You might want to double-check your situation specifically. If your company doesn't have any physical presence in Colorado and you're their only employee there, they might not actually need a CO state ID number. Some states have minimum requirements before employers need to register. Did you check if your employer is withholding Colorado state taxes from your paycheck? If they aren't withholding Colorado taxes, you might need to make estimated tax payments yourself to avoid penalties.

I work in state tax compliance and can confirm that "APPLIED FOR" on a W2 is completely legitimate and quite common. This typically happens when employers expand operations to new states or hire their first employee in a particular state. A few important points to clarify based on the discussion: 1. You're correct to proceed with filing using "PENDING" or the appropriate indicator in your tax software rather than waiting for the actual ID number. The IRS and state agencies are very familiar with this situation. 2. Since your employer IS withholding Colorado state taxes (as you confirmed from your paystub), they're doing everything correctly from a compliance standpoint. The application process for state employer IDs can take 4-8 weeks in some states, especially Colorado which has been experiencing processing delays. 3. For multi-state filing with TX/CO specifically: Texas has no state income tax, so you won't need to file a Texas state return. You'll only need to file your Colorado resident return. Just make sure to claim credit for any taxes withheld by your employer. 4. The delay in getting the state ID won't affect your refund processing or create any compliance issues. Your employer's federal EIN is the primary identifier the IRS uses for matching purposes. Don't stress about the deadline - you have all the information you need to file accurately!

Question for anyone who's done this - does grouping require amending previous returns? I'm in a similar situation with a property LLC and operating business, and filed separately for the last two years.

This is exactly the kind of situation where activity grouping can be a game-changer! Since you have common ownership of both LLCs and clear operational interdependence (PropCo exists primarily to serve OpCo), you should have a strong case for grouping. The key thing to remember is that once you group these activities and you materially participate in the restaurant business, the entire grouped activity becomes non-passive. This means those $78,000 in historic rehabilitation credits would no longer be trapped as passive credits - you could use them against your restaurant income or even your wife's non-passive income. Make sure to document the business reasons for grouping (shared management, operational interdependence, common ownership) in your election statement. Given the substantial credits at stake, it might also be worth getting a second opinion from a tax professional who specializes in passive activity rules before making the election, just to ensure you're maximizing the benefit and meeting all requirements.

This is a really complex situation that highlights why tax planning can be so tricky for married couples! From what everyone has shared, it sounds like you've got multiple factors working against joint filing in your specific case. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is whether you're both contributing to retirement accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs. The contribution limits and deduction phases can work differently between filing statuses, especially with your combined income level. Also, if either of you has access to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) through work, maxing those out could help reduce your taxable income regardless of filing status. Given all the variables people have mentioned - AMT, SALT caps, withholding issues, student loan interest, and income-based phase-outs - it might be worth consulting with a tax professional for this year and potentially adjusting your withholdings for next year. Sometimes the cost of professional advice pays for itself when you're dealing with situations this complicated. The silver lining is that now you know to run both scenarios every year. Tax situations can change, and what's optimal one year might not be the next!

This is exactly the kind of situation where the complexity of the tax code really shows itself! Based on all the great analysis in this thread, it sounds like you're dealing with a perfect storm of factors that make joint filing less advantageous in your specific case. One additional thing to consider that I haven't seen mentioned yet is the timing of when you make estimated tax payments or adjust withholdings. Since you've discovered this discrepancy now, you might want to increase your withholdings for the remaining pay periods this year to avoid underpayment penalties, regardless of which filing status you ultimately choose. Also, keep in mind that some states have different rules for married filing separately vs. jointly, and this can sometimes affect your federal return calculations indirectly. If you're in a state with its own income tax, make sure you're running the numbers for both federal AND state returns under each scenario. The fact that you took the initiative to compare both filing methods is really smart - most people just assume joint is always better and never check. This discovery could save you money not just this year, but potentially for years to come if your income situation stays similar. Just remember to re-evaluate annually since tax law changes and income fluctuations can shift which option is more beneficial.

I had a very similar situation last year where my taxable income was lower but I ended up owing taxes instead of getting a refund. The culprit turned out to be a combination of factors that weren't immediately obvious. First, definitely double-check that Box 12 parser issue you mentioned. I've seen parsers misread codes like "D" (401k contributions) as "DD" (employer-sponsored health coverage), which can dramatically affect your taxable income calculation. Second, when you changed jobs mid-year, did your new employer know about your previous year-to-date earnings? Often they don't, so they calculate withholding as if your new job salary is your only income for the entire year. This frequently results in under-withholding. Also check if you had any life changes that affected your tax situation: got married/divorced, had a child, moved states, or changed health insurance. Even small changes in pre-tax deductions like health insurance premiums or 401k contributions between employers can shift your taxable income enough to change your tax bracket. For Line 23, look specifically at whether you did any gig work, sold investments, or withdrew money from retirement accounts this year that you didn't do last year.

I went through something very similar last year and it was incredibly frustrating! The good news is that Line 16 is actually pretty straightforward - it's just pulling directly from the IRS tax tables based on your taxable income on Line 15. What I found was that even tiny changes in my situation created a domino effect. In my case, I had switched from contributing to a traditional 401k to a Roth 401k mid-year without realizing it would increase my taxable income (traditional contributions reduce taxable income, Roth doesn't). That small change pushed me into a higher tax bracket. Since you mentioned the W-2 parser potentially misreading Box 12, definitely manually verify those entries. I've seen parsers confuse retirement contribution codes with other codes, which can swing your tax calculation by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For Line 23, check if you did any side work, even small amounts. If you earned more than $400 in self-employment income, you'd owe self-employment tax that shows up there. Also, did you cash out any vacation time when you left your previous job? Sometimes that gets taxed differently and can create unexpected tax obligations. The job change mid-year is probably the biggest factor though. Your new employer's payroll system likely calculated withholding based only on your new salary, not accounting for the income you'd already earned. This almost always results in under-withholding.

Another thing to consider - make sure you're actually itemizing deductions before worrying about this. With the higher standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers in 2023), you might not even benefit from claiming mortgage interest if your total itemized deductions don't exceed the standard amount.

This is actually a pretty straightforward situation that comes up frequently. Since you paid 100% of the mortgage interest from your own accounts, you're absolutely entitled to claim the full deduction regardless of whose SSN appears on the 1098. The IRS Publication 936 specifically addresses this - the person who actually pays the mortgage interest gets the deduction, not necessarily the person whose name is on the loan documents. Just make sure to: 1. Attach a clear statement to your return explaining that while the 1098 shows your father's SSN, you made all mortgage payments 2. Keep detailed records of all your payments (bank statements, online payment confirmations, etc.) 3. Include both SSNs in your explanation for clarity Since your dad is your dependent and doesn't file his own return, there's no risk of duplicate claims. The IRS sees these situations regularly and has established procedures for handling them. As long as you can document your payments, you shouldn't have any issues claiming the full mortgage interest deduction.