You can add MA to the states I will never live ever having experienced their tax forms

[Abby Normal]

I just spent 45 minutes trying to figure out a PY return. Even read the instructions, which were no help at all. Apparently there are several forms and several methods for allocating several differenr kinds of income, none of which I ended up using. There are 3 pages for investment income. I finally had to give up and just overrode dividends to amount that belonged to MA.

No red errors so fingers crossed when submitting!

I've done plenty of PY returns for many states over many years, and you can usually figure out how the income and deductions get allocated and the return just works. Most of them are quite simple and self-explanatory. MA forms must be designed by a sadist!

[FDNY]

I could vouch for that as I know exactly what you mean.  Been doing them for the last 20 years and I still have to think about it, especially that line 14 is correct.  You get prompted to open the R/NR form, sometimes it's appropriate, sometimes not.  But what I've done, to remember year over year, is make a note in my state instructions file to help for next time.  I hope you do the same, so if they come back to bite you next year, you'll be happy you noted it and that 45 minutes will become 5.

Catherine could probably fight them with one arm tied behind her back!

[mcb39]

Well, I have one of those too along with the eight states for my WI resident.  NY is driving me bananas.

[Lion EA]

Had to get help for a NJ PY (and NY PY which I think is OK, but need to check it now that NJ works, can be efiled) and my support person said they get a lot of calls re NJ PY and MA PY.  Mine took way longer than 45 minutes; can't charge enough for this stuff !!  I'm still arguing over a MA return we filed to get back w/h erroneously w/h for MA when the gal worked and lived in CT only; luckily she caught it by the second paycheck, but company only fixed it going forward. Do not like MA and do not like NJ.  I'm getting more used to NY, but don't like dealing with them -- they never answer their phones.

[FDNY]

28 minutes ago, mcb39 said:

Well, I have one of those too along with the eight states for my WI resident.  NY is driving me bananas.

The allocation sheet on the NY 203 is your friend.  Aren't you happy ATX calculates all the non res tax credits automatically.

[FDNY]

16 minutes ago, Lion EA said:

Had to get help for a NJ PY (and NY PY which I think is OK, but need to check it now that NJ works, can be efiled) and my support person said they get a lot of calls re NJ PY and MA PY.  Mine took way longer than 45 minutes; can't charge enough for this stuff !!  I'm still arguing over a MA return we filed to get back w/h erroneously w/h for MA when the gal worked and lived in CT only; luckily she caught it by the second paycheck, but company only fixed it going forward. Do not like MA and do not like NJ.  I'm getting more used to NY, but don't like dealing with them -- they never answer their phones.

Are you using NY's hotline # 518 457 5451.  I was given this by an agent a couple of years ago instead of using the 518 457 5181 # for personal taxes.

[Lion EA]

Thank you, FDNY, I'm keeping this.  In NY's defense, I did reach a great gal re a biz return who waived a first-time penalty!

[mcb39]

18 minutes ago, FDNY said:

The allocation sheet on the NY 203 is your friend.

Still cannot find it.  This is the second day on this return and have cleared all the red marks for eight states except this one.

[FDNY]

There's a tab at the bottom of the NY 203 for allocation worksheet.  Also I think the next one is for allocation of unearned income if needed.

[Abby Normal]

2 hours ago, FDNY said:

 especially that line 14 is correct. 

It kept telling me that lines 13 and 14 had to be blank if you checked part year resident. And they are. Had to manually enter line 11. My override was Sch B line 2.

[FDNY]

Yes.  I've been fortunate with Sch B as there are some direct entry spaces and found the worksheet tabs to be helpful.  Instead of overriding line 2 I have excluded dividends on line 6.  The line 6 worksheet has a line if you need to write something in to identify it.

Did you use Sch XYZ for line 11 (also a worksheet with many choices off Sch X line 4).

[Abby Normal]

26 minutes ago, FDNY said:

Yes.  I've been fortunate with Sch B as there are some direct entry spaces and found the worksheet tabs to be helpful.  Instead of overriding line 2 I have excluded dividends on line 6.  The line 6 worksheet has a line if you need to write something in to identify it.

Did you use Sch XYZ for line 11 (also a worksheet with many choices off Sch X line 4).

Yes I used X for alimony income. You know a state's complicate when they're all the way up to the letter Z!

[Abby Normal]

And WTF is Sch NTS?

[FDNY]

Doesn't sound like you'll need that, it's No Tax Status or Limited Income, I think something like PA's Tax Forgiveness form.  Don't get me started on PA. 

I was going to ask you something on a DE resident form but looks like it's straight forward, like they all should be.

[Abby Normal]

Ok, I got rid of my override by using line 6 to subtract dividends earned after leaving the state. Did the same for CG distributions.

 

[mcb39]

5 hours ago, FDNY said:

There's a tab at the bottom of the NY 203 for allocation worksheet.  Also I think the next one is for allocation of unearned income if needed.

Still haven't found it.  It was there all right in the 2014 return.  Do I have a form that is not updated or what?  Am getting resigned to paper filing NY and efiling the other seven.

[Lion EA]

Once in a while I get a stray code or a tiny character like an ' hanging out in a field that I think is blank.  Try deleting, or does ATX still have a Restore Field button, or backspacing, or whatever to see if that clears the lines that are supposed to be blank.

[FDNY]

Sorry Marilyn, I went to bed.  Now 3:15 and back to work, I'll have 2 returns done before the marines get up.   Yeah I know, I'm crazy, one more week of craziness.

On the NY 203 at the bottom after the page numbers the 3rd tab over begins the allocation tabs.  The 1st one is of course the main one you are looking for.

Also, do you have your screen maximized?  For some reason that has been happening to me this year with disappearing tabs.

[GraceNY]

3 hours ago, Lion EA said:

Once in a while I get a stray code or a tiny character like an ' hanging out in a field that I think is blank.  Try deleting, or does ATX still have a Restore Field button, or backspacing, or whatever to see if that clears the lines that are supposed to be blank.

Right Click mouse on box you want to restore.  "Restore Field" should show as an option.

[joanmcq]

Ugh, I'm working on amending both MA & NY. NY is a breeze compared to MA. I gave up on trying to make the $20 of interest non-MA. Sch E & E1?  Try having a vacation home allocation and it wouldn't subtract out the Unallowed expenses. Had to manually zero to get them to match federal. And they should have; no bonus depreciation or anything. 

[mcb39]

I had to manually play around with both MA and MD to get rid of the errors.  NY is still my bane, but will see where we go today.

[Catherine]

Anyone who wants a walk-through of MA can call me at 781-899-2200 x1.

[jklcpa]

9 hours ago, FDNY said:

Now 3:15 and back to work, I'll have 2 returns done before the marines get up.

~waves to say Hi~

I saw you on here!  I worked until midnight, took a nap, gave dog meds, and was just going to bed when you were getting started!

We sure are bunch with some crazy hours!

[Abby Normal]

1 hour ago, Catherine said:

Anyone who wants a walk-through of MA can call me at 781-899-2200 x1.

If only I had known this Sunday morning at 10am! I would have had a much better morning.

[Catherine]

49 minutes ago, Abby Normal said:

If only I had known this Sunday morning at 10am! I would have had a much better morning.

Well Sunday morning at 10AM I was on my way to church so you would not have found me here.