Am I supposed to claim taxes paid in another state from where I live? The word "AND" is confusing

Question

I moved to NJ in March but I maintain work in NY at my same employer and commute from NJ now. So I was in NY for 58 of 365 days in 2023. I did the math which comes out to about 16% of the year in NY and file my income 16% as a NY resident and 84% NJ? I mean that's what I did when I filed…my employer did/does NOT take out any taxes for NJ because it is a NY employer. I didn't claim the "taxes paid to another state AND NY" which the form at FreeTaxUSA specifies "AND" because I didn't pay NJ yet (they ARE taxing me when I did my return now). Did I mess up?

MatthewD · Answer

Hi Ballerina617,

At this point it is hard to diagnose the issue. You may be best suited to contact our Support Team from your account.

B-allerin_a617 · Answer

I don’t know. I tried that and got red and yellow alerts at final steps. I paid for audit protection. Does that mean I could get help with my returns? I don’t know what I did wrong but I owe a lot of money to NJ.

MatthewD · Answer

Hi Ballerina617,

All of your income will be taxable to NY state.  Some of it will be taxable in NJ, since you moved and starting living there.  You are taxed on all the income earned in NY while living as a resident in NJ

You didn't mess up.  That is simply how each state taxes income, but you should be claiming a credit for taxes paid to another state (NY) on your New Jersey return for the income that was reported on your NJ return which is also reported on your NY return.

Look at your NY return and figure out how much tax is imposed on the income also taxed in NJ.  Use that income and taxes to enter the amounts for the NJ Credit for Taxes Paid To Another State.