Married living separately filing jointly

Ordinary living expenses and non-business travel are generally not deductible. However, if you own both residences, you can probably deduct mortgage interest and real-estate taxes on both.

Most states require that the state filing status be the same as federal. The following links may be helpful. If you have to file MFJ, you'll probably be filing resident w/ non-resident spouse in both states. The forms are engineered to separate state from non-state income, compute the appropriate state income and determine the appropriate income tax.

-- John D. Goulden

I'm assuming that you were a full-year resident of OH and your spouse was a full-year resident of KY. In OH, if you file a joint federal return, you must file jointly for Ohio. Since your spouse is a nonresident, you can subtract from your total tax liability the part of that liability that relates to your spouse's non-Ohio source income. The credit is calculated on Schedule D of the Ohio return. In KY, you are not bound by your federal filing. Your spouse can file MFS reporting only his or her own income and deductions. Check the form instructions in each state for further help.

Katie in San Diego