Would appreciate help with this MA tax question regarding an NH resident working in MA remotely!

Submitted by Cloudy-And-Sunny t3_124a25l in newhampshire

Hi folks,

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I would be very grateful for any help:

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I am from NH.

I graduated from college last year and started working for a big company with presence in Cambridge, MA.

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My position is technically in-office, but I worked remotely for the first several months, which was the entirety of my work in 2022. I.e., I was completely remote in 2022. Most of my team is remote too, and my immediate manager was okay with me taking time to figure things out.

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However, since formally (per HR records) my position was in-office, I had MA tax withheld for all of my 2022 paychecks.

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How would I go about getting a refund for what I was withheld for MA?

Since I didn't step foot in MA and was working remotely, I believe I don't owe any MA tax, but formally my position was in-person. What kind of documentation would MA IRS expect from me to prove that I was not subject to MA taxation?

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I was wondering if any fellow NH people have experience with this.

I would appreciate any help! I have a dependent and also could really use that money towards paying for my huge student loans.

Thank you!

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P.S. Also, I read that as NH resident, if you come to your MA office only certain days (and remote the rest), you are only liable for tax on those days that you actually come to the office. Does anyone have any experience of how that works and what kind of documentation the Mass IRS would expect?

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Comments

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Thorking t1_jdyjn5c wrote

Just use the TurboTax and follow the apportion instructions. Basically you input number of working days in and out of MA

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akmjolnir t1_jdzxasa wrote

Don't use or support TurboTax, or any Inuit products. They lobby hard to make US taxes impossible to do without their products.

Search for "free tax programs", and if you AGI is less than $73,000 there are other ways to do your taxes for free.

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Thorking t1_jdzxl5c wrote

Yah you are right, they are evil. There is a specific nonresident MA form you can google and read a description to better understand apportioning.

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quaffee t1_je1wjkv wrote

Freetaxusa.com is a good one.

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akmjolnir t1_je1wxhb wrote

For sure. I ended up using one listed on the Dept. of VA website.

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NewAcctCuzIWasDoxxed t1_jdykxe2 wrote

This happened to my sister in NY and FL. She moved to FL from NY but paid NY taxes all year.

She submitted an affidavit and proof of FL residency since the date of claim on the refund request. Then she was audited but had all her ducks in a row and no issues.

Basically, just make sure you are listed by your company as NH Remote and not MA, and have proof you lived in NH and you should be set. Might just be a lengthy process.

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earpain2 t1_jdylgkm wrote

Your PS is correct. Keep track of the days you go in on your work calendar and then at the beginning of the new year ask HR for a letter indicating how many in-office days you had. You won’t need to send the letter in at the time but you should have it in your files in the event you get audited. You don’t want to get a couple years down the line and then suddenly be scrambling for verification, which your HR will not have.

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Wiked_Pissah t1_jdyvnqm wrote

I have had the exact same situation come up with my work. I have worked from home since 3/20 and haven't had any MA taxes taken out at all since about 1/21. HR had to record something about me either being remote full-time or working in the office. Since my commute is 2 hours each way, I have been fighting tooth and nail to keep working from home. Starting a new job in a couple months that is more pay and permanent remote though so 🤞

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craigawoo t1_jdzl10m wrote

I’m going through this with my wife now.

You will use the apportionment part of the state return stating how much time you worked in Ma vs. Nh

If working remote is totally unrelated to the pandemic and you didn’t work in MA at all then you can recoup you mass tax.

Have your payroll department or manager write a letter regarding your situation. Ma dept of revenue will want to see this with your return.

If you worked remote because of Covid you don’t qualify

If you went to meetings or worked in office then you probably don’t qualify.

Very important to include the letter.

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hounddogracingteam t1_jdzzgg4 wrote

Only need the letters if you get audited. Otherwise just apportion on your taxes.

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MusicalMerlin1973 t1_je24spc wrote

Didn’t they change it recently to say if you’re working remotely it doesn’t count if your job doesn’t require you to work in nh? I remember seeing that but not paying attention because I’ve refused to work for a ma based company the last five years.

Five years of not doing ma taxes or driving into ma for work. Pure bliss.

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