My apologies if this doesn't belong here

[mla275]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

Hi, I apologize if this is not a proper place to post this, but I am running out of ideas. My situation is as follows. My wife and I live in GA. I work for a company in CA but never actually enter the state. My wife is in the Air Force and her home of record is AZ. When I fill out my tax information, it populates all the state information based on my federal information. In doing so, it tells me that I have to pay AZ state tax on our total income minus her Active Duty pay and also pay GA state tax on our full amount minus the amount of tax paid to AZ. Does this sound right? We are being taxed twice.

My other question is probably simpler, as I do not actually enter the state of CA, do I still need to file as a nonresident? Thanks.What is the name of your state?

 

[tranquility]

Sometimes the particular issues are hard and sometimes they are easy. The answer depends on the laws of the particular states you are talking about. You are going to have to look at the laws of CA, GA and AZ and try to determine how they interact. This will take some time. Especially if you are getting a refund, file an extension and see a tax professional who will do the research for you.

We have one client who has a very complex situation which takes a CPA days to complete and requires the creation of numerous worksheets. We have another where there is simple input of source into the income/deduction sections of our tax software and out pops the correct printed returns. While I think your situation may be closer to the latter, see someone with experience with military personnel, as they will know how to quickly research the problem and find you an answer.

 

[garrula lingua]

Years ago, when I had to do non-resident (& part-of-the-year resident) tax returns in some states (H in Marines), the NR state returns asked if you had paid tax on the earnings to any other state and deducted that amount from their taxable earnings.

You could check out the NR form on the internet and see if there is any applicable deduction from taxable earnings to ensure there isn't double taxation.

...Tranq knows the most on this subject, but I say you only owe Ga tax.

Ck out the CA NR tax return - you can file, but it allows credit for your taxation by other states (google Franchise Tax Board, California & the site has the NR 540 tax return & the instruction booklet). As it's a CA co., they probably sent a W2 to FTB CA, so you may have to do the form, regardless of whether there's tax owed (??).


... as I recall, the 'home of record' is just that - for military purposes (transfer costs), not tax purposes.
The squishy legal/taxation definition of 'resident' is something you need to look at (?? does she still carry an AZ dl, is she registered to vote/has voted in GA, etc ), not your 'home of record' (usually where you enlisted) for the military. Your wife may never reside in AZ again.
When there is a mixture of states, I don't think anyone can tell you which is your state of 'residence' - that's a choice you make.

PS::::EDIT: I may well be wrong about CA giving a credit - I looked, briefly, at the 540NR return and instructions at http://www.ftb.ca.gov/ (FORMS on the top tab) and I don't see where it allows credit for other state's taxes. (Did your co pay you with a 1099 or a W2?)
You can, at least, download an extension request & mail it in (although the taxes should be paid with it, at least you can't be charged with evading taxes).
You definitely need a tax expert.
Best of luck.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

Hi, I apologize if this is not a proper place to post this, but I am running out of ideas. My situation is as follows. My wife and I live in GA. I work for a company in CA but never actually enter the state. My wife is in the Air Force and her home of record is AZ. When I fill out my tax information, it populates all the state information based on my federal information. In doing so, it tells me that I have to pay AZ state tax on our total income minus her Active Duty pay and also pay GA state tax on our full amount minus the amount of tax paid to AZ. Does this sound right? We are being taxed twice.

My other question is probably simpler, as I do not actually enter the state of CA, do I still need to file as a nonresident? Thanks.What is the name of your state?

Tranq gave the correct answers, but one thing that will determine whether or not you have to file an AZ or CA return, is how the employers withheld state taxes and to which state they paid them. The fact that you work for a company located in CA should be completely irrelevant, unless your employer incorrectly withheld and remitted taxes to CA. If that happened, your W2 will reflect that. If that happened you will have to file a CA return to get your withholding back, even if you wouldn't normally be obligated to file a CA return.

Your wife may be subject to AZ taxes she she is still a legal resident of AZ. If so, there would be credits and/or exclusions available on your GA return.

I will echo Tranq that it would be in your best interest to use a tax professional. When more than one state is involved taxes get really tricky and its really easy to make expensive mistakes.

If you are likely to be getting refunds, then you don't even need to file an extension. If you are not sure, its probably best to file one.

 

[tranquility]

I agree with LdiJ that a person who is getting a refund does not need to file an extension. However, we always file an extension even if the taxpayer is getting a refund. Why? You never know. We've had clients audited years after filing where the result is a tax due (above the amount of the refund) and then the IRS tacked on a late filing penalty too. Extensions are easy. Fill in the form and send it in.