Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ

Common Filing Mistakes

Filing your income tax can be challenging and it's easy for mistakes to happen. These can delay your refund or result in a bill. Before sending in your tax return or responding to a notice, check your return for these common issues:

General

Did You...

• Enter the correct Social Security number?
  If you enter the wrong number, you could be filing your return under another taxpayer's Social Security number.
• Enter the correct amount of income?
  Review all of your tax documents to make sure you haven't missed anything. The wages you report on your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax return are shown in Box 16 of your W-2 and may be different from the amount of income in Box 1, which is the amount used on your Federal income tax return.
• Type or write all figures correctly?
  Be careful not to add too many decimal places or use information from the same W-2 more than once. If something doesn't look right and you don't know how to fix it, contact your software provider or a tax professional.
• Use the correct filing status?
  You should generally use the same filing status that you used when filing your federal return. See our Tax Topic Bulletin GIT-4 Filing Status if you need help determining your filing status.
• Claim a loss?
  We do not allow any negative numbers on your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax return. If you have a loss in any income category, enter "0."
• Enclose all W-2s and 1099s showing Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax withheld?
  The amount of state withholdings you report on your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax return is shown in Box 17 of your W-2. Box 15 must also say "NJ" which indicates the withholdings were paid to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ. If you file a paper tax return, make sure that you attach a copy of any tax form that shows Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax withholdings. If you do not, you may receive a notice showing zero Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax withholdings.

Credit for Taxes Paid to Other Jurisdictions

Did You...

• Complete your Schedule NJ-COJ, Form NJ-1040 (formerly Schedule A)?
  If you lived in Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ and worked outside of the state, your income may be taxed by both Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ and another state, city, or town. You must complete Schedule NJ-COJ, Form NJ-1040 to:
  • Determine the amount of tax you may claim as a credit;
  • Reduce the amount of tax you owe to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ.
• Report income that is not taxable to both Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ and the other state, city, or town on your Schedule NJ-COJ, Form NJ-1040?
  Generally, Line 1 of your Schedule NJ-COJ should not include:
  • unemployment
  • Social Security
  • interest
  • dividends
  • capital gains
  • retirement benefits
  These are generally not taxable to both Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ and the other state, city, or town.
  See Tax Topic Bulletin GIT-3W Credit for Taxes Paid to Other Jurisdictions (Wage Income) for more information.
• Correctly calculate the amount of your credit?
  The amount listed on Line 9a of your Schedule NJ-COJ should be the tax due on the amount on Line 1. This may be less than the actual tax paid to the other state, city, or town.
  Example: You earned $10,000 in wages from a job in New York and collected $1,000 of unemployment from New York. You paid $500 in income taxes to New York. Because unemployment is not taxed by both Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ and New York, you cannot enter $500 on Line 9a of your Schedule NJ-COJ. Instead, you must enter $455 on Line 9a ($10,000 of wages ÷ $11,000 total income) X $500 = $455

Non-Residents

Did You...

• Sell a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ residential property?
  If you sold the property after moving out of Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ, Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax that was withheld at closing is reported on Line 46 of your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Nonresident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040NR). This estimated payment is made to offset the tax due on any capital gain you made on the sale of your property. Be sure to read the Form NJ-1040NR instructions carefully so you correctly report any gain that is taxable to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ. Depending on your circumstances, you may be required to file a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Resident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040) and a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Nonresident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040NR).
• Receive income from a partnership?
  You should claim any tax paid on your behalf by a partnership on Line 47 of Form NJ-1040NR.
• Work both inside and outside of Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
  If you received one W-2 showing all of your wages and cannot easily determine how much of your income was actually earned in Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ, complete Part II Allocation of Wage and Salary Income Earned Partly Inside and Outside Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ found on page 3 of Form NJ-1040NR .

Pennsylvania Residents

• Are you a Pennsylvania resident?
  Due to the Reciprocal Personal Income Tax Agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ, wages paid to Pennsylvania residents are not subject to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax. This agreement applies to compensation from salaries, wages, tips, fees, commissions, bonuses and other remuneration received for services rendered as an employee.
  If your employer withheld Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ income tax from your wages, you should:
  • File a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Nonresident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040NR ) to obtain a refund.
  • Enter "0" on Line 14, Column B of Form NJ-1040NR.
  • Enter your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax withholdings on Line 45 of the Form NJ-1040NR.
  • Include a signed statement declaring that you are a Pennsylvania resident.
  • Provide your employer with an Employee's Certificate of Nonresidence in Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ, Form NJ-165 , to stop the withholding of Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax.

Part-Year Residents

Did You...

• File the correct tax return?
  If you lived in Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ for part of the year and earned more than $10,000 for the entire year ($20,000 if filing as Married Filing Jointly or Head of Household), you must file a part year income tax return using the Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Resident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040). Unlike other states, Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ does not use a nonresident income tax return for part year residents. See the Form NJ-1040 instructions for more information.
• Earn income from Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ before or after your part year residency?
  If you earned income in Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ before you moved in or after you moved out, you may have to file a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Resident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040) and a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Nonresident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040NR). See Tax Topic Bulletin GIT-6 Part-Year Residents for more information.

Military

Did You...

• File the correct return?
  You can only file a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Nonresident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040NR) if you meet the three conditions for nonresident status.
• Correctly report your military pay?
  If you are a nonresident serviceperson, your military pay is not subject to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax and Line 14, Column B of Form NJ-1040NR should be zero. For more information about filing your tax return and reporting military pay, see Form NJ-1040NR instructions .
• Know about the Federal Military Spouses Residency Relief Act?
  This act makes the wages of a nonmilitary spouse/civil union partner exempt from Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax if:
  • You were domiciled outside of Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ when married or entered into a civil union with an Armed Forces member; and
  • Your principal reason for moving to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ was your military spouse's transfer; and
  • You maintain a domicile in another state; and
  • You intend to leave Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ when your military spouse/civil union partner is transferred or leaves the Armed Forces.
  You should file Form NJ-165, Employee's Certificate of Nonresidence , with your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ employer to stop Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax from being withheld from your wages. If an employer withheld taxes in error, you must file a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Nonresident Income Tax Return (Form NJ-1040NR ) for a refund. For more information about nonmilitary spouses and civil union partners, see Tax Topic Bulletin GIT-7, Military Personnel or visit our military page.

W-2

Did You...

• Make sure Box 15 says "NJ?"
  If Box 15 has another state or says "TOTAL STATE," contact your employer for a Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ W-2 showing withholdings actually paid to Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ.
• Use Box 16 when reporting your State wages on Line 14 of your tax return?
  DO NOT use Box 1. Box 1 is your Federal wages and may be different than Box 16.
• Add any amount listed as FLI to your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ withholdings?
  Your employer may report your contributions to Family Leave Insurance (FLI) under Box 17. This amount should not be added to your Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ Income Tax withholdings or reported on the Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ withholding line of Form NJ-1040. If you had two or more employers and you contributed more than the maximum required amount, you may take a credit for excess contributions by completing Form NJ-2450. If you worked for only one employer and that employer withheld too much, you must seek a refund from your employer.
  Use our Sample W-2 as a reference.