Section 280-RICR-20-55-5.8 - Filing Status of Husband and Wife Where One is a Partial-Year ResidentA. This section applies when one of the spouses is a partial-year Rhode Island resident, the other spouse is a full-year Rhode Island resident, and the couple files a joint Federal income tax return. 1. For example, a couple gets married and either the husband or the wife did not live in Rhode Island for all of the months during the year prior to marriage.B. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-30-31(c) and 44-30-51(b)(4) require that separate Federal liabilities be computed for Rhode Island purposes using the married filing separately status. If one spouse itemizes, then the other spouse must also itemize his/her deductions.C. The resident spouse then should file the appropriate resident return form and the partial-year resident spouse should file the appropriate partial-year resident form with special attention to proper allocations and modifications.D. The couple may elect to file a joint Rhode Island return as if both were residents of Rhode Island for the full year. If one of the spouses is required to report income to another state as a resident of that state, then R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-18(d) must be used in determining any allowable credit for taxes paid to that state.280 R.I. Code R. § 280-RICR-20-55-5.8