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Fed tax on state refund after marriage

In early 2015 my fiance and I each filed our 2014 taxes individually, as we were not yet married. She took the standard deduction and got back a significant state tax refund of $1300, whereas I itemized and ended up with a small $8 refund. Of course, having taken the standard deduction for 2014, her state refund would not be federally taxable in 2015 were she filling as single again this year. But we got married later in 2015, so now we're filing a joint return for the first time. Because I chose to itemize last year, it appears to me that we're forced on our 2015 joint return to declare our total $1308 refund as fully taxable income. Can someone knowledgeable please verify my understanding or correct me if I'm wrong?

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renormalize
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I get $8 taxable. Refunds of previously deductible amounts are only taxable if they would have affected taxable income on the previous return. Her refund would not have affected her return.

I don't have a specific citation, but it falls within the general rules on "recovery".

-- Arthur L. Rubin CRTP, AFSP in Brea, CA

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Arthur Rubin

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