’ll need to file.  The three types of state returns are;

1. Resident Return: You’ll file a resident return to the state where your main home is located for the entire tax year.
2. Nonresident Return: You’ll file a non-resident return to a state you either lived in temporarily or received income from.
3. Part-Year Resident Return: You’ll file a part-year resident return to a state if your main home was located there for a portion of the tax year. In other, words if you moved to or from that state.

 

Working in A Different State than You Live In

If you work in a different state than you live in, you will end up having to file a resident return in the state where you live and a nonresident return in the state where you work.

If you live in a state with an income tax, you must file a resident return there. But if you work in a state without an income tax, you don’t have to worry about filing a nonresident return.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when filing state tax returns;

• your resident state  (the state you live in) has the right to tax ALL of your income, wherever it was earned
• the non-resident state (the state you work in) can only tax income earned in that state.
• if you worked in multiple states that you don’t live in, you’ll need to file a non-resident return for each state
• you’ll have an opportunity to claim a credit for taxes paid twice
• there are seven states without an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming
• Tennessee and New Hampshire tax only interest and dividends

If you moved from one state to another during the tax year, you’ll need to file a part-year resident return to each state.

For example, if you moved from New York to Georgia during the tax year, and Georgia is your new home, you’re considered a part-year resident of both New York and Georgia. That means you’ll need to file a part-year tax return to both New York and Georgia. In the following year, you’ll file a resident return to Georgia (unless you move again).

Don’t stall on your late state tax returns.

You can get caught up on any late federal and state tax returns with RapidTax! 

Even if you have to file multiple state tax returns you can take care of them with RapidTax. In fact, our team is ready to help you with any tax questions you may have!