A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow an additional joint filing option for individual income taxes.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑162(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Joint Returns. – A husband and wife whose federal taxable income is determined on a joint federal return shall file a single income tax return jointly if each spouse either is a resident of this State or has North Carolina taxable income and may file a single income tax return jointly if one spouse is not a resident and has no North Carolina taxable income. Except as otherwise provided in this Part, a wife and husband filing jointly are treated as one taxpayer for the purpose of determining the tax imposed by this Part. A husband and wife filing jointly are jointly and severally liable for the tax imposed by this Part reduced by the sum of all credits allowable including tax payments made by or on behalf of the husband and wife. However, if a spouse has been relieved of liability for federal tax attributable to a substantial understatement by the other spouse pursuant to section 6015 of the Code, that spouse is not liable for the corresponding tax imposed by this Part attributable to the same substantial understatement by the other spouse. A wife and husband filing jointly have expressly agreed that if the amount of the payments made by them with respect to the taxes for which they are liable, including withheld and estimated taxes, exceeds the total of the taxes due, refund of the excess may be made payable to both spouses jointly or, if either is deceased, to the survivor alone."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2006.