Fun with MA nonresident return

[Abby Normal]

Just did a MA nonresident for my RI client who worked part time in MA. Couldn't get the interest, dividends and capital gains to not show as MA income, so I just used a blank line on B & D to type nonresident and backed them both out. I know that can't be right but I couldn't spend anymore time on it. Also got a warning about possibly having to adjust the Social Security and Medicare deductions because total income exceeds MA wages, but I decided to just let MA adjust that if they like.

Told the client that MA might adjust her refund.

Any insights from you MA preparers would be appreciated. Laugh if you must.

[FDNY]

Did you try worksheet for line 14e?     I'm sure Catherine will know what to do if that doesn't work.

[FDNY]

Also worksheet for line 15 is used to adjust SS.   I'm not laughing because I rarely do one of these and know they can be a bit of a brain teaser.

[FDNY]

If the dividend income still shows up on return I think you could delete it on line 24.  I hate this form, NY's is much easier.

[Abby Normal]

44 minutes ago, FDNY said:

NY's is much easier

Almost every state I've ever done is easier! MD is a snap.

[Abby Normal]

1 hour ago, FDNY said:

Did you try worksheet for line 14e?     I'm sure Catherine will know what to do if that doesn't work.

I did but I see now I missed putting Social Security in the Non MA income. I HATE that this is a negative column. Be much easier if it was MA Income.

[Abby Normal]

1 hour ago, FDNY said:

Also worksheet for line 15 is used to adjust SS.   I'm not laughing because I rarely do one of these and know they can be a bit of a brain teaser.

No I never went there. I just now put in the changes I think should be done and the refund dropped from 98 to 73. I can live with that! Serves MA right if they send the full 98, because their forms are way too complicated.

[FDNY]

Without a doubt, that's why I keep Catherine on speed dial if I get stuck and frustrated.

[Catherine]

I may be chiming in too late, but here goes.

MA gives a deduction from income for socsec/medi taxes paid - but only on MA-source income.  Limited to $2K, too.  So that's why they give you the warning to adjust that deduction.  

As for the dividends and interest - that's harder, because I now use Drake and not ATX.  In Drake, it's easy to over-ride the int & div income for a state, or code it to a specific state. 

Hope this helped.

[Abby Normal]

Yeah, I screwed up the Social Security and Medicare and deducted for the non-MA W2 as well. Surprised ATX doesn't have that right since W2s are coded to state.

I could have overridden the interest, but I always feel like I'm doing something wrong when I override.

[Abby Normal]

And thanks for replying, Catherine!

[Catherine]

24 minutes ago, Abby Normal said:

And thanks for replying, Catherine!

Sorry it was so late; was out of my office all day Friday, and spent much of Saturday at a funeral for someone I once worked with.  Did not know him particularly well, but he was a good guy (and younger than I am!).  Then Sunday I was exhausted and took the day off.

[Abby Normal]

I checked your activity to make sure had been on here recently. I was worried about you! Glad you're fine!

[Catherine]

I'm here.  Got a triple-whammy going.  

• Corporation client has an IRS audit *this* Friday, and I have to be 100% prepared for that.
• Older daughter is selling her condo, an hour away.  She works 6 days a week and needed help packing and doing inspector-recommended repairs.  Guess who got to help (I've spent four or five days up there in the last couple of weeks).
• My church lost our building and had a day and a half to get ALL our records out.  Many of them are now sitting on my office floor, making havoc with all the other tidbits left over from when I moved my office in December.  
  • Part of this is having to reconstitute our bookkeeping system and stay on top of all the bills, payments, wages, and payroll taxes, in an office where all the required documents are buried in one of several boxes stuffed together willy-nilly.

So I haven't been spending much time on the board.  I miss you guys and hope to be back more next week!

[Abby Normal]

You're gonna need some "me time".

[Abby Normal]

Oh man. Just got a part-year MA return who moved to MD. Any sage advice before I dive in? At least I get to use Sch R(?) this time so it might make more sense.

[FDNY]

One Manhattan (no fruit) with a splash of Cointreau before you start.

[Abby Normal]

No cherry! Oh, man. That's my favorite part!

 

[Catherine]

You got most of it. 

• Insurance EIN (I have 'em all) and subscriber number for the MA health care form. 
• Apportion socsec tax (read it off the MA W-2). 
• Don't forget the $3,000 adjustment to income for rent paid on first page of Form 1. 
• And the deduction from interest income for the first $100 ($200 for a couple) of interest from MA-chartered (not just located) banks.

[Abby Normal]

Whoa, I forgot about the health care program. Thank you soooo very much! I have his last year return to use as a guide. No rent paid, owned two houses, sold one. Wife has retirement income, which he told me is not taxable in MA.

How do you determine if a bank has a MA charter?

[Catherine]

1 hour ago, Abby Normal said:

How do you determine if a bank has a MA charter?

If it's a local (Salem Five, Belmont Savings, Rockland Trust, Winchester Savings... etc) it's a no-brainer.  Ditto the nationals; none of the big ones (BoA, Wells Fargo, Citi) are MA-based.

Else go to the home page of the bank in question and under "Contact Us" it always gives the headquarters.  Some years ago I was surprised that Citizens is based in RI; there are so many branches and it acts local.  I guess it is, but not MA-chartered.  

If it's so little interest and not instantly obvious, assume not.  

[Catherine]

And lemme know if you need an MA insurer EIN.  I have a list of just about all of them.