Live in Delaware, Work Remotely for a Idaho Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Idaho levies no tax on wages; Delaware taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Delaware resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Last verified
Crossing into a state with no income tax does not lower your tax bill, because your home state is not taxing you on where you work — it is taxing you on where you live. Delaware reaches all of a resident's income, and Idaho adds nothing on top.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Delaware
File a Delaware resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Delaware | Idaho | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | No |
| Nonresident return | Form PIT-NON | Form 43 |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule I (Form PIT-RES) | Form 39NR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Delaware Division of Revenue | Idaho State Tax Commission |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Idaho and working in Delaware gives:Convenience-of-the-employer rule — both states tax you.
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: Delaware → IdahoBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- 1099 contractor: Delaware → IdahoHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Delaware → IdahoTwo part-year returns
Other Delaware pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Delaware and work remotely for a Idaho employer. Which state do I pay?
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Idaho levies no tax on wages; Delaware taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Delaware resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Delaware. Your employer should withhold Delaware tax rather than Idaho tax on these wages. If a Idaho line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
Does my Idaho employer's location alone create a Idaho tax obligation?
No. Idaho sources wages to the place where the work is physically performed, and it does not apply a convenience-of-the-employer rule that would override that. Days you actually spend working inside Idaho are a different matter — those are Idaho-source income and can require a nonresident return.
How current is this?
The Delaware and Idaho rules on this page were last checked against Delaware Division of Revenue and Idaho State Tax Commission 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.
- Delaware Division of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Idaho State Tax Commission — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07