Live in Alaska, Work Remotely for a New York Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
New York taxes you and nothing offsets it. Its convenience-of-the-employer rule sources your remote workdays to New York even though you never go there, and Alaska has no income tax — so there is no resident return on which to claim a credit for the New York tax.
Last verified
The convenience rule is bad enough when your home state credits it back. Here there is nothing to credit it back against: Alaska levies no income tax, so the New York liability is final rather than merely first.
New York runs the oldest and most aggressive convenience-of-the-employer rule. A nonresident employee of a New York employer is taxed on every workday performed at home unless the home office meets New York's bona fide employer office test, which is deliberately hard to satisfy. Working remotely because you prefer to is convenience; working remotely because the job cannot be done in New York is necessity.
The rule is not an administrative preference. New York applies it under 20 NYCRR §132.18(a); TSB-M-06(5)I, and the burden of showing that remote work is an employer necessity rather than an employee convenience falls on you and your employer, not on New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
New York also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: New York City levies a resident income tax, and Yonkers levies both a resident tax and a small nonresident earnings tax. New York City has not taxed nonresident commuters since the commuter tax was repealed in 1999 — a New Jersey or Connecticut resident working in Manhattan owes New York State but not New York City.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · New YorkForm IT-203
File a New York nonresident return. Alaska does not tax wages, so there is no resident return and therefore no credit anywhere to offset the New York tax — this is the worst version of the convenience rule.
The two states, side by side
| Alaska | New York | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form IT-203 |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form IT-112-R |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division | New York State Department of Taxation and Finance |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in New York and working in Alaska gives:Home state only.
Same two states, different situation
The withholding answer turns on how you are paid and where the work happens, not only on which two states are involved.
- W-2 commuter: Alaska → New YorkWork state only
- 1099 contractor: Alaska → New YorkClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Alaska → New YorkOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Alaska pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alaska and work remotely for a New York employer. Which state do I pay?
New York taxes you and nothing offsets it. Its convenience-of-the-employer rule sources your remote workdays to New York even though you never go there, and Alaska has no income tax — so there is no resident return on which to claim a credit for the New York tax.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
New York. The wages are sourced to New York, so New York withholding is correct and there is no Alaska withholding to set up, because Alaska levies no income tax on wages.
Can I claim a credit for the New York tax?
No, and that is what makes this case unusual. A credit for taxes paid to another state is claimed on a resident return, and Alaska does not have one — it levies no personal income tax. The New York tax is your final cost on this income unless your employer can establish that your remote work is a business necessity.
How current is this?
The Alaska and New York rules on this page were last checked against Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance on 2026-08-07. We re-check the full grid every December after state legislative sessions close, and re-check the convenience-of-the-employer states quarterly because that is where the rules move fastest.
Sources
Every fact above comes from the revenue department that publishes the rule. We do not cite secondary summaries, and we do not restate a figure we could not find at source.
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07