[jsliou1]

In May of 2006, my then fiancée (now wife) and I moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. She changed her residency to Pennsylvania, however because of my work in NJ, I continued to maintain my apartment and residency status in NJ. We got married in July and now we are planning to file our federal taxes jointly. I was wondering if we can even file our federal jointly since her W2 has her as a Pennsylvania resident and my W2 has me as a NJ resident. Furthermore, would we be able to file jointly for our state income taxes. I know I am considered a full resident by NJ, but will I need to file a Pennsylvania tax return and if so, am I a part time resident or dual resident. I still consider my permanent residency as NJ (my bank statements goes to NJ, along with most my mail.)

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

You can file your federal return jointly; where you live is irrelevant.

You are a part-year resident of PA. You will file both NJ and PA tax returns. Each state is different on whether they let you file separately or jointly; some require joint returns if you file your federal return jointly, some do not.

In my opinion, you should file your PA return jointly and report all income earned while a PA resident. You will also file a NJ return and claim all income earned while in NJ. You can then claim a credit on the PA return for taxes paid to NJ while a resident of PA. That way, you do not get double-taxed.