What does this tax question mean? If you paid state & local income taxes in 2007 for a prior year?

Me: What does this tax question mean? If you paid state & local income taxes in 2007 for a prior year?
“If you paid state and local income taxes in 2007 for a prior year (such as taxes paid in 2007 as a balance due on your 2006 state income tax return), include this amount as other state and local income taxes paid.

Other state and local income taxes: $ ____”

While filing online, I got an alert here. I did not enter anything in. What exactly is the question asking?

Answers and Views:

Answer by v b
Does your state have an income tax?
Besides a W-2, did you write any other checks to the state?

Such as estimated tax payments?
Such as owing when you filed your taxes last year?

Answer by travelguruette
Did you send a check to the irs in 2007 for taxes due for 2006? Did you pay or get a refund? If you got a refund and you itemize this year you have to pay taxes on that refund. If you paid taxes then you can deduct it if you itemize.

Answer by hermione98765
This question basically is looking to see if you should itemize your deductions or take the standard deduction.

When you itemize, one of the things itemized is how much in taxes you paid to the states last year. They can figure out how much you paid from your paystub.

They also want to know though, if you owed any money on your 2006 tax return that you paid then, because that counts towards “income taxes paid in 2007” for itemized deduction purposes.

So what this question is asking is:
– Did you owe any income tax on last years return that you paid.
– Did you pay any back income taxes on last years return.
– The key is that it’s *state* income taxes. They don’t care whether you owed / paid any federal income tax last year.

Nothing too sinister.