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September 28, 2022
Question

moving

  • September 28, 2022
  • 1 reply
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I just moved to tennesse in june as I retired. My husband is not retiring yet and still lives in an apartment in illinois. We want to continue to file married filing jointly. How should we do this?

    1 reply

    Joe_D-CPA-PFS-CFP
    September 28, 2022

    Hi ajkalchik,

     

    I want to make sure I understand the question and it seems simple enough based on your statement. So let me say this, if you are married in 2022 and stay married till the end of the year, then you can file married filing jointly. You can live in different states and still file jointly on your federal tax return. There is only one address on your federal tax return. That address is simply a mailing address, and doesn't mean much beyond that. The IRS doesn't care what state you live in, or what state your spouse lives in.

     

    Married taxpayers who choose to file a joint return will use one return to report their combined income
    and to deduct combined allowable expenses. Married taxpayers can select this status even if one of the
    spouses did not have any income or any deductions. The Married Filing Jointly status can be claimed by taxpayers who, on the last day of the tax year:
    • Were married and lived together.
    • Were married and living apart, but were not legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree. State law governs whether taxpayers are married or legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree.
    • Were common law married pursuant to the laws of the state in which they live (or in the state where the common law marriage began) and the marriage has not been dissolved, such as by death or divorce.
    • Are the surviving spouse who did not remarry before the end of the tax year (surviving taxpayer can file a joint return with the deceased spouse).

     

    For State filing status information:

    Tennessee does not have an individual income tax

    Illinois

    Multiple States - Where To File 

     

    ajkalchikAuthor
    September 28, 2022

    Thank you for your very thorough answer! Last question. Because I live in Tennesse do I even have to fill out a state income tax return? Can my husband just fill out state income in Illinois?

    Joe_D-CPA-PFS-CFP
    September 28, 2022

    Hello again ajkalchik,

     

    Don't forget to like the original answer. There is nothing to do for Tennessee since there is no income tax. For Illinois, it appears you will file Form IL-1040 and your husbands income would be resident income. When you begin preparation of your 2022 return, TurboTax will help you determine the best way to file or you can contact TurboTax Live. See the link below for more information.

     

    Illinois State Website