I wouldn't worry. Theoretically, you could report that three months of income in both states (in one of them you'd get a credit for the tax paid in the other). But CA is probably one of the higher rates, so just calling it VA income, which matches your W-2, would be easier.
The thing to figure it, if you haven't already, is 2015. If you still work for the same employer, and they're still reporting it as VA income, you should talk to them about it. I think that if you're based in CA, they should probably report it as CA income. If not, it could be a pain next year.
For the first 11 months of 2014, I lived and worked in New York. As of 12/1/14, I moved to New Jersey and I also started working from New Jersey, however I did not change my residency information at my company - so they had me working in NJ and living in NY even though I was living in NJ.
I am so goddamned confused at this point I don't even know how to explain my confusion.
I believe I am considered a part time resident in NY and NJ.
I don't understand how the credits work. Or part time residency.
For the first 11 months of 2014, I lived and worked in New York. As of 12/1/14, I moved to New Jersey and I also started working from New Jersey, however I did not change my residency information at my company - so they had me working in NJ and living in NY even though I was living in NJ.
I am so goddamned confused at this point I don't even know how to explain my confusion.
I believe I am considered a part time resident in NY and NJ.
I don't understand how the credits work. Or part time residency.
I'm using TaxAct.
I'm at wit's end.
If you want to shoot me an image of your W-2, I'm happy to take a look (I'm an Enrolled Agent). You can black out any sensitive info of course.
These situations are always confusing, yeah. The main things to figure out are: (1) what does the W-2 say, and (2) what should it say. Sometimes these don't match, and it can be more trouble than it's worth to get fixed, so it's just a matter of filing to match the W-2.
It does indeed sound like you'd be part-year in both states, which is no fun, but will make sense once you get it all entered.
So now that I'm so very late I have a few questions about what I should be doing differently this year as my tax situation changed dramatically.
Some bio information:
-Last year we purchased a house in August and were married in October.
-We intend to file jointly as I'm pretty sure it will be the most advantageous for us.
-Combined income around 160k.
-Wife has student loans.
-We live in New Jersey.
Basically my questions boil down to:
1.) Is filing jointly the best option? Also do I need to file for an extension since I'm currently past the deadline or should I just file my taxes and hope that goes through.
2.) What can I deduct related to the purchase of the house (and the mortgage) and what documentation must I provide? I've been told I can deduct the cost of the attorneys fee from the purchase, but I'm pretty ignorant of this whole aspect.
3.) Should I just be getting an accountant at this point.
In general I'm really just looking for advice on Federal, but threw in my state just in case anyone had some extra insight there.
RedTide#1907 on Battle.net
Come Overwatch with meeeee
1) Almost certainly yes, file jointly. You must file an extension.
2) You should have received a document from your lender indicating the taxes and mortgage interest you paid. You can deduct these amounts but only if you end up itemizing deductions anyways. You'll probably need other itemized stuff like out of pocket medical expenses and charitable giving to get above the standard deduction. All the fees associated with buying the house are not going to be deductible. It's the interest and taxes that are deductible. And "points" if you paid any. Basically just check out everything listed on Schedule A to see what you can deduct.
3) Do you have anything else complicating things? Distributions from royalties, dividends from investments, own your own business? If not, an accountant is probably not worth it unless you just really do t want to be troubled by this. Except you will be troubled by it because you'll still have to provide them with all your info and want to double check their work before sitting anything to the IRS anyways.
Agreed with all of that, basically. On #1, if you didn't already file for an extension, you're too late, technically. But I would consider mailing a paper extension, just in case. If you end up getting penalized, you can always try requesting they forgive it, with a reference to the extension you filed. And agreed, joint is usually better. I'm not sure if Turbotax does this, but I'm guessing they'll do a comparison to show you what it would cost you (or, occasionally, what you'd save) by filing jointly.
On #2, if you were previously renting, there's a good chance you won't itemize anyway, since you'll only have 4 - 5 months of mortgage interest. If box 1 (and 4 and 5, if any) from your 1098 plus your state income tax paid from your W-2s (box 17, I think) aren't close to $12k, and you didn't have a bunch of charitable contributions, you probably won't need to itemize.
#3: Even though I am an accountant, I'd lean toward no, also. Turbotax, H&R Block, or whatever won't (shouldn't) have a problem with home purchases, mid-year marriages, or other common things. Like davidsdurions said, if you don't have a business, or anything else that could be complicated, the cost of paying a professional to prepare it probably won't help.
Agreed with all of that, basically. On #1, if you didn't already file for an extension, you're too late, technically. But I would consider mailing a paper extension, just in case. If you end up getting penalized, you can always try requesting they forgive it, with a reference to the extension you filed. And agreed, joint is usually better. I'm not sure if Turbotax does this, but I'm guessing they'll do a comparison to show you what it would cost you (or, occasionally, what you'd save) by filing jointly.
