Louisiana Non-Resident Tax Return

[Ed1955]

I am having a real problem with Louisiana Individual returns. I have a Texas client who gambled in Louisiana. When I go in to do the LA state return, it is treating ALL of his income as Louisiana-based. I have marked 2 for non-resident but it does not change the situation. It tries to generate a resident's return. Thank you for your help.

[itonewbie]

Suggest you review the return in more details.  IT-540B-2D computes LA tax on an as-if basis.  You'll see the ratio on Line 9 with the LA-source AGI on Line 8 flowing from the NPR Worksheet.

[Ed1955]

The problem I am having is that I cannot even get it to generate a non-resident return. I input the number 2 into the spot on the form where it asked me for a part year or a non resident return. The output is a full year resident return. Thank you for responding so quickly.

[itonewbie]

There's not a form for nonresident return.  Please re-read my response, which explains the mechanics of how it works.

[Ed1955]

I figured it out with a lot of trial and error.   In the general  section of the federal return, you have to check multistate return and indicate that Texas is your state of residence. For the Louisiana return, you have to use the pull down indicate it is Louisiana income. The same applies to State withholding. This will generate a non-resident return for Louisiana.  This is not as user friendly as ProSeries.

Thank you for your help!

[itonewbie · Accepted solution]

Good to hear you figured it out.  For your future reference, here are the articles that provide detailed instructions on how multi-state returns should be coded.  Had I known what you were after, I could have saved you some time for trial and error.

https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/practice-management/handling-multi-state-returns-in-proco...

https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/help-articles/help/input-multi-state-amounts-in-proconnect-t...

Tax products are either form or input-screen driven.  Lacerte/PTO belong to the latter and have a steeper learning curve.  Which type is better is a personal preference.  If PS serves your needs, I can understand why you like that better.  But Lacerte is designed to be more versatile (and PTO benefits from it because it uses the same engine).  For example, if your clients' returns include international elements, Lacerte/PTO would be a better choice.

Have a great weekend!