My wife and I got married in June of 2008. She earned wages in Alabama as a teacher until we got married and she moved to MS where we currently reside. Her W-2 from her job in Alabama is still under her maiden name. What do I need to do when filing our state returns.

Does the income she earned in AL need to be added to our total income for our MS return?

Do we fill out her AL return as married filing jointly even though it is in her maiden name and I did not ever work in AL?

Thanks for any help

The W-2 being in her maiden name is not a problem - it's the social security number that's important.

She should complete her AL return (Form 40) as a part-year resident, reporting her income received while a resident there. Then you fill out your MS return as part-year residents (form 80-205), reporting all your income including her AL wages, and take the credit for taxes she paid to AL (you report this on line 25 of 80-205). You will have to attach all W2's and a copy of your AL return to your MS return to document this.

Your filing status for all forms is married filing jointly - if you check the instructions for Alabama Form 40 is specifies that your filing status is based on your marital status as of Dec 31.