Minnesota Residents:
If you were a resident of Minnesota for the entire year and are required to file a 2011 federal income tax return, you must also file a 2011 Minnesota Form M1.
If you are not required to file a federal return, you are not required to file a Minnesota return. However, you must file a Minnesota return in order to:
- claim refundable credits for which you may qualify (the K–12 Education, Working Family or Child Care Credits, etc.), or
- receive a refund if your employer withheld Minnesota income tax from your wages in 2011.
Did You Move Into or Out of Minnesota During the Year?
If you moved into or out of Minnesota in 2011, you must file Form M1 if you meet the filing requiremtns for part-year residents. When you file, also complete Schedule M1NR, Nonresidents/Part-Year Residents, to determine income received while a Minnesota resident and income received from sources in Minnesota while a nonresident. Your Minnesota tax is based on that income. If you considered Minnesota your permanent home in 2011, or for an indefinite period of time, you were a resident for 2011.
Were You a Resident of Another State and Lived in Minnesota?
If you were a resident of another state, you may be required to file Form M1 as a Minnesota resident if both of these conditions applied to you:
- You were in Minnesota for 183 days or more during the tax year; and
- You or your spouse owned, rented or leased a house, townhouse, condominium, apartment, mobile home or cabin with cooking and bathing facilities in Minnesota, and it could be lived in year-round.
If both conditions apply, you are considered a Minnesota resident for the length of time the second condition applies. If the second condition applied for the entire year, you are considered a full-year Minnesota resident for income tax purposes. If it applied for less than the full year, you are considered a part-year resident, and you must file Form M1 if you meet the filing requirements explained below.
If you were a resident of another state, but the conditions did not apply to you in 2011, you were a nonresident of Minnesota for income tax purposes. However, you must file Form M1 if you meet the filing requirements explaines below.
Filing Requirements for Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents
1) Determine your total income from all sources (including sources not in Minnesota) while a Minnesota resident.
2) Determine the total of the following types of income you received while a nonresident of Minnesota:
- wages, salaries, fees, commissions, tips or bonuses for work done in Minnesota
- gross rents and royalties received from property located in Minnesota
- gains from the sale of land or other tangible property in Minnesota
- gains from the sale of a partnership interest, to the extent the partnership had property or sales in Minnesota
- gain on the sale of goodwill or income from an agreement not to compete connected with a business operating in Minnesota
- Minnesota gross income from a business or profession conducted partly or entirely in Minnesota (Gross income is income before any deductions or expenses). This is the amount from line 7 of federal Schedule C, line 1d of Schedule C-EZ or line 9 of Schedule F of Form 1040. Gross income from a partnership or S corporation is the amount on line 21 of Schedule KPI or line 21 of Schedule KS.)
- gross winnings from gambling in Minnesota
3) Add step 1 and step 2. If the total is $9,500 or more, you must file Form M1 and Schedule M1NR. Note: If the result is less than $9,500 and you had amounts withheld or paid estimated tax, you must file Form M1 and Schedule M1NR to receive a refund.
If only one spouse is required to file a Minnesota return and you filed a joint federal return, you must file a joint Form M1. Complete Schedule M1NR and include a copy of the schedule when you file your return.
For additional information regarding the filing requirements for Minnesota, please click here.