[kristinb1180]

I am so confused! I moved to Florida in June 2007 but I am still working for the same New Jersey company that I worked for when I lived in NJ. I now work for this company out of my HOME office. This company does not have any offices in Florida and only has one location (in NJ). Since the transition, I have always still had NJ state taxes deducted from my pay. Should I be paying NJ taxes when I don't live or work in NJ even though my company is based there?

Also, I recently collected unemployment from the state of NJ for 3 months while my employer cut back my hours temporarily. Now I am questioning if I am even supposed to be eligible for NJ unemployment? But if I wasn't, I would think that the NJ DOL would have caught this and not approved my claim, right?

Can anyone provide some insight on any of this?

Thank you!

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Kristin:

You stopped being liable for NJ state income taxes the day you moved to Florida. The key issues in determining state tax liability are where you LIVE and where you WORK.

Since you work AND live in Florida, Florida state tax law applies, which means you owe NO state income taxes because, of course, Florida has NO state income tax.

First, contact your employer and have him STOP withholding NJ state income taxes for 2008 AND ask that the taxes already withheld be refunded to you. Because you live and work in Florida, New Jersey has NO LEGAL STANDING to tax your income. Getting the refund from your employer will make filing a 2008 NJ tax return unnecessary.

For 2007, you should have filed a NJ state return as a part-year resident, paying NJ taxes ONLY on the income you earned while living and working in NJ. If you paid taxes on ALL income earned in 2007, you should amend that return and claim a refund of the taxes paid on the income earned while in Florida. You will need to show some proof as to when you moved (a signed apartment lease in Florida should suffice).

If you need professional help doing this, contact me at [email protected].

Regarding the unemployment, you may or may not be eligible for NJ unemployment compensation. That is actually a LEGAL question rather than a tax question that is best posted on the LAW forum under OTHER LAW.

Barring that, you can always send an email to the NJ Department of Labor, explain your situation and ASK if you are eligible for benefits. You can do this anonymously.