My husband moved to upstate NY for job in late September. He had income in NC for first 9 months in 2012 and for 3 months in NY. I stayed in NC and had income here for the entire year. What is the best residency status for us to use on state returns? We are filing jointly on the federal return.
He tried to use TurboTax (as in previous years) but the refund doesn't seem correct.
How do we file next year when we expect income from NC (me) and NY (him) only?
Thanks, Jennifer

I would suggest that your husband first complete a non-resident NY State income tax return (Form IT-203). Then for NC you can file as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) and as full year residents, and take the credit for taxes paid to other jurisdictions (namely NY) so NC doesn't tax his NY income. Then for 2012 he would file in NY State as a full year NY resident and you would file in NC as a full year NC resident, and you would each file as Married Filing Separately in your respective states - you can do this even though you file your federal tax as MFJ as long as (a) neither of you were residents of the other's state, and (b) neither of you has income sourced from the other's state.