I Believe Two Things

Overheard: “This is diarrhea, vomiting, upset stomach, (garbled) extremely contagious (garbled).”

Since I moved to Massachusetts partway through 2006, I filed my 2006 taxes using form 1-NR/PY – the form for part-year residents. This is perfectly logical, if rather more inconvenient than taxes usually are.

I just got my tax forms in the mail for 2007. The federal government sent me a copy of Ye Olde 1040, since that’s what I filed last year. And the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts sent me 1-NR/PY… ’cause that’s what I filed last year.

That’s right: because I only lived in Massachusetts for part of 2006, the state has concluded I’ll live here for only part of 2007 too.

Sure there are people who did leave the state a year after moving, but that’s surely not the norm. And it’s true that 1-NR/PY is for non-residents as well, but as they’ve mailed the form to me at my home address (in… wait for it… Massachusetts) it’s unlikely I’m in that demographic.

So Massachusetts? When in doubt, just send a Form 1.