Basics of the Iowa Form 130

Image courtesy of user Nemo on Pixabay.com

This blog post is about the Iowa Form 130, which Iowa residents use to claim a credit on their Iowa tax return for taxes paid to another state.

The calculation on Form 130 is straightforward, but there are a few things to be aware of.

7-Step Process

Step 1: Figure out the amount of gross income that was taxed by both Iowa and the other state. If you received a W-2 showing wages paid in the other state, this part is easy; just use whatever the W-2 shows.

Step 2: Figure your total gross income in Iowa. This is found on line 15 of the Iowa 1040. Warning: the amount on this line will likely be different from your federal AGI. Iowa AGI is NOT necessarily the same concept as federal AGI.

Step 3: Divide Step 1 by Step 2 to get a percentage.

Step 4: Figure your total Iowa tax, minus non-refundable credits. This is found on line 51 of the Iowa 1040.

Step 5: Multiply your Iowa tax (Step 4) by the percentage on Step 3.

Step 6: Determine how much tax was imposed on you by the other state. Warning: this is NOT the amount of tax that was withheld from your W-2. This line wants to know the actual amount of tax owed to the other state.

Step 7: Determine your credit by using the SMALLER of Step 5 or Step 6.

Example:

Joe is an Iowa resident. He’s single and made $50,000 at his job in Iowa. He also worked part-time in Nebraska and made $10,000. For the sake of simplicity, let’s say his Iowa gross income was just those two numbers added together, so $60,000.

His percentage on Step 3 is 16.67%.

Let’s say his total Iowa tax was $4,000. (NOTE: I’m using a made up number here for the sake of simplicity.)

Let’s say his total Nebraska tax was $500. (Again, I’m using a made up number here for the sake of simplicity.)

For Step 5, take $4,000 times 16.67% = $667

His Step 6 Nebraska tax was $500.

Joe’s allowable credit for taxes paid to Nebraska is the smaller of Step 5 or Step 6; in this case it’s Step 6, $500.