Possible to enter different residency dates for each spouse on a joint Virginia part‑year return?

Question

Hello there,

I need help with the residency section for the Virginia part‑year return. My spouse and I filed a joint federal return, but our Virginia residency dates are different:

* My spouse lived in Virginia for the entire year (full‑year resident)
* I moved to Virginia partway through the year (part‑year resident)

When I go through the Virginia state section in FreeTaxUSA, it only lets me enter one set of residency dates for both of us. It does not give me a place to enter separate dates for each spouse or indicate that one spouse is full‑year and the other is part‑year.

How can I correctly enter:

* My spouse as a full‑year Virginia resident, and
* Myself as a part‑year Virginia resident with my own move‑in date?

Is there a way to update each spouse’s prior residence and residency dates separately, or does the software not support mixed‑residency couples filing jointly for Virginia?

I already purchased the state return on freetaxusa, but if the above is not supported, I don't know how I can file my state taxes through freetaxusa, so I may need a refund and have to file them elsewhere. All of the calculations are correct but the dates make the return incorrect. I can't even update the dates myself because of this note I saw on freetaxusa: "Your return contains a 2D barcode, which allows the Virginia Department of Taxation to quickly scan all of the information listed on your tax forms. Don't make handwritten updates to the forms."

Thanks in advance for your help!

TaxMorgan · Answer

Hello taxxthemsklounst,

You are correct that our software does not currently support entering different residency dates for spouses on a Virginia return. We would be happy to submit a refund request to our billing department-just contact us directly from the support center in your account.

taxxthemsklounst · Answer

Thank you for the reply. From what you are saying, the software "will use the residency period of the primary taxpayer." Even if I make myself the primary taxpayer, then my spouse's "Dates of VA Residence" (on the 760PY form) will just be the same as mine, which is also incorrect. It sounds like the software can only use one person's dates of residence and copies them over to the other person's section. Thus, there is no way for me to file the form with FreeTaxUSA software so that the "Dates of VA Residence" of the 760PY form accurately show my spouse lived in Virginia all year while I only lived for a portion of the year. If there is simply a way to enter separate dates for each tax payer, this would not be a problem.

Since you have confirmed it is not possible to enter two separate sets of dates, I will call in and request a refund. I will have to find another way to file my state taxes correctly unfortunately.

GeorgeM · Answer

Hello taxxthemsklounst:

Our software does not offer joint filers the option to enter their respective dates of residency.  Rather, our software will use the residency period of the primary taxpayer listed on the tax return.  Thus, if you entered your spouse’s information first, our software will assume that both spouses are full-year residents of VA.

However, given that your VA residency periods are different, you might consider making yourself the primary taxpayer.   Thereafter, when you get to the State section of our software, rather than selecting the option “full-year resident” select instead “part-year resident.”  Selecting part-year resident will give you not only the option of entering your specific dates of VA residency, but also the VA option of filing as Married Filing Separately on a Combined Return.  Filing as Married Filing Separately on a Combined Return is the option for taxpayers where one spouse is a part-year resident of VA and the other spouse is a full-year resident.  Our software supports this option for taxpayers and is consistent with VA tax rules which provide the following relevant information:

“As a general rule, part-year residents file Form 760PY. If [one] spouse is a full-year resident and the other is a part-year resident, the couple may file together on Form 760PY. The part-year resident spouse will compute a prorated exemption amount. The full-year resident spouse will claim the full exemption amount.”  (See VA Instructions for Form 760PY at page 7)