On #2, if you were previously renting, there's a good chance you won't itemize anyway, since you'll only have 4 - 5 months of mortgage interest. If box 1 (and 4 and 5, if any) from your 1098 plus your state income tax paid from your W-2s (box 17, I think) aren't close to $12k, and you didn't have a bunch of charitable contributions, you probably won't need to itemize.
#3: Even though I am an accountant, I'd lean toward no, also. Turbotax, H&R Block, or whatever won't (shouldn't) have a problem with home purchases, mid-year marriages, or other common things. Like davidsdurions said, if you don't have a business, or anything else that could be complicated, the cost of paying a professional to prepare it probably won't help.
Yeah, I got married, we had a kid, sold a house and bought a house and TaxAct handled no problem.
So. I got divorced last year (December.) I have student loans that have been deferred for a few years. I lost my job last November and they didn't even give us our last paychecks (which were due three days after the company was told to close it's doors) much less get a w-2. I have moved at least 4 times since last August and my ex-wife can't find a copy of my w-2 from previous years. What the "F" do I do? Oh, I did file an extension with the IRS, so I got that going for me, which is nice. I have not had any acknowledgment from them that they received it however.
Posts
The thing to figure it, if you haven't already, is 2015. If you still work for the same employer, and they're still reporting it as VA income, you should talk to them about it. I think that if you're based in CA, they should probably report it as CA income. If not, it could be a pain next year.
For the first 11 months of 2014, I lived and worked in New York. As of 12/1/14, I moved to New Jersey and I also started working from New Jersey, however I did not change my residency information at my company - so they had me working in NJ and living in NY even though I was living in NJ.
I am so goddamned confused at this point I don't even know how to explain my confusion.
I believe I am considered a part time resident in NY and NJ.
I don't understand how the credits work. Or part time residency.
I'm using TaxAct.
I'm at wit's end.
If you want to shoot me an image of your W-2, I'm happy to take a look (I'm an Enrolled Agent). You can black out any sensitive info of course.
These situations are always confusing, yeah. The main things to figure out are: (1) what does the W-2 say, and (2) what should it say. Sometimes these don't match, and it can be more trouble than it's worth to get fixed, so it's just a matter of filing to match the W-2.
It does indeed sound like you'd be part-year in both states, which is no fun, but will make sense once you get it all entered.
Some bio information:
-Last year we purchased a house in August and were married in October.
-We intend to file jointly as I'm pretty sure it will be the most advantageous for us.
-Combined income around 160k.
-Wife has student loans.
-We live in New Jersey.
Basically my questions boil down to:
1.) Is filing jointly the best option? Also do I need to file for an extension since I'm currently past the deadline or should I just file my taxes and hope that goes through.
2.) What can I deduct related to the purchase of the house (and the mortgage) and what documentation must I provide? I've been told I can deduct the cost of the attorneys fee from the purchase, but I'm pretty ignorant of this whole aspect.
3.) Should I just be getting an accountant at this point.
In general I'm really just looking for advice on Federal, but threw in my state just in case anyone had some extra insight there.
Come Overwatch with meeeee
2) You should have received a document from your lender indicating the taxes and mortgage interest you paid. You can deduct these amounts but only if you end up itemizing deductions anyways. You'll probably need other itemized stuff like out of pocket medical expenses and charitable giving to get above the standard deduction. All the fees associated with buying the house are not going to be deductible. It's the interest and taxes that are deductible. And "points" if you paid any. Basically just check out everything listed on Schedule A to see what you can deduct.
3) Do you have anything else complicating things? Distributions from royalties, dividends from investments, own your own business? If not, an accountant is probably not worth it unless you just really do t want to be troubled by this. Except you will be troubled by it because you'll still have to provide them with all your info and want to double check their work before sitting anything to the IRS anyways.
On #2, if you were previously renting, there's a good chance you won't itemize anyway, since you'll only have 4 - 5 months of mortgage interest. If box 1 (and 4 and 5, if any) from your 1098 plus your state income tax paid from your W-2s (box 17, I think) aren't close to $12k, and you didn't have a bunch of charitable contributions, you probably won't need to itemize.
#3: Even though I am an accountant, I'd lean toward no, also. Turbotax, H&R Block, or whatever won't (shouldn't) have a problem with home purchases, mid-year marriages, or other common things. Like davidsdurions said, if you don't have a business, or anything else that could be complicated, the cost of paying a professional to prepare it probably won't help.
Yeah, I got married, we had a kid, sold a house and bought a house and TaxAct handled no problem.