Hi,


I am living and employed in Texas. My spouse was unemployed,living in TX, till
September 2013.From October 2013, spouse got employed and started working in NJ state.


For 2013 tax year, I had filed Federal tax under "Married Filing Jointly" and made
use of substantial deduction. There was no state tax(as we were both living in TX in 2012).




For 2014 tax return:


1)Since spouse was working only since October 2013 in NJ state, spouse's W-2
showed less wages (less than $10,000). Should we file Federal/NJ State tax return as "Married filing jointly" or "Married Filing Separate"?


2)We have no children. On my W-2, Federal allowance is listed as "3" and Taxable Marital Status as "Married". On my spouse's W-2, Federal allowance is listed as "0" and Taxable Marital Status as "Single". How should we file on our Federal/NJ State tax forms?


3)Should spouse file NJ state tax as Part Year Resident or Non-Resident?


4) Since I didn't work and live in NJ state at all, should I be even accounted for
NJ state tax filing?




Please help.

1) I would have to do substantial modeling of the returns to determine which was is best. Most likely filing jointly is best, but I cannot be sure without the modeling, and, right now, I do NOT have the time.

2) The status and allowances shown on the W-2 have NO BEARING on how you file; they merely dictate how much income tax was withheld for each W-2.

3) If her intent is to stay there beyond one year, part-year resident. If the job is temporary (less than one year), NON-resident.

4) Yes, if you file jointly.

I was in this exact same situation a few years ago - I worked and lived in TX while my spouse worked and lived in NJ. For tax year 2013 you file NJ-1040NR, on which you show all your income but split it between NJ source and non-NJ source. The result is you pay income tax only on your NJ based income, but at a marginal tax rate that is based on your full year joint income. For 2014 and beyond your wife can file NJ-1040 as Married Filing Seperately, even though you file a joint federal return - she can do this as long as you are not a resident of NJ and have no NJ-based income. So again, NJ does not tax your TX-based income.