Live in Arkansas, Work Remotely for a Alaska Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Alaska levies no tax on wages; Arkansas taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Arkansas resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Last verified
The instinct that working in a no-tax state means paying no tax is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this niche. Alaska takes nothing, but Arkansas still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your Arkansas return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Arkansas
File a Arkansas resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Arkansas | Alaska | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form AR1000NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form AR1000TC | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Alaska and working in Arkansas gives:No state income tax on your wages.
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: Arkansas → AlaskaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Arkansas → AlaskaHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: Arkansas → AlaskaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Arkansas pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Arkansas and work remotely for a Alaska employer. Which state do I pay?
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Alaska levies no tax on wages; Arkansas taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Arkansas resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Arkansas. Your employer should withhold Arkansas tax rather than Alaska tax on these wages. If a Alaska line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
How current is this?
The Arkansas and Alaska rules on this page were last checked against Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration and Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division 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.
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07