California Tax Help Form 540NR Short
I got a request for tax return for 2004 in the mail from the Franchise Tax Office in California.
In the letter was a prefilled 540A with the incorrect gross income amount. I was not a resident of California because I was in the military, however, I had two jobs outside the military in 2004. I called the FTB hotline and explained that to them. I preferred to cancel the request for tax return, but they told me I need to fill out a 540NR. I guess they want me to do this because they think I own them, but they probably owe me.
I downloaded a 540NR Long and 540NR Short from their website. I determined that I should do the 540NR Short because I was in the military and I need military pay adjustment.
On Step 4, line number 12 you enter the total wages from all your W-2 forms. I entered my total wages from my civilian jobs.
Line 13 asks for your federal adjusted gross income. I entered the amount from my 1040EZ.
Line 14 asks you to enter unemployment compensation and military pay adjustment. I entered the military pay from my W-2.
I am stuck on Line 17. This is your adjusted gross income from all sources, and you subtract line 14 from 13.
The problem is I just realized that I received one of my W-2s very late. I didn't report it on my 1040EZ, so now there will be a descrepancy between line 12 and line 17. The numbers on both lines should match.
Normally, I would just call the FTB hotline and ask them for help. I am asking for help here because what I want to know is if the state communicates with the federal government. Will the California Franchise Tax Board tell the federal government that I didn't report wages from my other job?
